Question Core power limit exceeded?

Jan 3, 2023
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I have a prebuilt HP. I recently changed out the thermal paste and reattached the stock cooler while waiting to replace it with noctua NH-D9L.

In the meantime I've been playing MW2 while running HWiNFO in the background to keep an eye on the cpu temps. After my most recent play session I noticed for the first time that all 8 cores have 'Yes' under core power limit exceeded. Package/Ring power limit exceeded also says 'yes'. Is this something I should worry about? I'm not on the software side of being tech savvy so I'm 100% not sure if this is bad or not. I'm on a strict budget now and can't afford to replace my processor.

HP TG01-0299
Intel i7-9700 3.00GHz
GeForce gtx 1660
16gb ram
PSU 310 W
 
Last edited:
Jan 3, 2023
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This is after HWiNFO has been on for around 50 mins. My PC has been on a minute or two before that.

QIJ6YBpl.png
 
@disgustednoise

The Core i7-9700 has a very restrictive 65 watt TDP power limit. This prevents the CPU from running at its full rated speed when it is fully loaded. In order for the CPU not to exceed 65 watts, it automatically slows down as much as necessary to keep power consumption below 65 watts. When HWiNFO reports that your CPU is power limit throttling, this is what it means.

Your temperatures are OK. If you ever decide that you want more performance, you can run a program called ThrottleStop. This should give you access to the turbo power limit settings within the CPU. As long as your cooling is adequate, I would bump both the PL1 and PL2 turbo power limits up to 100 watts or 125 watts or 150 watts.

Here is an example of the ThrottleStop Turbo Power Limits window. I set both of my power limits sky high to 300 watts. No more power limit throttling.

gntYQCd.png


The main reason Intel decided to set a 65 watt limit was for marketing reasons. It was like magic. A low power CPU was created without having to create a new assembly line. Under the skin, it is almost identical to Intel's 95 watt 9700K CPUs. It is built using the exact same technology. The 65 watt 9700 CPU is quite capable of running just fine well beyond the 65 watt limit imposed by Intel.

Luckily most manufacturers have left the turbo power limits unlocked so you can use ThrottleStop to set the power limits to whatever values you like.
 
Jan 3, 2023
3
0
10
@disgustednoise

The Core i7-9700 has a very restrictive 65 watt TDP power limit. This prevents the CPU from running at its full rated speed when it is fully loaded. In order for the CPU not to exceed 65 watts, it automatically slows down as much as necessary to keep power consumption below 65 watts. When HWiNFO reports that your CPU is power limit throttling, this is what it means.

Your temperatures are OK. If you ever decide that you want more performance, you can run a program called ThrottleStop. This should give you access to the turbo power limit settings within the CPU. As long as your cooling is adequate, I would bump both the PL1 and PL2 turbo power limits up to 100 watts or 125 watts or 150 watts.

Here is an example of the ThrottleStop Turbo Power Limits window. I set both of my power limits sky high to 300 watts. No more power limit throttling.

gntYQCd.png


The main reason Intel decided to set a 65 watt limit was for marketing reasons. It was like magic. A low power CPU was created without having to create a new assembly line. Under the skin, it is almost identical to Intel's 95 watt 9700K CPUs. It is built using the exact same technology. The 65 watt 9700 CPU is quite capable of running just fine well beyond the 65 watt limit imposed by Intel.

Luckily most manufacturers have left the turbo power limits unlocked so you can use ThrottleStop to set the power limits to whatever values you like.

Thank you for commenting, and sorry for the late reply. Here is HWinfo after 2 hours of mw2 dmz on min to mid graphics settings. I know the maximum temps aren't the greatest which is why I bought the noctua fan to replace the stock with.

21cc7TE.png


Is this fine for what I'm running? If I do decide to go over 65 watt with the cpu would my psu be able to handle both the processor and gpu loads at the same time? The most graphically demanding games I play currently are just mw2 and elden ring.