ThrottleStop 9.5 / Dell XPS 7590 / Windows 11 / i7-9750h CPU

[revo]

Hi,

I've never posted in forums before! But I'm here in pursuit of @unclewebb and their expertise in ThrottleStop, or anybody else that can help. I've been running ThrottleStop for a year or more now, and managed to find the optimal ThrottleStop configurations, but that's when I was on Windows 10. Recently, I upgraded to Windows 11 and installed a newer version of ThrottleStop (latest), then tried to replicate the same settings I had been running before the upgrade, unfortunately, the CPU is not performing as it should and scoring somewhere around 2300+- on Cinebench. That's kind of terrible. I believe it should be capable of pushing to the grounds of 3100.

I tried tweaking almost every setting but I'm sure I'm missing something. The latest TS version has a few additional options and some were removed. Things to keep in mind:

• Virtual Machine Platform is disabled, as well as Virtualization Based Security (VBS)
• Memory integrity in core isolation is also disabled
• BIOS restored to factory
• Receiving BISO updates via Windows update is disabled

Here're my current TS settings (with minimal changes). Please help me to kind of start over and if there are special things to consider regarding undervolting in Windows 11 and using TS v9.5. I'd like somebody to suggest some settings to start from and why I should tweak what. I've also included the Cinebench results for the following TS settings :

 

[unclewebb]

Setting Speed Shift EPP to 132 on the main screen of ThrottleStop can reduce maximum performance. I would not set that any higher than 84. I am not sure if you even need to check that box. When the Speed Shift EPP box is not checked, Windows 11 should be able to set EPP to a reasonable value. The Windows Balanced power plan typically sets EPP to 84 and the High Performance plan sets EPP to 0 for maximum performance. You can look in the FIVR monitoring table to see what EPP values Windows is using. Change profiles back and forth a few times while Speed Shift EPP is not checked in ThrottleStop.

Fix that and check the MMIO Lock box and try testing again. While Cinebench is running, open Limit Reasons and watch for any power limit throttling. Some Dell XPS computers will lock the long term power limits internally to 45W or less. If you see PL1 or PL2 lighting up red, see what power consumption value ThrottleStop reports on the main screen. Get a snapshot of that while Cinebench is running if you can.

When your computer is idle at the desktop, what does ThrottleStop show for C0%? High C0% indicates the CPU is busy doing something in the background and this will negatively effect your benchmark scores.

Turn on the Log File option so you have a record of your CPU performance while you are testing. The log file will show any reasons for throttling. Your voltage settings look OK. Exit ThrottleStop when finished testing so it can finalize the log file. You can attach a log to your next post.

 

[revo]

Hiya mate, thanks for the help there and sorry for the delayed response. I've continued playing around with it last week and managed to score around 2700 pts, which is much better than 2100, but is throttling. I've then reviewed my settings following your instructions. The C0% value averages 1.8 (which is good, and 99 when the benchmark is running, as you might expect). I have checked the MMIO and also unchecked the Speed Shift EPP. The FIVR windows shows that Windows is indeed using 0 as the laptop is connected to the AC and using the Performance profile. Limit reasons is showing some stuff including PL2. FYI my CPU core and cache are -160mV and -125mV, respectively. Also, the IccMax is set to max value of 255 for both core and cache too. Is that OK? I've included a log file, and bunch of pictures when idle, and during the benchmark run, I'm sure you can figure out which is which, but named them to make it easier.

I'm pretty sure the CPU can be pushed a little more, but could be wrong, at the very least avoid this throttling problem.

 

[unclewebb]

I'm pretty sure the CPU can be pushed a little more

That would only be possible if you had better cooling. Within a couple of seconds of starting Cinebench, the CPU temperature goes up to 100C and is pegged at that temperature for the entire test. Thermal throttling is reducing the CPU speed by more than 500 MHz. If you were playing a game at 100C, performance would be inconsistent.

Your ThrottleStop settings are fine. Have you cleaned inside your laptop and replaced the thermal paste recently?

You need better cooling or you can reduce the power limits. I am not sure what would be better; thermal throttling or power limit throttling.

 

[revo]

Understood bro, and you're probably right. I did change the thermal paste, yes, but that was last year. Maybe it's worth doing it again but do a better job. To be honest, I kind of prefer consistent performance, so maybe reducing power limit could serve me better? What values do you recommend to test with for a start? Also, should the IccMax remain set to max for both cache? And core and what does it exactly do? Another thing I'm trying to understand is the "Clamp" checkbox for PL1 and not for PL2, what effect does that have? Finally, I have the PP0 unchecked (and is by default set to 0 when checked), how does that help and should it be checked?

Cheers for the help.

 

[PHVM_BR]

Try to lower the undervolt to -200mV in core and keep -125mV in cache.

At least on 8th/9th generation Intel processors, cache is the limiting factor for system stability.

I believe this will make you get a little more performance.

 

[tredecimguy]

... Another thing I'm trying to understand is the "Clamp" checkbox for PL1 and not for PL2, what effect does that have? Finally, I have the PP0 unchecked (and is by default set to 0 when checked), how does that help and should it be checked?

check this: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/question-on-some-options.298655/post-4831020