[SOLVED] i7-9700k not turbo boosting (stuck at 3.8 ghz)

[Yoshiro]

I am new to pc building and built my pc not too long ago. I noticed that the i7-9700k is able to turbo boost up to 4.9 ghz but I noticed that my speeds stay at 3.8 ghz in task manager as well as hwmonitor. However, when I restart my pc or boot it up, it seems to be able to reach speeds around 4.1 ghz before going back down to 3.8 ghz again. Turbo boost is enabled in my BIOS as I checked. I am using the ASUS Prime z-390 motherboard. My temperatures for my cpu also do not seem that bad at 35c idle and usually around 50c when i'm in a game.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What are your full hardware specifications including CPU cooler, motherboard, PSU, memory kit model, etc?

 

[Yoshiro]

I am using a corsair rm850x for the PSU, ASUS prime z390-a for the motherboard, G.Skill ripjaws 3600 mhz 18 CAS latency for the ram, and the noctua NH-U12S for the cpu cooler.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Frst thing to do is make sure you have the latest stable (non-beta) motherboard BIOS version installed.

If you do, then go into the Windows power options

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and make sure that it is set to High performance. Then, click on "Change plan settings" next to the Performance plan. Then click on change advanced power settings. Then expand Processor power management. Set the minimum processor power state to 8%. Make sure the maximum processor power state is set to 100%. Save settings and close all currently open windows. Shut down the system. Do a hard reset. After doing the hard reset go back into the BIOS and make sure to disable Intel speed shift, but make sure Intel speed step is ENABLED. Reconfigure any other custom settings like fan profiles and boot order than you need to.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

 

[mdd1963]

You might have some TDP and/or boost duration limits imposed in the BIOS, as well...; a 9700K/Z390 Prime build I assembled for friend a few months back also seemed to want to keep clock speeds quite meager until I disabled TDP limits, and, even then I was forced to specify the clock speed /boost/number of cores active behavior I wished to see with Intel's XTU, settling on semi-factory spec of 4.6 GHz with 7-8 cores active, 4.7 GHz with 5-6 cores active, etc...

 

[Yoshiro]

In hwinfo64 it says I have a 38x multiplier for 8 cores active. Would it be possible that this is effecting it? If so, is it possible to change these limits?

 

[Yoshiro]

You might have some TDP and/or boost duration limits imposed in the BIOS, as well...; a 9700K/Z390 Prime build I assembled for friend a few months back also seemed to want to keep clock speeds quite meager until I disabled TDP limits, and, even then I was forced to specify the clock speed /boost/number of cores active behavior I wished to see with Intel's XTU, settling on semi-factory spec of 4.6 GHz with 7-8 cores active, 4.7 GHz with 5-6 cores active, etc...

Where and what would I do to do that?

 

[rgd1101]

did you oc? the min should stuck at 3800.

 

[Yoshiro]

I thought that the turbo speeds were 4.6 ghz for all 8 cores active though.

 

[rgd1101]

the min shouldn't stuck at 3.8. look like you did something or the motherboard is oc

 

[Yoshiro]

I have not overclocked my cpu at all. Would you have any idea what else would cause this?

 

[rgd1101]

some motherboard default to oc. check bios settings

 

[Yoshiro]

It doesn't seem the motherboard is default to oc. The ai overclock tuner is set to xmp I which I would assume would not affect the cpu but the ram.

 

[mdd1963]

If your cooling is adequate, some mainboards might be adopting a more 'power friendly' setting combo in some cases. An Asus Z390/9700K combo I built for a friend last year was not really turboing up to expected speeds either, even with MCE enabled. (Never did find the magic settings in the BIOS to enable 'normal' ops, so I simply slapped in Intel's XTU, removed the assorted turbo duration/power limits, and entered in the all-core clock speeds I wanted w/ assorted numbers of cores active, i.e., 4.6 GHz for 7or 8 cores active, 4.7 GHz for 5 or 6 cores, etc.. Problem solved.

 

[Yoshiro]

If your cooling is adequate, some mainboards might be adopting a more 'power friendly' setting combo in some cases. An Asus Z390/9700K combo I built for a friend last year was not really turboing up to expected speeds either, even with MCE enabled. (Never did find the magic settings in the BIOS to enable 'normal' ops, so I simply slapped in Intel's XTU, removed the assorted turbo duration/power limits, and entered in the all-core clock speeds I wanted w/ assorted numbers of cores active, i.e., 4.6 GHz for 7or 8 cores active, 4.7 GHz for 5 or 6 cores, etc.. Problem solved.

Ok thanks, I will give that a try.

 

[Yoshiro]

If your cooling is adequate, some mainboards might be adopting a more 'power friendly' setting combo in some cases. An Asus Z390/9700K combo I built for a friend last year was not really turboing up to expected speeds either, even with MCE enabled. (Never did find the magic settings in the BIOS to enable 'normal' ops, so I simply slapped in Intel's XTU, removed the assorted turbo duration/power limits, and entered in the all-core clock speeds I wanted w/ assorted numbers of cores active, i.e., 4.6 GHz for 7or 8 cores active, 4.7 GHz for 5 or 6 cores, etc.. Problem solved.

Did you enter the clock speeds in Intel's XTU or in the bios?

 

[COLGeek]

Three threads, asking the same question, have been merged. Rather than starting a new thread, continue to follow-up with those who have been helping you to achieve a more successful outcome. Thank you.