G73/53SW Owners - CPU Throttling to 798mhz and how to fix it

[dkillone]

Hi, I initially noticed this when I first got my G73SW-XA1 back in mid march. but didn't think anything of it until a poster had brought this up as some HP owners noticed that their Envy 17 SB is doing this to them. EDIT:This affects all G series models with a sandybridge cpu(G73SW/G74SX/G53SW/G53SX), so you will have to run the temporary fix until there is an official fix.

EDIT: You can also try my Unofficial bios HERE. It's sad we had to fix it ourselves, but its a more permanent fix than the throttlestop method. Simply flash, and forget all about any games throttling/possibly throttling.

THE FIX

ThrottleStop 4.00
Downloads | Tech|Inferno

Once you start it up, TS(throttlestop) changes whatever stops the throttling until you reboot.You don't need to do anything else, as monitoring mode only seems to still cause throttling to stop. So what I usually do, since I still prefer to start it manually, is add this to the throttlestop.ini file, ExitTime=5.This tells it to close 5 seconds after being open(so you can edit the number to however many seconds you like, lowest number you can go is 1). Alternatively, if you'd like to have it start/close automatically, after putting the exit time in the ini file. Just create a shortcut, and drop it in the "Start>>All Programs>>Startup" folder. This will allow it to start up and close without you ever having to click anything. :>

Also, there is no known downsides to using throttlestop, your CPU will still downclock properly when not in use, and it does not run hotter, nor have I found any conflicts with battery draining faster.

You do NOT have to worry about any overheating, even with throttling disabled I see no higher than a peak 81c on my CPU/GPU in a ambient room temp of 84-86f. So you really don't need to worry about that. However, the PSU does get hotter when throttling is disabled when there is significant load on CPU + GPU. So just watch for that, though it should be ok for the most part.



Confirmed Games that are affected by Throttling(click on the game to see throttling log of that game)

• Grand Theft Auto 4
• GRID
• StarCraft 2
• World of Warcraft
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Team Fortress 2
• Just Cause 2
• Skyrim (in 3D mode)
• Sonic Generations

Video of throttling in GTA IV

If you don't see a game that you've proven to have throttling through logs on the list, please post it so I can add it. Thanks!




The Problem is that the CPU drops to 798mhz intermittently during games that put significant load on GPU and CPU at the same time, causing stutter and low frame rates. Sometimes I've even noticed in logs that it's dropping to 1300mhz before hitting 798mhz and then it jumps back up to normal speeds of around 2594mhz. This can be tested/shown easily also by running Prime95 and Furmark at the same time, using CPUz, or my preferred clock checking/cpu load program is now RealTemp 3.67.

Start prime95 in 8 threads, and you will see temps rise, as well as the clocks will be around 2300mhz-2594mhz. Then fire up Furmark and you will see instantly of the CPU dropping to 798mz and stay there. You can grab the programs below to test if you like, but it's not really necessary to do so. However, I do recommend using RealTemp 3.67 with logs enabled, to log the cpu during a game that your not sure if throttling is happening in or not, this will confirm any suspicion and be 100% proof of it happening.


Prime95
64 bit: Prime95 (64bit) - 25.11 Download - EXTREME Overclocking

Furmark 1.9.0
(GPU Tool) FurMark 1.9.0: The Return of the Furry Donut - 3D Tech News, Pixel Hacking, Data Visualization and 3D Programming - Geeks3D.com

CPU-Z
32 and 64 bit: CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

RealTemp 3.67(for logging and reading correct cpu clocks/multiplier)
|MG| Real Temp 3.67 Beta Download

(click to enlarge)

(this pic demonstrates the throttling when furmark and prime95 is being run at the same time.)

If you would like to read the HP thread about it, link is below.
HP Envy 17 SB Throttling test





NOTES I've gathered so far:

• This is not a temperature problem, temps are perfectly well in range during test. However, intel could be throttling for laptops that possibly would have high temperatures with both running.
• This is not strictly from caused by nvidia as the HP Envy uses an ATI GPU, so this is either motherboard or strictly the CPU.
• Using a higher watt PSU has no affect on throttling.
• Using the program Throttlestop 3.00 stops the throttling, only need to run it once on boot, it doesnt even need to stay running for it to work.
• HP released a BIOS update fixing the throttling problem for Envy 16 gen2 owners on May 29th, 2011.
• Using realtemp 3.67 to log cpu during games has proven that throttling is happening outside of artificial test.
• GTA4 is the most affected by throttling, frames are around 10-25, but instantly jump to 30+, once throttlestop is opened.
• All G53/73SW models are affected by this throttling problem until Asus releases an update to fix it, most likely it will be a new bios.
• Ken Lee from GenTechPC has been great help, no one at Asus was really responding to me. I asked if Ken could talk to them, and now he is working with Asus to produce a fix. :>
• If you'd like to show support, use this link http://vip.asus.com/eservice/techserv.aspx to complain, let Asus know you do not appreciate the throttling!

(just as a side note, this thread was for testing the problem, but I've come to learn a lot since I first made it, so I cleaned up and deleted most of what I said at first to make it easier to read/understand, as well as talk about the fix a bit more, so the below posts for the first 3pages are in response what was previously said.)

[svl7]

Probably thermal throttling... what are the CPU temps? But anyway, CPU-Z is no use for monitoring the CPU speed anymore... use Throttlestop if you want to know what your CPU is doing exactly.

Higher PSU won't work in most cases since the power draw is not limited by the PSU but by the mobo. Do you know what your system consumes under load?

[dkillone]

It's certainly nothing to do with temps. When running prime95 it shoots up to 74-78c, then backs down and stays steady around 70-72c because of the fans.

When starting furmark, temps instantly start dropping down into the 50s and high 40s which seems concur with the 798mhz speeds, since CPU still is stressed at 100% in task manager.

Thanks for the throttlestop link though, I had tried it, but I guess I had an older version. So. I will definitely check it this one.

And, no I can't say I know, maybe one day I'll get an electric meter as I have been wanting one. :>

I'll add the pic I have of it what it does.

[svl7]

Check throttlestop, or better make a log. See whether it's throttling or whether the multi goes down...

Temps are definitely fine...

[Chastity]

I was thinking that maybe they should try the clock fix for overclocking.

bcdedit /set useplatformclock true

[@tilla]

Same problem reported in reviews.

Asus G73SW-91182V Notebook im Test Spielen mit Tiefgang auf notebookjournal.de

Also with the new Medion X6813.
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Me...k.51973.0.html

You should read the comments there too.
I think it's a Bios problem or a protection system on new sandy's.

[ALLurGroceries]

Does the 1FC toggle make any difference? See [Fixed/Workaround] Asus G51J(x) CPU throttling investigation

[dkillone]

Same problem reported in reviews.

Asus G73SW-91182V Notebook im Test Spielen mit Tiefgang auf notebookjournal.de

Also with the new Medion X6813.
Test Medion Erazer X6813 Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests

You should read the comments there too.
I think it's a Bios problem or a protection system on new sandy's.

Thanks for posting that tilla, that's kind of info I'm looking for to see just how widespread this is.

I'd still like some G73SW owners here to post their results in this thread to get some good documentation going for future references. However, I have been doing some further testing and have some interesting results.(see below)

Does the 1FC toggle make any difference? See [Fixed/Workaround] Asus G51J(x) CPU throttling investigation

I read through the thread and remember seeing something like that prior to making this thread. But I dunno if ThrottleStop 3001 enables it automatically or what. Because after running it just once(i did not touch anything in throttlestop, just using it to monitor the multi and cpu speed) and I do NOT get anymore throttling from running prime95 +furmark.

I can confirm this even after a good 30mins the CPU stays at normal speeds and multi stays between 22-26. So, I do a reboot, and just start up furmark, prime95 and HWINFO32 to monitor the temps.

It stays at a dead 797mhz and multi is 8x. The second I start up throttlestop, it jumps to 2594mhz(26x multi) and only drops to 2200mhz(22x multi) at its lowest. I can even close out throttlestop and restart the test multiple times. Yet no matter what, it stays at full speed like it should, as well as still speedstepping down when there is no cpu load.

I understand throttlestop has helped with the downclocking, but I did not know it would do it just by running the program, since I still haven't touched any settings within throttlestop.

Either way, with the CPU able to run at full speed with furmark running and it doesnt downclock for the whole time ive run it, it shows there is definitely no power issues and should make it possible for a driver to fix this problem if throttlestop can somehow cause it to stay at full speed just by running once.

I will continue to read more on throttlestop as I've really yet to understand the program at all. Now to just figure out what exactly throttlestop does so I can replicate it without it needing to run at least once on boot.

[ALLurGroceries]

0x1fc is an undocumented MSR, it's a feature added to throttlestop after that thread brought it to light via an anonymous contribution on the g51j 0x124 bsod wiki. From what you posted I'm not clear on if this is the problem with your machine or not, however that's it in a nutshell.

I wouldn't run on battery with that - there were some reports that it was unstable (possibly ate some batteries) unless you are on ac power.

[dkillone]

Thanks for explaining, I'm still unsure if this is the problem as well. But I just had a HP Envy 17 owner PM me and just running throttlestop as "monitor only", stopped his throttling as well. Though, his clock stayed at 1895mhz while mine goes anywhere from 2200mhz to 2400mhz while running Prime95 and Furmark at the same time. I didn't get a single drop lower than that in a 2hour run. However, my PSU did get hot and start to smell of burning a little bit. So I definitely don't want to be pushing it like that often. I think I will still invest in a 180w psu sometime or another.

His low clocks could have been due to high temps, he did mention his were at 87-88c, while mine stay at 75-80c

I have run it on battery since and it seems to be exactly the same. So thanks for the warning, I will still keep an eye out just in case.

The HP thread keeps growing and growing, but not many have truly tried the throttlestop idea yet.