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CPU Throttling on 15 inch Surface Book 2 after 1709?

wynand32

Well-Known Member
^ Do voltages stay at that point for a while. I'd worry if that is sustained voltage though since it's still high. Normally, @ 1.351 V, a good overclocking i7 desktop chip would've hit at least 5 GHz. No reason for a 3.8 - 4 GHz overclock to reach 1.351 volts

Also, if you don't mind, what would be your idea of a proper max voltage?
 

wynand32

Well-Known Member
^ A good voltage would be about 1.15 volts maximum sustained and about 1.2 volts peak IMO.

You can check out some of the voltages here: Top 15 Highest frequencies for Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90GHz - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Okay, so, I've had CPUID results that look a lot like in the screenshot that's in Seneleron's post (CPU Throttling on 15 inch Surface Book 2 after 1709?). There seems to be a spike to 1.3v+ (sometimes) right as I slide the power setting to high performance, and then it drops back down.

While it's under load (e.g., Intel XTU), it's running close to what you describe, around 1.15 +/-, and then it peaks at most around 1.25v. For example, I just ran an XTU stress test after restarting CPUID (with the slider already to the right), and it peaked at 1.239v.

Mine doesn't ever get hotter than 90 deg. C, and it passes the IPDT. So I'm not sure what to think at this point.
 
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wynand32

Well-Known Member
Sustained load is what matters. 1.239 peak max and 1.15% load is 100% OK to me. BTW, even gaming doesn't subject the CPU to extreme test like XTU or IPDT so you're perfectly fine.

I appreciate all of your insights. One more note: I ran a couple of other tests, and there were a couple of occasions where it peaked at 1.3v+ and I saw it happen. But again, sustained loads were closer to around 1.15v. So, sounds like mine is okay even if it peaks that high?
 

chekhonte

Member
Considering that it remained stable at that load through the test is a good sign. I really wouldn't worry about it considering that you'll never reach those levels in real world use. Outside of stability, longevity of the chip is the only other concern and there doesn't appear to be anything abnormal to report.

If you're really worried, amazon 4 year extended warranty with accidental damage is 150 bucks on 2000-2500 dollar laptop. Return yours and get it through them. I got it just because I'm going to be editing a lot of video on this thing and it's in no way user serviceable.
 

wynand32

Well-Known Member
Considering that it remained stable at that load through the test is a good sign. I really wouldn't worry about it considering that you'll never reach those levels in real world use. Outside of stability, longevity of the chip is the only other concern and there doesn't appear to be anything abnormal to report.

If you're really worried, amazon 4 year extended warranty with accidental damage is 150 bucks on 2000-2500 dollar laptop. Return yours and get it through them. I got it just because I'm going to be editing a lot of video on this thing and it's in no way user serviceable.

Again, thanks for all of your help on this one! It's a huge investment for me and naturally I want my $3400 notebook to be perfect. :) I'll give that Amazon idea some thought...
 

chekhonte

Member
Again, thanks for all of your help on this one! It's a huge investment for me and naturally I want my $3400 notebook to be perfect. :) I'll give that Amazon idea some thought...

100 percent. I got the warranty. I always do on laptops over a grand. I've put them all to use. Usually it's only for a traditional HDD failure or charging port failure both of which aren't likely with the SB2 but at over 3k. 150 bucks is cheap for not having to worry about it.
 
I appreciate all of your insights. One more note: I ran a couple of other tests, and there were a couple of occasions where it peaked at 1.3v+ and I saw it happen. But again, sustained loads were closer to around 1.15v. So, sounds like mine is okay even if it peaks that high?

Yep. Those peaks are about a millisecond long right? Anyways, I believe it's still a firmware issue where if all of the power savings are unlocked the UEFI/BIOS have a tendency to overclock it to its limits for a single millisecond. As long as the sustained load is at 1.15 to 1.2 volts at maximum turbo boost, it's perfectly fine since that's what I get too with the Surface Pro i7-7660U. The difference is that the Surface Pro's UEFI doesn't have an issue where the voltage spike up to 1.3+ volts when the slider is moved to best performance. Also, if I recall correctly, the OP had high sustained voltages and not just peak voltage (which causes instability) during the stress tests so that's the reason his SB2 keeps failing those test.
 

Seneleron

Active Member
Yea, the CPU is a little weird. I can't prove this, but I SUSPECT the 1.3+ v temps were from single core turbo clock. Mine doesn't pull that much voltage during XTU either [around 1.25 +/-]. I only ever see 1.3+ during single core gaming [HoTS mostly]. I meant to go more into depth earlier about that, but the bat phone was ringing off the hook all day ; )
 
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