# [Solved] Problem whe stress-testing Xeon - not reaching TDP



## Flying_Pangolin (Mar 21, 2022)

Hello,

First post on this forum after reading for quite a long time. I hope it is on the right section.

I am currently setting up a small benchmarking (and stress-testing) platform for 2nd generation Xeons. Beyond benchmarking scores, I aim to compare several cooling solutions for those platforms.

Here are the components used:

Intel Xeon Bronze 3204 (1.9GHz, 6 cores, no HT, TDP: 85W)
SuperMicro X11SPM-F
2x 8GB DDR4 2666MHz Reg ECC Modules
400W PSU
Windows 10
However, I encountered an obstacle during the benchmarking procedure. Independently from the benchmarking and stress-testing software used (Linpack, LinpackXtrem 0.9.5 & 1.5, OCCT, Intel Burn Test, Intel PDT, Prime95, 7Zip), the CPU never became hot. The max power consumption reached was 27W and the CPU never went above 30°C, even at 100% load on all 6 cores at maximum frequency, as you can see in the snapshots attached.
While it is good not getting hot, it defeats the purpose.













I though at first that I reached the PL1. But, it is set at 85W.
I used then an thermal camera to see if there was any hot spot not reported by HWinfo, but no other hotspot or explanation for any throttling effect (to my knowledge).

So, the questions I have are:

Did I used the right software for Xeon stress testing?
Are the modules the bottleneck? Or any other components?
Many thanks in advance!
F_P.

Note 1: I did a similar setup for i5/i7/i9 using the same software. CPUs reached the expected TDP.
Note 2: Xeon 3204 is for setting up the platform before going to for high-end Xeon CPUs.


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## Dr. Dro (Mar 21, 2022)

This is normal behavior, and to be expected, really. The software is correct, it's just that the chip you are using uses next to no power. The TDP rating is quite overblown on these low-end Xeons. I owned an E5-1607 v4 (Broadwell-E, 4C/4T, no Turbo, 3.1 GHz) that is rated for *140W*, in reality, it did not reach even half that, barely a third even, no matter how extreme the workload. 

Looks like your Xeon Bronze is in the same vein, given it has no hyper threading, no Turbo, only a single AVX-512 FMA unit per core and an exceptionally low clock speed. Don't worry about it, but if you want to test a thermal design, you will need to buy a higher end processor which can generate more heat than that one does.


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## Flying_Pangolin (Mar 22, 2022)

Thank you, Dr. Dro.

I am quite surprised by the discrepancy between the power consumption and Intel's TDP estimate.
I will definitively have to invest in on higher end Xeon.

Thank you again!
F_P.


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## Dr. Dro (Mar 22, 2022)

You're welcome, and I agree, but it somewhat makes sense, the simplified die with only one of the two FMA units enabled and features like SMT and turbo being disabled running well into its maximum efficiency curve will result in this situation... and the funny part, if you optimized the core voltage by hand it is likely you could get this Bronze sipping even less power. They are great to run passively cooled.


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