# CPU Stuck In C3% and will not move. Tried everything. Any advice?



## uhh_Sang (Jan 29, 2021)

Hi all,

My second post here and I am looking for help. I followed the guide to improve battery life and deepen C-states on my laptop. (MSI GF65 Thin) I am running i7 9750H & RTX 2060. I've undervolted and tried everything suggested in the guide but I cannot get my CPU to deepen the used C-states. Is there any advice you guys can provide? The provided screenshot is at near complete idle.






The C states in C2% go between 5% - 70+%. For reference, I followed this guide http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...e-on-windows-enabling-deeper-c-states.815602/


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## unclewebb (Jan 29, 2021)

@uhh_Sang - Your computer is not idle. You have too many tasks or one bad task running in the background on your computer. Open the Task Manger, go to the Details tab and click on the CPU heading to organize your running tasks by CPU usage. There must be something running on your computer that is not letting your CPU idle down. Individual cores should be spending at least 99% of their time in the core C7 state. Some task or tasks are keeping your CPU constantly active.





Your package power consumption looks terrible for an idle laptop computer.



http://imgur.com/i4tnKgl


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 29, 2021)

Is it this "System Idle Process"?I haven't been able to figure out what it is. Does everything else look correct? @unclewebb 









New screenshot is with chrome closed


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

Getting better. System Idle Process should be at 99%. That is normal when a computer is idle.

You said you closed Chrome but Chrome is still running on your computer and taking up lots of memory too. Try using this Chrome option.





Also try using Shutup 10.






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It can turn off some of the useless Windows 10 background tasks.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

I've done that as well and used Shutup 10 already, done what I could with the app afaik. 

What concerns me is while idling I have PKG power consumption of 4-29W. Average 15-16W. I've seen claims of .5 or 1W. And I am no where near this.





Or am I wrong and this is supposed to be the case?


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

The package power consumption data that all software reports is not measured power consumption. It is an approximation and on some CPUs, it is not very accurate.

Your CPU might have this bug. Sometimes the power consumption will be reported way higher than normal. This might change after you reboot. I do not know what causes this problem or how to fix it.

Do you use Dragon Center? Try exiting any other programs that are still running in the background. Have a look at the Nvidia software that shows what program is keeping your Nvidia GPU active. ThrottleStop will show GPU --°C when no programs are using the Nvidia GPU. When it shows a temperature number, your Nvidia GPU is active. This is not necessary when sitting looking at the desktop unless you disabled the Intel GPU in the BIOS.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

Understood. That makes sense. I do use Dragon Center but for the screenshots it's not running. I am frankly sorta on the fence about using it but the ability to fan boost for gameplay is nice. Other than that the "Profiles" it uses are not really helpful to me. So to clarify, are my processors using deeper C states that I am thinking? I've been referencing this portion (image below). As 

 
As Ive seen on other examples where their process percentage is located in C7/C8/C9. Mine doesn't budge from C2% at all. 

I've done a dig thru in the BIOS as well, there is very little mention of CPU utilization with C-state besides enabling and disabling.

To add on- My GPU does report 0 when nothing is running. It strictly CPU


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## Redwoodz (Jan 30, 2021)

Check your ports, make sure there's no remote connection that's not supposed to be there.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

@Redwoodz Thanks for the suggestion. I've essentially disabled that service. Should not be possible for a remote connection on the laptop. But I did double check as well and it's all clear


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

@uhh_Sang - What IDE SATA driver are you using? The default Microsoft one disables anything beyond Package C2.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

@unclewebb I don't run a IDE SATA, I did wonder about the driver. I did update my Crucial P1 NVMe but the other default one that came with the laptop is a Kingston RBUSN8154P3512GJ5. I've gone thru end to end on the internet looking for a NVMe controller for a Kingston. But nothing! If anything I suspect this is where my issues lay. The Crucial is my additional drive and the Kingston is my boot drive.


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

Even if you do not have a drive, make sure you are not using the MS driver.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

Any idea how I can find a Kingston driver? Installing any other brands software obviously leaves a "Did not detect a compatible device"


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

Here is the driver that got package C3 working on my desktop computer.
It was the controller driver and not the actual drive.





Your problem is common. The package C states do now work correctly on many computers that are shipped.


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

Hm, I see. Well, I am unable to update any of the existing controllers on the laptop because a Kingston one doesn't exist. I was able to locate a "Generic" 3rd party controller that was tested but it seemed to have caught me in a boot loop. I guess I'll have to purchase another crucial P1 and clone everything over. Hopefully I'll get the proper C-state performance I am looking for


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## unclewebb (Jan 30, 2021)

@uhh_Sang - Kingston makes the drive or buys components from Intel to make their drives. 

Intel likely makes the chipset and controller for your motherboard. Do you have an IDE ATA/ATAPI controller on your motherboard?


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## uhh_Sang (Jan 30, 2021)

@unclewebb I do not have an IDE ATA/ATAPI controller onboard


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## Kylezo (Dec 16, 2021)

I am having a similar issue. I'll post my own thread, but here's my TS screenshot:


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