[SOLVED] CPU always running at Base Speed when idle / browsing Internet.. No higher/ No Less.. Is that fine/normal?

itzthrillz

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Jun 17, 2012
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I did some minor XMP changes to my RAM on bios.. Set it to use XMP 3000MHZ profile with auto overclock settings on Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme motherboard since my RAM speed was only using 2133 MHZ. After using the XMP it finally showed as running 3000MHZ

I noticed my CPU speed is always at the Base Speed of 2.59 GHZ . Even when idle, or just browing youtube, internet.. I have the I9-7980XE CPU.

Just wondering if that's normal? I tried setting to Balanced mode on Power Management but that didn't change.. still always running at Base speed

Screenshot: View: https://imgur.com/a/TC9QzYv
 
Solution
Yes, 'Task Manager' :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:

As the other posters have said, looking at HWMon, your CPU is functioning exactly as it should. It's reaching it's turbo speeds when the thermals allow, and is all core clocking right where it should be. Temps are good.

'Task Manager' (aka task master!) is just reporting your base clocks. You are good to go.
Hey there,

Well, your CPU should go up to 3.4ghz on all cores for a high load, and potentially turbo all the way up to 4.4ghz on a single core.

Change the power plan to high performance to see if that makes a difference. I wouldn't worry about using taskmaster to determine what's going on as it often misreports certain details.

Run HWMon and do some various tasks from low load to high, and see how the CPU speeds fluctuate. You will see a 'Value' (current usage), 'Min' (minimum usage), 'Max' (maximum usage). Take a screenshot and post it here. It will help determine what's happening with your CPU.
 
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I did some minor XMP changes to my RAM on bios.. Set it to use XMP 3000MHZ profile with auto overclock settings on Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme motherboard since my RAM speed was only using 2133 MHZ. After using the XMP it finally showed as running 3000MHZ

I noticed my CPU speed is always at the Base Speed of 2.59 GHZ . Even when idle, or just browing youtube, internet.. I have the I9-7980XE CPU.

Just wondering if that's normal? I tried setting to Balanced mode on Power Management but that didn't change.. still always running at Base speed

Screenshot: View: https://imgur.com/a/TC9QzYv


It has 18 cores and 36 threads worth of processing power to lean on...unless you're running something that's single threaded I would say it's running as intended.

How are the CPU temps ?

Is there a performance issue you're concerned about or is the question more academic ?
 

itzthrillz

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Jun 17, 2012
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Thank you for all the responses. Here's a screenshot with HWmonitor and setting to High-performance mode under Power settings, while having chrome open with multiple tabs, video game running & exporting a video via Wondershare.
View: https://imgur.com/a/3mdIWBX



As you can see on "Task Manager" it always says 2.59 ghz speed. Doesn't change. I was just concerned when I saw youtube , people showing the task manager and it was instantly, constantly changing speeds. I thought maybe some setting could be wrong on my end.

Things I've done
  1. I updated to latest Bios for Asus ROG
  2. Changed my RAM speed on Bios to XMP and set overclock to auto on bios
Another concern why Im checking my CPU speeds is before updating my CPU, my CPU temps were about 28-30 celsius while just browsing the internet. Now after I did a Bios Update, reinstalled ASUS AI Suite, I noticed my CPU temps were now ranging from 33 to 40* celsius just by browsing the internet. . I set to Full speed mode to run my fans at high speeds but still at 33-40. I was guessing its the ram XMP 3000 that I increased which increased the heat?

Heres screenshot of CPU temp with just chrome running. Im in a 80* fahrenheit / 26.6667 celsius room
View: https://imgur.com/a/0FWxaCW
 
Last edited:
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Yes, 'Task Manager' :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:

As the other posters have said, looking at HWMon, your CPU is functioning exactly as it should. It's reaching it's turbo speeds when the thermals allow, and is all core clocking right where it should be. Temps are good.

'Task Manager' (aka task master!) is just reporting your base clocks. You are good to go.
 
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Reactions: itzthrillz
Solution
Thank you for all the responses. Here's a screenshot with HWmonitor and setting to High-performance mode under Power settings, while having chrome open with multiple tabs, video game running & exporting a video via Wondershare.
View: https://imgur.com/a/3mdIWBX



As you can see on "Task Manager" it always says 2.59 ghz speed. Doesn't change. I was just concerned when I saw youtube , people showing the task manager and it was instantly, constantly changing speeds. I thought maybe some setting could be wrong on my end.

Things I've done
  1. I updated to latest Bios for Asus ROG
  2. Changed my RAM speed on Bios to XMP and set overclock to auto on bios
Another concern why Im checking my CPU speeds is before updating my CPU, my CPU temps were about 28-30 celsius while just browsing the internet. Now after I did a Bios Update, reinstalled ASUS AI Suite, I noticed my CPU temps were now ranging from 33 to 40* celsius just by browsing the internet. . I set to Full speed mode to run my fans at high speeds but still at 33-40. I was guessing its the ram XMP 3000 that I increased which increased the heat?

Heres screenshot of CPU temp with just chrome running. Im in a 80* fahrenheit / 26.6667 celsius room
View: https://imgur.com/a/0FWxaCW

I wouldn't put too much pass on your slight CPU temp increase after bios update. At 26c ambient you might expect the CPU temps to be around mid 30's anyway. It's summer time (at least on norther hemisphere), so that might account for the change. As a side note, how long is it since you changed thermal paste on your cooler? Could be worth re-applying if it's been more than a couple of years.
 

itzthrillz

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Jun 17, 2012
20
2
18,515
I wouldn't put too much pass on your slight CPU temp increase after bios update. At 26c ambient you might expect the CPU temps to be around mid 30's anyway. It's summer time (at least on norther hemisphere), so that might account for the change. As a side note, how long is it since you changed thermal paste on your cooler? Could be worth re-applying if it's been more than a couple of years.

TY! Thermal Paste is about 3 weeks old.. as I just installed a newer CPU water block and GPU water block. I saw on "Power Options setting" You could change CPU "Minimum processor state" but I don't have that option on my Advanced Power settings for some reason. Tried adding
powercfg -attributes SUB_PROCESSOR bc5038f7-23e0-4960-96da-33abaf5935ec -ATTRIB_HIDE
to command prompt but that didnt make it show.. Is it because Im using Asus AI Suite? I saw on one setting you can change the Max CPU power. I tried changing it to 21 watts but saw pc was slow. I switched to Performance mode


View: https://imgur.com/a/KRKQUbH
 
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If all X299 chipset drivers were installed, I'd expect it to idle down to lower clock speeds when not under load in Balanced Power plan, assuming BIOS settings have not been set manually to multiplier of 26, etc...... (do not disable SpeedStep either, etc..)

WHen just tinkering at desktop, launching assorted apps, you should see a single core occasionally turbo to as high as 4.2 GHz...if only briefly.
 
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