# Setup ThrottleStop for keeping CPU from power throttling and overheating while gaming



## XuluX (Jun 1, 2021)

I check Checked 'Disable and Lock Turbo Power Limits' and also changed Long Power PL1 to 70W and and PL2 to 78W (already set), Turbo Time Limit 28 (already set) and unchecked BD PROCHOT but CPU still overheats and throttles downs to 8W ~ 10W from ~40W. How can I setup ThrottleStop in such a way that the CPU doesn't overheats i.e. it keeps power consumptions above ~30W and multiplier above ~30.
System Info
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz (12 CPUs), ~2.2GHz Turbo keeps it at 3.9GHz
ThrottleStop screenshot for settings




Log files shows all the throttle sensors were kicking in TEMP, PL1, PL2 when the temperature was going back and forth between 95C and to 100C but power was around ~35W, which means no trouble while playing. But after a while something snaps PL1 is engaged and throttles CPU down to 8W ~ 10W and also sets the multiplier to 8, the trouble starts. After a while CPU is no more angry and hot it restores power back ~40W.
Attached logs file for reference.

 I want it to setup so that when ever overheating is going on it power downs to ~30W not below that and after cooldown it restores power so that no trouble is seen, games run smoothly and CPU doesn't goes in angry mode.


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## unclewebb (Jun 1, 2021)

What laptop model do you have? Many Dell laptops have the exact same problem that you are having. When the CPU runs at or near the maximum temperature for too long, suddenly it will snap. The turbo power limit will be reduced internally to a very low level like 5W or less. This causes severe PL1 throttling where the CPU multiplier gets stuck at 8.00 for an extended amount of time. This is not normal thermal throttling. This is a special type of throttling that the laptop manufacturer designed. This is not something that Intel designed. Intel is not this dumb.

There is no known fix for this problem. You can try removing the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework driver. Do a Google search about this driver. How to remove it and how to prevent Windows from reinstalling it.  

If that does not work then try checking the Speed Shift box in the TPL window. Reduce the Speed Shift Max value from 41 to 32. This will slow your CPU down so it does not get so hot. It will have less peak speed but this might help it run at a more consistent speed without throttling down to 800 MHz. Slow your CPU down as much as necessary to avoid this severe throttling.


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## XuluX (Jun 1, 2021)

Hi, thanks for the reply
Yes its a Dell laptop G5 15
I already uninstalled DPTF drivers and forced it from reinstalling
What I did is, set the Long Power PL1 to 35W and PL2 to 78, now what happens is it stays at PL1. Still I want to know the working and precedence of PL1 and PL2, in my knowledge PL2 kicks in first and sets a higher power consumption, after a while PL1 kicks in and sets power lower than PL2. Attached logs shows PL1 kicked in after 8 minutes of PL2 and stayed at PL1 limit for the rest of the time. CPU didn't go angry or hot i.e. >95C, it stays around 90C and nothing snapped.
CPU speed stays between 2.9GHz - 3.2GHz instead of going all the way up to 3.9GHz, which is extra power i guess because game runs just fine on ~3.2GHz.

PFA logs for reference.


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## unclewebb (Jun 1, 2021)

XuluX said:


> Dell laptop G5 15


I have only seen Dell laptops use this stupid throttling method where the CPU can get stuck at 800 MHz. 
Dumb, dumb, dumb. 



XuluX said:


> it stays at PL1


PL1 is the long term turbo power limit so it makes sense that the CPU will stay at this limit indefinitely. 



XuluX said:


> CPU didn't go angry


Good that you found a way to keep the CPU at a happy temperature. A CPU runs a lot cooler at 3.2 GHz compared to 3.9 GHz. The difference in performance will barely be noticed when playing many games. 

You can unlock CPU voltage control in many Dell laptops. Here is the general method of what needs to be done. You might be able to find a guide that is specific to your laptop model. Less voltage will reduce the heat and allow you to run your CPU a little faster without it getting stuck at 800 MHz.


__
		https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/fzv599


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## XuluX (Jun 1, 2021)

I also tried undervolting once or twice with 7th gen Dell laptop with guidance and care. Undervolting is very tricky as CPU gets grouchy and OS starts giving warning/errors while running different games/softwares, sometimes gets stuck/halted, screen goes black. While searching on the problem I found an explanation somewhere on a form, stating something like "UnderVolting causes software to jam because many software are using synchronous/asynchronous processing for certain time bared instructions, for which at times CPU needs to power up to process it but undervolting restricts CPU to remain at lower speed causing the software to crash". Reading this slightly made sense to me and I stop undervolting since then because there was a time OS started to crash over and over.


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## unclewebb (Jun 1, 2021)

XuluX said:


> as CPU gets grouchy and OS starts giving warning/errors


A computer should be 100% reliable after you undervolt. If you have any issues or crashes (BSOD), that means you have gone too far and your undervolt is not stable. Most 8750H have proven to run reliably with an undervolt of -125 mV for the core and cache. If one does not have the time to do some testing, -100 mV is a very safe undervolt for these CPUs. This can help reduce your peak temperatures by up to 10°C. 



XuluX said:


> but undervolting restricts CPU to remain at lower speed causing the software to crash


Undervolting and a low CPU speed have nothing to do with each other. Do not believe everything you read on the internet. You can undervolt and you can ask your CPU to run at full speed if you like. Temps and power consumption when idle are great and so is off idle performance.


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## XuluX (Jun 1, 2021)

How are these C0 states so perfectly at 0 on idle. I cant even get my room temperature according to set thermostat. Lowest Package power I see is 1.2W on idling, all the numbers keep jumping. 25°C really ? even I shiver at that temperature, CPU clock is solid 5000MHz. Did you put your machine in a refrigerator ?


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## unclewebb (Jun 1, 2021)

XuluX said:


> Did you put your machine in a refrigerator ?


I must live in cold Canada.  

I also keep a close eye on what runs in the background. The C0% spread across 20 threads is very low per core. If a CPU has nothing to do when idle, it will run cool. 5000 MHz when idle does not create any additional heat if the cores are spending over 99% of their time idle in the low power C7 state. A fast CPU is an efficient CPU. It gets the background tasks done quickly so it can spend more time in one of the low power C states.

Use the C state data to track down any useless stuff running in the background on your computer. I also use O&O Shutup10 to keep Windows from sending the contents of my hard drive back to Microsoft.






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