i7 8700T in Lenovo Tiny PL2/EDP OTHER throttling

[bassman5066]

https://egpu.io/forums/builds/lenovo-tiny-m720q-i7-8700t-16gb-ddr4-gtx-1650-super-via-pcie-4x/

Full system info as well as background is linked above. Basically I am running an eGPU on a Lenovo Tiny M720q with i7 8700T (plan to grab an i9 9900T in the near future) and am looking to push the CPU a little bit more if I can. Both chips mentioned are 35w TDP, and at this point I am just running with ThrottleStop on default settings except "High Performance" and "BD PROCHOT" unchecked. The reasoning for disabling BD PROCHOT is outlined in my build thread, but the gist of it was that was causing both the GPU and CPU to throttle because it thought it was exceeding the wattage limit of the PCIe slot, but it was not due to being externally powered by the GPU power supply. It has been running great since working out those few kinks and getting a stable overclock on the GPU, but at this point I have "EDP OTHER" and "PL2" flashing yellow and red, which I guess means I am being limited by power? This is about the extent of what I do know. In game and benchmarks, I am seeing a pretty solid upper limit of 70-75C on the CPU so I know there is a little bit of room thermally. I do not know if the box itself and its motherboard can support any more power to the CPU though? Can I try with ThrottleStop? Will it break anything? I think I can push it a little more on the existing stock cooler with the case closed, but I am honestly not opposed to a nice tower hanging out the top of the box either so if it can be pushed I am quite curious.

 

[unclewebb]

@bassman5066 - If you are using ThrottleStop, why not post some pictures of how you have it setup?

The 8700T has a 35W TDP rating.

Intel® Core™ i7-8700T Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-8700T Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Without seeing any pictures of ThrottleStop, I do not know if the turbo power limits are locked or not. I would open the TPL window and I would try increasing the two turbo power limits. PL2 flashing red simply means your CPU has reached the short term PL2 power limit. Increase that limit in the TPL window and this type of throttling will go away. Power limit throttling has nothing to do with your power supply or anything like that. It is just how Intel CPUs decide whether they should run at full speed with full turbo boost or whether they should slow down and reduce the amount of turbo boost.

Most motherboards can support more power going to the CPU.

Can I try with ThrottleStop?

Sure, why not? If you are concerned that this might cause your computer to blow up, do not use ThrottleStop. I think you will be OK but if it blows up, you are the one that will have to buy a new CPU or motherboard or a new house if it catches on fire. No one has ever had these issues but there is always a first time.

If your CPU gets too hot (100°C), it will automatically slow down to protect itself. No worries there. Intel CPUs are well protected from high temps. If 75°C is your upper limit so far, you have piles of headroom.

 

[bassman5066]

@bassman5066 - If you are using ThrottleStop, why not post some pictures of how you have it setup?

The 8700T has a 35W TDP rating.

Intel® Core™ i7-8700T Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Core™ i7-8700T Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Without seeing any pictures of ThrottleStop, I do not know if the turbo power limits are locked or not. I would open the TPL window and I would try increasing the two turbo power limits. PL2 flashing red simply means your CPU has reached the short term PL2 power limit. Increase that limit in the TPL window and this type of throttling will go away. Power limit throttling has nothing to do with your power supply or anything like that. It is just how Intel CPUs decide whether they should run at full speed with full turbo boost or whether they should slow down and reduce the amount of turbo boost.

Most motherboards can support more power going to the CPU.


Sure, why not? If you are concerned that this might cause your computer to blow up, do not use ThrottleStop. I think you will be OK but if it blows up, you are the one that will have to buy a new CPU or motherboard or a new house if it catches on fire. No one has ever had these issues but there is always a first time.

If your CPU gets too hot (100°C), it will automatically slow down to protect itself. No worries there. Intel CPUs are well protected from high temps. If 75°C is your upper limit so far, you have piles of headroom.

Sure, no problem. Before getting into that, I do have a quick question. I would like ThrottleStop to start on boot (either off or with a default profile with PROCHOT enabled) and found the how to for Task Scheduler. I have set it up, and it seems to be running in Task Manager and if I try to run its shortcut again ThrottleStop says it is already running, but I have no tray icon. If starting through Task Scheduler, how do I access the running instance of it?

I am not worried about pushing it thermally (yet), and know what to watch in that regard. I am no stranger to overclocking and pushing laptops and other small packages, but I never dug that deep into ThrottleStop as my CPUs didn't have as many features in it as this one does. What I am wondering are what other key factors are in pushing power limits and what to watch for. The box itself has a small PSU (like 90w laptop or so) and I am sure that there is a slightly larger one available from Lenovo for their Mobile Workstation style machines (it shares the rectangular power connector with their laptops), but should I be watching voltages in HWInfo for drops or current spikes for example? Any other thermals to keep an eye on to make sure I am not melting down something else on the motherboard?

From watching the power level during gaming and benchmarks, it seems to be limiting at both 30w and 35w depending on power (I think?)

The screenshots posted are while running Valley Benchmark getting the same performance I tested with in my eGPU forum post for reference.

 

[unclewebb]

With most laptop power adapters, if you try to pull more watts from an adapter than it is rated to deliver, the power adapter will trip and will not provide any power. A laptop has a battery so it will switch to battery power but then the battery will start to discharge. To reset the adapter, you usually need to unplug it and then plug it back in. If you do not have battery backup for your computer, it will likely crash if you try to draw too much power from your power adapter. This should not result in any wild and crazy voltage spikes but anything is possible.

Your Turbo Boost Power Limits screenshot shows that your power limits are not locked. You could try bumping the long term power limit up from 35W to 40W or 45W. Turn the ThrottleStop Log File option on when testing so you can go back and see power consumption and throttling reasons after you are finished testing. The log file will be in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Attach one here is you want me to have a look.

Follow this guide when setting up the Task Scheduler.

TechnologyGuide

Thank you for visiting the TechnologyGuide network. Unfortunately, these forums are no longer active. We extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for their steadfast support—it is really you, our readers, that drove

forum.notebookreview.com

The Trigger should be, At log on.
On the General tab you need to check, Run only when user is logged on. The guide has lots of pics to explain this.

Your CPU temperatures are fine so no worries there. If you want, you can go buy a Kill-a-Watt meter or similar to keep an eye on how much power is being drawn from the wall. That might give you a better idea of how hard you are pushing your power adapter. I like toys but this is not really necessary. My 10 core is very efficient when idle. Fully loaded is a different story.

http://imgur.com/i4tnKgl

 

[bassman5066]

With most laptop power adapters, if you try to pull more watts from an adapter than it is rated to deliver, the power adapter will trip and will not provide any power. A laptop has a battery so it will switch to battery power but then the battery will start to discharge. To reset the adapter, you usually need to unplug it and then plug it back in. If you do not have battery backup for your computer, it will likely crash if you try to draw too much power from your power adapter. This should not result in any wild and crazy voltage spikes but anything is possible.

Your Turbo Boost Power Limits screenshot shows that your power limits are not locked. You could try bumping the long term power limit up from 35W to 40W or 45W. Turn the ThrottleStop Log File option on when testing so you can go back and see power consumption and throttling reasons after you are finished testing. The log file will be in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Attach one here is you want me to have a look.

Follow this guide when setting up the Task Scheduler.

TechnologyGuide

Thank you for visiting the TechnologyGuide network. Unfortunately, these forums are no longer active. We extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for their steadfast support—it is really you, our readers, that drove

forum.notebookreview.com

The Trigger should be, At log on.
On the General tab you need to check, Run only when user is logged on. The guide has lots of pics to explain this.

Your CPU temperatures are fine so no worries there. If you want, you can go buy a Kill-a-Watt meter or similar to keep an eye on how much power is being drawn from the wall. That might give you a better idea of how hard you are pushing your power adapter. I like toys but this is not really necessary. My 10 core is very efficient when idle. Fully loaded is a different story.

http://imgur.com/i4tnKgl

I already own two of those, and completely forgot about using them for this lol. Will do some testing and report back!