CPU overclocks self

[T3hG33ko]

My Intel i7-4800MQ is normally set to 2.7ghz but out of nowhere when I check CPUZ it seems to overclock itself and stay there. It fluctuates from 3.2ghz to 3.7ghz. This usually occurs after I run a benchmark on Heaven Benchmark and anytime after gaming. It also stays like this even when i'm not gaming or doing anything demanding. Oh yeah, my cpu has Intel Turbo boost.

Is this normal? How do I fix this?

All possible CPU specs: http://ark.intel.com/products/75128/Intel-Core-i7-4800MQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_70-GHz

Will post more CPUZ stats upon request. The rest of my specs are on my signature.

 

[NBSN]

It has a boost clock that will automatically kick in to clock it up to 3.7 GHz...which is why it does that. Your link shows that.

 

[synphul]

It's normal, it means turbo boost is operating correctly. It doesn't need any 'fixing', the cpu runs at a base speed of 2.7ghz unless it's under load. Even a momentary heavy load will cause the cpu to 'boost' itself up to 3.7ghz when needed then clock back down to save power/heat. It's a more efficient design than running constantly at the higher clock speed.

 

[T3hG33ko]

It has a boost clock that will automatically kick in to clock it up to 3.7 GHz...which is why it does that. Your link shows that.

Do you know if this will decrease the life of my cpu? Is it bad for it to be at 3.7 constantly even when not gaming?

 

[T3hG33ko]

It's normal, it means turbo boost is operating correctly. It doesn't need any 'fixing', the cpu runs at a base speed of 2.7ghz unless it's under load. Even a momentary heavy load will cause the cpu to 'boost' itself up to 3.7ghz when needed then clock back down to save power/heat. It's a more efficient design than running constantly at the higher clock speed.

Well the things is, I don't see any reason for it to be boosted up to 3.7ghz while simply just browsing on Chrome. So should I still not worry?

 

[NBSN]

No, it will not decrease the life of your CPU. It is exactly how Intel designed it to work. The CPU under clocks if it does not need to be running much and will automatically go to that boost overclock if it needs to push through more data.

There are other programs that use the CPU, not just games. A lot of multitasking with the internet windows open, streaming movies, and typing word documents all use CPU power...so the more you have going on the, the more the CPU will clock itself to suit the current needs of the system (up to the max boost of 3.7 GHz unless you have done an overclock yourself. So, no it is not bad for the CPU.



While you may not see the reason for it to boost up to 3.7 GHz if you are simply browsing Chrome, your software thinks it should. You can disable the boost clock if you want to in the bios...but remember the CPU is doing more than just running Chrome. Any processes you have running in the background are also being handled...as well as any extra things associated with the tabs in Chrome you may be using. So, if you really don't want it doing boost clock, disable it...but there is nothing wrong with the boost clock and as I said, it is how Intel designed it.

 

[T3hG33ko]

No, it will not decrease the life of your CPU. It is exactly how Intel designed it to work. The CPU under clocks if it does not need to be running much and will automatically go to that boost overclock if it needs to push through more data.

There are other programs that use the CPU, not just games. A lot of multitasking with the internet windows open, streaming movies, and typing word documents all use CPU power...so the more you have going on the, the more the CPU will clock itself to suit the current needs of the system (up to the max boost of 3.7 GHz unless you have done an overclock yourself. So, no it is not bad for the CPU.



While you may not see the reason for it to boost up to 3.7 GHz if you are simply browsing Chrome, your software thinks it should. You can disable the boost clock if you want to in the bios...but remember the CPU is doing more than just running Chrome. Any processes you have running in the background are also being handled...as well as any extra things associated with the tabs in Chrome you may be using. So, if you really don't want it doing boost clock, disable it...but there is nothing wrong with the boost clock and as I said, it is how Intel designed it.

Thanks a lot, man!

 

[NBSN]

Glad to be able to help. By the way, you are right regarding any overclocking that you may do on your own decreasing the life of the CPU. But even in most cases an overclock you do yourself may change the life of the CPU from 10 years to 7 years...which would still be beyond the life of the actual use you would be able to get from the CPU before upgrading anyway.

Hope you have a bit of piece of mind now and can relax and enjoy your system more.

 

[T3hG33ko]

Glad to be able to help. By the way, you are right regarding any overclocking that you may do on your own decreasing the life of the CPU. But even in most cases an overclock you do yourself may change the life of the CPU from 10 years to 7 years...which would still be beyond the life of the actual use you would be able to get from the CPU before upgrading anyway.

Hope you have a bit of piece of mind now and can relax and enjoy your system more.

So as long as I don't manually overclock it myself it should be fine even with turbo boost? By the way, I checked up on it again and noticed it went as low as 1.4ghz while being idle for a couple seconds. I'm assuming this is normal and safe?

 

[NBSN]

Yes going down to 1.4 GHz is normal and safe. Right now mine is at 1.2 GHz and has been down to 850-ish MHz plenty of times at idle. It just means that it does not need to be running at higher speeds for the amount of work needed to be done by it.

Right, turbo boost will not cause any issues.

Even if you manually overclocked it, there are ways to get the manual overclock to still allow it to adjust based on its workload. For example, if you had a manual overclock to 4.2 GHz, you can still set it up to allow the CPU to operate at lower speeds, such as 1.4 GHz if that is all the clock needed for that workload at that particular instance.

 

[T3hG33ko]

Yes going down to 1.4 GHz is normal and safe. Right now mine is at 1.2 GHz and has been down to 850-ish MHz plenty of times at idle. It just means that it does not need to be running at higher speeds for the amount of work needed to be done by it.

Right, turbo boost will not cause any issues.

Even if you manually overclocked it, there are ways to get the manual overclock to still allow it to adjust based on its workload. For example, if you had a manual overclock to 4.2 GHz, you can still set it up to allow the CPU to operate at lower speeds, such as 1.4 GHz if that is all the clock needed for that workload at that particular instance.

Ahh I see. Thank you very much for clearing things up and answering my questions!

 

[NBSN]

Anytime. I will keep tracking this thread if you end up having similar questions in the near future.