Question CPU boosting on idle

[jedenzet]

Hi.
Yesterday i reinstalled my system with full drive wipe. Now i see that my CPU is constantly boosting on idle, doing nothing. It wasn't the case before formatting, i had it downclock to 800MHz even. I haven't changed anything in BIOS and i have a balanced powerplan enabled. Any ideas?

Spoiler: I genuinely doubt that my specs will help you in anything but whatever

10700k, z490 aorus elite ac, 4x8gb g.skill trident z, 3070 gaming z trio, bequiet 600w 10cm

Windows version - 21H2 19044.1806.

 

[Aeacus]

Any particular reason why you want your CPU frequency be it's stock (3.8 Ghz) or even lower (0.8 Ghz)? Other than your own peace of mind?

 

[jedenzet]

For my CPU to clock adequately to a task it performs, power draw, longevity, windows being f-in consistent with how it works? I guess. And yes, peace of mind is important.

 

[Aeacus]

To me, your CPU works fine. It boosts it's frequency (up to 5.1 Ghz) when it needs and reverts to base clocks or even idle clocks when none of the apps need CPU power at current moment.

Also, you have loads of thermal headroom for CPU frequency be that high. Still sitting at 33C.

Might want to switch Windows power plans and look, if it makes any difference.

Oh, you could also look into Process Explorer to see which apps are the ones that utilize CPU the most,
link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Guide on how to understand it,
link: https://www.howtogeek.com/school/sysinternals-pro/lesson2/

What could be the issue, is that you're running a software that is poorly coded, which uses as much CPU frequency as possible.

--

Did look around a bit and it seems normal operation for your CPU,
topic 1: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/why-core-i7-10700k-running-at-4-7ghz.3693556/
topic 2: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...antly-up-to-4-7-5-1-ghz-while-idling.3696787/
topic 3: https://community.intel.com/t5/Processors/i7-10700k-base-idle-cpu-frequency-4800mhz/td-p/1229179

Now, unless you are seeing high temps out of your CPU (80C and above), i wouldn't worry what CPU frequency does. CPU frequency will fluctuate around all the time, even when idle.

windows being f-in consistent with how it works

That's a good joke.

Windows will never be consistent in it's workings, since it's Windows. Now, if you want consistency, look towards GNU/Linux distros.

longevity

You bought K-series CPU that you can OC. Now, CPU OC will reduce CPU lifespan, the higher the OC is. Making me wonder, why did you buy K-series CPU in the first place?

Longevity wise, i7-10700 would've been better option, since it's base clock is 2.9 Ghz (compared to 3.8 Ghz for K-series), boost clock is up to 4.8 Ghz (compared to 5.1 Ghz for K-series) and you could've gone with cheaper B- or H-series MoBo, rather than Z-series MoBo.

power draw

With i7-10700, you could've saved 30W in terms of power draw, since it's 65W CPU. While your i7-10700K is 95W CPU.

Performance wise, i7-10700 and i7-10700K are essentially equal,
comparison: https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-10700-vs-Intel-Core-i7-10700K/4077vs4070