# Lenovo T15G RTX 2080, bad throttling, Best Throttlestop Settings?



## em93 (Jun 23, 2021)

Hi everyone, 

I have been roaming the internet for a number of days after getting my T15G with a Core i7-10750H & RTX 2080 to see how others have handled throttling. So far I have come up short, with virtually every thread having a one-size-fits-all fix to their throttling issues. After trying a couple with little to no success I am getting pretty lost on what the problem is and how to solve it. 

So far the laptop works okay in normal use, but playing almost any game (right now Escape from Tarkov, and Call of Duty) with any setting or resolution still leaves me with some FPS drops. I have kept almost all the Windows and BIOS settings to default and have updated all my firmware and nvidia drivers. 

I am a novice when it comes to this, but am ready to learn and provide any information needed to figure this out! I saw another thread on this forum about a T15G with similar specs (https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttling-t15g.280634/) and went ahead to download Intel XTU to provide more details:

Here is my laptop's specs






I also ran XTU benchmark; I attached the log below (I hope this helps!!)




Please let me know if there is more I can do to help support finding a reasonable fix!! Thank you!


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## unclewebb (Jun 23, 2021)

Based on what I see in that other thread, the Lenovo T15g has some throttling problems that you might not be able to fully solve. Intel XTU does not have any options available to help the cause so do not run XTU when you are using ThrottleStop. The two programs adjust the same registers within the CPU. To avoid any conflicts, it is best to only use one of these programs at a time.

Post screenshots of the main ThrottleStop window, the FIVR window, and the TPL window so I can see how your CPU is setup. Turn on the ThrottleStop Log File option and go play a game for at least 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop so it can finalize your log file. The default location for log files is the ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Attach a log file to your next post so I can see how your computer is running. 

Follow the advice that was posted previously in the other T15g thread. 

The log file you posted above shows that the CPU is constantly hitting 100°C and it is thermal throttling. Unless you find a way to improve cooling, you will not be able to run your CPU at full power or at full speed. The cooling that your laptop uses might only be able to handle a 60W CPU. When the CPU is allowed to go up to 80W or more, it is overwhelming the available cooling. Many owners disassemble their laptops and replace the thermal paste. If this is a fairly new laptop, this could void the warranty so look into that before deciding what to do.


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## em93 (Jun 23, 2021)

unclewebb said:


> Based on what I see in that other thread, the Lenovo T15g has some throttling problems that you might not be able to fully solve. Intel XTU does not have any options available to help the cause so do not run XTU when you are using ThrottleStop. The two programs adjust the same registers within the CPU. To avoid any conflicts, it is best to only use one of these programs at a time.
> 
> Post screenshots of the main ThrottleStop window, the FIVR window, and the TPL window so I can see how your CPU is setup. Turn on the ThrottleStop Log File option and go play a game for at least 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop so it can finalize your log file. The default location for log files is the ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Attach a log file to your next post so I can see how your computer is running.
> 
> ...


Sure thing, 

Main window:




FIVR:








For the log I turned on throttlestop with the settings I pasted above and played Escape from Tarkov at relatively low settings for roughly 15 minutes (I was in the game for 15 minutes, in the menus for the other time) , I experienced considerable fps drops at random times.


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## unclewebb (Jun 23, 2021)

Either the CPU heatsink is completely inadequate or it was not properly installed or the engineering team that designed your laptop are idiots. If you cannot return this laptop then consider changing the thermal paste. Some manufacturers will void your warranty so keep that in mind before doing anything.

You have a very powerful CPU but the cooling solution is completely inadequate. Kind of like dropping a Corvette engine into a Lada. With the settings you are using, the temperatures instantly go off the chart as soon as any significant load is applied. You end up with some severe throttling episodes and some very uneven performance. Huge random drops in FPS are not a surprise.

If you cannot improve cooling then the only way to get smooth performance out of this laptop is to significantly reduce its performance. Lower performance that is steady is better than constant throttling and cycling between full speed and 800 MHz.

In the TPL window, did you increase the turbo power limits or are those the default settings? They look like the default settings. Those power limits would be great for a well cooled 10750H. You do not have the cooling to dissipate 90W or 107W so you need to lower the power limits significantly. Will this lower performance? Yes it will.

PL1 is the long term power limit. The 10750H has a 45W TDP rating and the cooling in its present state cannot handle much more than this. Having PL1 set to 50W or 55W might be OK. Setting PL1 to 90W long term is a pipe dream.

PL2 at 107W is an even bigger pipe dream. Intel typically recommends setting PL2 about 25% higher than PL1. 25% beyond the 45W TDP rating is only 56W. If you set PL1 to 55W, 25% beyond that is 68.75W. That is what I would recommend. Your cooling can maybe handle 65W or 70W for a short burst of time. Definitely not 56 seconds so you need to lower the turbo time limit as well. Maybe only 2 to 4 seconds. Check both power limit Clamp options to keep the CPU well clamped down.

This is going to sacrifice peak performance but there is nothing else you can do besides improve cooling. Once you get the power limits down, I would clear the BD PROCHOT box on the main screen of ThrottleStop. Your CPU will still thermal throttle if it gets too hot whether BD PROCHOT is checked or not. BD PROCHOT allows other sensors on your motherboard to throttle the CPU.

This type of throttling is what is causing your CPU to randomly drop down to 800 MHz. I cannot guarantee that your computer will be 100% safe if you disable BD PROCHOT. It is impossible for me to find out what sensor is feeding these severe throttling signals to the CPU. You did not pay for an 800 MHz laptop. Reducing the power limits might allow your computer to be in better control of itself. This might fix the BD PROCHOT throttling that is showing up in the log file might go away without having to disable BD PROCHOT in ThrottleStop.

If it was my laptop, I would still disable BD PROCHOT throttling immediately. Manufacturers need to learn how to properly build a laptop and not rely on severe throttling without notifying consumers about these features. When you bought your laptop, was there any notice on the Lenovo website that your expensive laptop would sometimes throttle down to 800 MHz without notice? Would you have paid full price for your laptop if you knew it included a feature like that? Probably not.

Show me a screenshot of your updated settings and show me another log file.


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## em93 (Jun 23, 2021)

Here are the updated settings as you suggested:





Again, I play escape from tarkov with the same settings. The game disconnected me a few times, so you might need to scroll down to see the meat of me actually playing.

This time around the game did not have any fps drops, but it did feel like the overall FPS was a little lower?


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## unclewebb (Jun 23, 2021)

You still have the turbo time limit set to 56 seconds. Your cooling cannot handle your CPU running at the PL2 power limit for 56 seconds. Reduce this to 4 seconds max. I will go have a look at your log file. Check the Speed Shift box in the TPL window to make sure those values are getting sent to the CPU.

Edit - You are still getting lots of thermal throttling with the CPU constantly hitting 100°C. That is still too much. You will need to reduce your power limits further. How about PL1 = 45W and PL2 = 55W and turbo time = 4 seconds.

Not sure if this will work. The Clamp options that are intended to be used to clamp power consumption are being ignored.

At least the CPU is no longer throttling down to 800 MHz. Is game play any smoother? The CPU is still getting too hot but the CPU speed is not being choked back nearly as much compared to before.



em93 said:


> This time around the game did not have any fps drops, but it did feel like the overall FPS was a little lower?


This is what you are trying to accomplish. You have to reduce peak performance so that your computer does not go nuclear. This helps avoid the severe throttling episodes that you were having before.


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## em93 (Jun 28, 2021)

Here is the log with the updated info as you told me. As a note, I used a pretty big monitor which probably stressed my GPU and CPU more than it should have.

EDIT: I provided an extra log where I turned down the resolution by a fair amount


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## unclewebb (Jun 28, 2021)

Your log files show the same as before. Your CPU is hitting 100°C and this is indirectly triggering severe BD PROCHOT throttling where your CPU drops down to 800 MHz. If you disable BD PROCHOT, this should get rid of the severe throttling but you might burn up your laptop.

You need to improve your cooling or slow your CPU down 500 MHz to 1000 MHz. You might have to use Disable Turbo. This will kill CPU performance but it will help keep the heat down.

The heat your CPU puts out is overwhelming the cooling capability of your laptop. Complain to Lenovo.


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