The ThrottleStop Guide

I've already done that a few times. It helped a bit for general problems related to the icon but not with the specific bug I mentionned. It's not a big deal anyway.

Acknowledgment is the least I can do

 

Dear unclewebb,

Thank you so much, once again, for this wonderful app !

I have a question related to Speed Shift - EPP on Skylake core i5.
I thought that ticking TPL -> Miscellaneous -> Speed Shift + Enable Speed Shift when ThrottleStop starts was enough but, today, I also ticked on the main screen -> Settings -> Speed Shift - EPP and I think my cpu behavior has changed and is snappier (but may be due to the FIVR -> Cache ratio minimum value that I restored to stock).

Was it enabled before today or was it required to tick the option on the main screen also ?

Thanks a lot and have a great day !

 

@duttyend - If you have enabled Speed Shift and SST is showing in green on the main screen, you have to also check the SST - EPP box and set that appropriately. If you do not check this box, Speed Shift will still be enabled but the CPU will not know if you want maximum performance, EPP = 0, or typical performance EPP = 128, or run like a dog tied to a tree performance with EPP = 255. Best to specifically set this value so the CPU does exactly what you want it to do. The default seems to be 128 so you probably have not been tied to a tree. The present EPP value is always reported in the monitoring panel in the upper right corner of the FIVR window.

@Tomatot - Just curious, have you been using any scripts to kill ThrottleStop.exe and then restart it? These scripts can lead to ghost icons in the system tray that disappear as soon as you mouse over them. Usually after I do a clear icon cache, I don't have any icon related issues. I am hoping that the next version cures some of ThrottleStop's random issues.

 

Thank you so much for those clear explanations !

Regarding FIVR -> Cache ratio, does customizing the min. or max. value do any good to battery life ?

 

Nope, I've just been using the task scheduler to start ThrottleStop at boot. I'm not a developer at all but I'd say there's a bug related to the transition AC => unplugged, which makes ThrottleStop crash. Btw, I'm just remembering now, but the last time it happenned I checked the task manager and ThrottleStop wasn't listed anymore. So the bug is more related to the app itself than the icon imo. That's how I see it:

1) Unplugging the computer sometimes makes the app crash

2) Since the icon is a bit buggy in term of cache and stuff, it stays there until you mouse over: at this moment, the windows system "realizes" the app is not running anymore so it deletes the icon.

Does that make any sense?

Btw, not sure if it's normal or not, but clicking on the red cross just minimizes the app in the icon tray (that's a normal behavior since that's what I've asked for in the settings), however, if I press the key "escape", it closes the program. It's not a problem at all but it took me some time to understand the difference so I wanted to make sure.

 

MS is not targeting TS! The latest Insider build 16288 doesn't require the use of Open Hardware Monitor to run the program

 

@unclewebb It seems it was a temporary 'block' after all. Enthusiasts...tough cookie for M$'s Win10...

 

I'm assuming there's no way to undervolt just the top/turbo multiplier?

I've got a KBL 7200u that does 3.1@1.07v stock and can take at least a 100mv undervolt off the top. It's the difference between full load @90'c and throttling @99'c. However, the lower multipliers can't handle the offset.

Perhaps the only solution is to manually switch performance profiles when gaming and use one that employs static voltage instead of adaptive?


edit: Separate AC and battery profiles should do. Testing now to see if SST EPP 0 would allow for undervolting stability.

edit2: Seems throttlestop is crashing often when unplugging the power. Not sure if it's because of undervolt instability (e.g. epp goes to 128 before undervolt is reverted) or what.

 

On some CPUs, reducing the Max Cache Ratio might reduce power consumption and extend battery life. I have not had my hands on a wide variety of recent CPUs but this is something worth checking out. The slight decrease in performance might be worth it when running on battery power.

The problem you are having might be related to the Task Scheduler itself. Check out items 10) and 11) in this guide I wrote.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-throttlestop-guide.531329/page-514

There are some items in the Task Scheduler that are grayed out so it makes one think that they are disabled when really, some of those options are enabled. You have to deliberately clear them. Just for the record, ThrottleStop does not crash on any of my computers, ever so check the task you created and if you cannot find anything suspicious, I will look further into your TS settings that you posted.



Double check to make sure the, "Stop if the computer switches to battery power" option is not checked.

I like having the Escape key as a close option. I cannot remember if that feature is by design or not. I do know it comes in handy when I am constantly opening and closing and testing ThrottleStop. I almost always have the Minimize on Close option checked so ESC is kind of handy.

That is the best news I have heard all day.
Maybe a lot of insiders have laptops that are sluggish without the help of TS. When they asked for feedback I told Microsoft that the latest version of Windows 10 was wonderful but I would not permanently install it or recommend it to enthusiasts because of their decision to block WinRing0. Maybe they listened.

@ziddey - You have a common problem. The amount of under volt you can run reliably when fully loaded is usually greater than what you can run when idle. When lightly loaded, your CPU cores are rapidly entering and exiting various C States so it is impossible to come up with the perfect amount of voltage for every condition. There is not enough adjustment built into Intel's CPUs to cover every situation. That is probably why Intel tends to error on the high side. They tend to use too much voltage to guarantee stability.

I think I read this quote recently.

I can plug and unplug my computer until my arm gets sore and my icons do not disappear and ThrottleStop never crashes.

@j95 - 16288 FTW!!!

 

@unclewebb Can I ask you a question, can TS can setup in Task Scheduler using different drive like D instead of C?
I tried your steps, so far during startup I cannot see TS in Tray Icon but shows up as a process in Task Manager. I cleaned up Icon Cache. Any ideas?