4 Posts
0
189
Precision 3581 stuck at 2.16GHz.
I got a new laptop from company Dell Precision 3581 with I7-13700H. My work needs powerful machines I was hopeful that this will solve my problems. However when I tested this system I can see when I am putting system under stress it is not giving me 100%. That is the CPU utilization is capped at 74% and frequency never goes above 2.16GHz. I tried to update the power options and everything in windows that I know but to no help. Can anyone suggest the cause of it and maybe help me solve this issue. Thanks.
AbhiBabu
4 Posts
0
January 21st, 2024 17:08
Finally solved the issue! no thanks to dell support.
I tried to connect with dell support but the support person ran some normal diagnostics and said the laptop is running perfectly fine. Even when on screen sharing where I was showing him that it is not even reaching to base frequency he said machine is running fine. Guess how disappointing that was.
However after reading some release notes from intel and one 2011 post related to dell system configuration. I decided to do trial and error with different bios setting and finally found one which partly solved this issue. I have mentioned the bios setting below how ever I have to say dell laptops are just spec on paper. Dell don't design enough cooling for the components that they put in there laptops so they always runs hot and thermal throttle even for the normal tasks.
Bios setting
- Always on AC power, All sleep states enabled, intel speed step enabled, high performance mode, All cores enabled.
- Intel speed switch is turned off.
- Installed dell power manager tool in windows. https://www.dell.com/support/contents/en-hr/article/product-support/self-support-knowledgebase/software-and-downloads/dell-power-manager
Results of testing
Before: 2.16GHz CPU frequency, 34W TDP, 90 C temp, no turbo-boost at all even though enabled in bios [under load] = 10min test
After: ~2.50GHz CPU frequency, 47W TPD, 88 C temp, 3.4GHz - 4.85GHz turbo-boost for 2-3 min [Under load, Optimized mode in power manager] = 10min test
Funny enough Dell has configured there fan curve for this machine such that the high performance mode is actully bad for machine where on average CPU runs at 40W TDP and 95-100C. However on optimized mode it takes on average 47W TDP and runs 88-95C.
So moral of story is dell support is not aware about there product limits and configuration, dell laptops are not designed for the high performance components they use so you will not get full performance even though you paid premium price for the machine. Its just a good looking, expensive space heater on which you can watch YouTube videos.