# i7 4800mq Throttling (Dell M2800)



## Ferd (Aug 28, 2021)

Hi , 
Sorry if this has been discussed already I have been struggling with this for the entire summer without a solution:
Currently the “powercut” feature is working reporting max 1~2w but the cpu still throttles unable to turbo boost.
Also undervolted by 80~70mv cpu and 50mv gpu.....

1 - cpu doesn’t go beyond 2.7ghz under any kind of load , when idle it occasionally goes to 3.4~3.2ghz(according to throttlestop) and 3.5~3.7ghz (according to hwinfo ) .
2 - edp current (GPU )glowing in yellow under load(cinebench r15)  , while both edp current ( Core and Ring) in constant red regardless of the load .
Since it’s a Dell laptop I made sure the charger is recognized in bios (130w) and I am using windows 7 64 bits due to terrible experience with gpu drivers under win10 ( btw it is the same situation in win 10 cpu can’t turbo boost) 
I appreciate any kind of help or heads up for where to search more ...


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## unclewebb (Aug 28, 2021)

Ferd said:


> edp current ( Core and Ring) in constant red


Usually you could try increasing the PP0 Current Limit but the BIOS has locked this to 84 so it cannot be adjusted. Trying to set this to 0 in ThrottleStop will not work because this register is locked. 



Ferd said:


> 2.7ghz


That is the base frequency for a 4800MQ so basically this throttling problem is eliminating all turbo boost.

A CPU should never be showing EDP CURRENT throttling when the CPU is idle. There is either something wrong with the CPU (doubtful) or there is something wrong with the Dell motherboard (likely). I can only remember seeing this problem on Dell laptops. 

You have tried all of the possible ThrottleStop tricks. There is nothing else I know of to solve this problem.


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## Ferd (Aug 28, 2021)

unclewebb said:


> Usually you could try increasing the PP0 Current Limit but the BIOS has locked this to 84 so it cannot be adjusted. Trying to set this to 0 in ThrottleStop will not work because this register is locked.
> 
> 
> That is the base frequency for a 4800MQ so basically this throttling problem is eliminating all turbo boost.
> ...


Thank you for taking time to reply , I have read 100’s of submissions on your amazing forum and other places on the internet, I will write these line and add pictures for proof later when I get home because it worked and cpu is drawing 50watts and more , now it’s a thermal issue (reaches 97 degrees C ) ..but I am happy with that I can work it out ...
few minutes ago I had trouble disabling “powercut” I wanted to see power consumption while playing a game , I couldn’t get it to say “disabled” so i put laptop to sleep and woke it again i ran few synth benchmarks and games and it’s working fine , I also tried to sleep it multiple times to see if it only works first time or it keeps working regardless , turns out it’s fine to put it to sleep multiple times , now I have to boot laptop, put it to sleep then I get to use it as intended.
I have a question if you don’t mind , is this bios related? I don’t understand how putting laptop to sleep allows more current to flow through the vrms, is it a firmware bug that can be fixed via custom bios for example or are these laptops doomed ?


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## unclewebb (Aug 29, 2021)

Some computers have bugs where some power or current limit registers are not set correctly when you first boot up. When you do a sleep resume cycle, sometimes these registers get fixed or better yet, sometimes power and current registers that start out locked become unlocked because someone forgot to set the lock bit during sleep resume. 

In the TPL window, you can see the Lock icons on the left hand side. This means those registers are locked. Take a screenshot of this window after you first boot up. Do a sleep resume cycle and do another screenshot of the TPL window and see if anything has changed. You can leave this window open on the desktop and it will update any changes if there are any.

I do not think there are many custom bios options available for Dell laptops. They tend to be locked down. 

If a simple sleep resume cycle can fix your throttling problem, you got lucky. The 4800MQ is still a decent processor as long as it is not being throttled to death.


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## Ferd (Aug 29, 2021)

lucky indeed , although tbh i bricked another 4800mq and the motherboard with it , a while ago i thought this had to do with vrms overheating or simply unable to deliver the required current , after looking into schematics for the laptop's board i noticed they only use half the mosfets declared on the schematic (6 instead of 12 -in a 3 phase configuration for vcc_core ), i looked into a lenovo workstation with similar cpu and their mosfets were better ones (more expensive - able to deliver more current- the datasheet specs were much better ) so i don't think this laptop will be able to handel maxed out 4800mq for extended periods , but at least it's back to life .

attached bellow are before and after sleep cycle screenshots from TS, 

for reference ,i am using a VALA0-9411P(2014 model) instead of the (vala0-9411p)-(2013 model) , and the difference is in the gpu , i had a DELL E6540 , with amd hd 8790m , now on the new board i have amd firepro M4170.


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## unclewebb (Aug 29, 2021)

Nothing really standing out that explains why your computer likes a sleep resume cycle. I was just curious. As long as this works, the why does not matter.

For your settings, the BIOS always locks the MSR power register so in the Power Limit Control section, I would set the turbo time limit to 28 seconds, press Apply and I would check the Disable Power Limit Control box. ThrottleStop cannot change a locked register so there is no point in having ThrottleStop waste its time trying. Locked is locked.

The PP0 Current Limit is also locked to 84. On the right side of this setting you are requesting 100. Might as well set that to 84. ThrottleStop cannot be used to change a locked register so this request will be ignored.

For the PP0 Power Limit, I usually leave this one unchecked and set to 0 with the time limit set to the minimum, 0.0010 seconds. Will any of this make a difference? Probably not. 

On the main screen I usually have SpeedStep checked. You have the FIVR Non Turbo Ratio set to 1 so you probably do not need to check the Set Multiplier box.  

You could try bumping up the turbo ratios to 41 and 40. Power consumption and temperatures are not a problem when lightly loaded so some extra CPU speed when 1 or 2 cores are active should be OK.

Have fun with your new and improved laptop. I still have a Lenovo Y510P with a 4700MQ. It works great. None of the weird issues that your Dell has after a cold boot.


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## Ferd (Aug 29, 2021)

I remember the y510p those good days when it launched with the “dual gpu bay thingy “ pretty innovative , thanks for sharing the knowledge and the tools .


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