[SOLVED] CPU Turbo Boost always on

Nov 24, 2020
4
0
10
Good evening!
I noticed lately something wrong with my laptop (HP Pavilion Notebook 17) and especially with my processor.
I have an I5-8300H, which looks to be on Turbo Boost even if I am on the "HP Recommended" power plan, in "Better battery". The processor speed is varying but most of the time going over the 2.30 GHz Base Clock Speed when doing normal tasks as being on Brave (Chrome alternative) or just having Discord on. I had to add the "Power Saver" Plan to make it go down for the same use and performance. I also experience sometimes utilisation peaks to 20-30 at randoms moments.
So far, I have done a scan with ADW Cleaner, went through my processes to see if anything was abnormal, and also checked for heating problems which are definitely not the problem!
Any ideas out there?
Thanks for taking the time to read me!
Hagenth

Screenshot-2020-11-24-181243.png

Screenshot-2020-11-24-181718.png
 
Solution
Correct. That's normal behavior.

Now, like I said. The CPU isn't smart enough to determine what tasks need what frequency to complete without hindering the user's experience. That's where manual tweaking comes in. For instance, Discord clearly doesn't need to proc a turbo boost event. If it's causing other undesirable effects such as excessive fan noise, then make changes.
If you don't want turbo boost, go to "change plan settings" and "advanced settings" then scroll down to "processor power management" and set "maximum processor state" to 99%.

I presume you're going this to reduce power/heat/noise for light/background usage, and not because you're afraid of turbo boost?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hagenth
Nov 24, 2020
4
0
10
Hi! Thanks for the answer! Actually, I'm not afraid of turbo boost, it's just that I find it weird that my CPU speed is so high just for one application opened, when the only page was the Tom's Hardware Forums! That's what I'm mostly afraid of! Why would be the speed this high for such basic tasks that don't need this much calculations, and is it normal that I have these "peaks" of utilization sometimes?

(I actually like Turbo Boost since it is useful when I'm launching some strong software or games)
 
Its called "race to sleep". A concept that completing tasks faster at a higher frequency allows the CPU to return to idle state quicker and keep "task power usage" lower.

It also allows for the system to feel more consistently responsive since the system is ramped up to a higher frequency during that periodic task which may otherwise cause an overlapping task to cause a user-identifiable "hitch" or "lag".

Simplify it down to a single core/thread system.
  • It's fine if the system is doing one task at 2GHz, but the system doesn't have the premonition to know if/when you (or some other program) will initiate another task. If the system now has to do 2 tasks at 2GHz, you're at half the throughput.
  • If the system had ramped up to 4GHz for the initial task and completed it before the second task began, there's no overlap between the two tasks.
  • If the system ramped up to 4GHz and that second task was added before the first finished, you're still at the original 2GHz-per-task of effective throughput.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Hagenth
Nov 24, 2020
4
0
10
So that means it's completely normal and that I shouldn't be scared about some high frequencies that can appear from time to time?
(Again thanks for answering my questions :))
 
Correct. That's normal behavior.

Now, like I said. The CPU isn't smart enough to determine what tasks need what frequency to complete without hindering the user's experience. That's where manual tweaking comes in. For instance, Discord clearly doesn't need to proc a turbo boost event. If it's causing other undesirable effects such as excessive fan noise, then make changes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hagenth
Solution