Core i9-9900K with thermal throttling at 33°C
Core i9-9900K with thermal throttling at 33°C
I have an Intel Core i9-9900k on an Asus Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) board with Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB RAM. My performance seemed slow, so I checked Task Manager and it showed a clock speed of 0.79GHz, even during stress tests with Prime95 and Cinebench. After checking the UEFI settings, my actual speed was reported as 800MHz. I tried resetting the CMOS, updating the BIOS, reinstalling the CPU, but nothing resolved the issue. Eventually, I reached out to Intel who mentioned my RAM wasn’t listed on Asus’s QVL for that motherboard. They advised me to confirm with Asus and seek a solution. I’m currently in the process of doing that.
When the CPU is mostly idle, it might show low frequency readings, but those values aren't reliable if they're coming only from core 0 and not from other cores where some activity exists. Consider using HWInfo64 or similar tools to capture data from all cores. If you notice a high count at 800MHz, that's typical for power-saving modes.
You're dealing with a situation where your system's performance isn't matching expectations despite the correct BIOS settings. It seems the issue lies in thermal throttling, as indicated by the CPU temperature reaching 33°C. Intel Extreme Tuning Utility is helping you monitor this, but you need to adjust cooling or power settings. Asus' troubleshooting steps haven't resolved the problem. Consider checking fan speeds, ensuring proper airflow, and possibly upgrading cooling components. If you share more details about your setup, I can offer more targeted advice.
Hmm. Just on a hunch, do you have slow mode switch on the board? That's for LN2 and will hold the idle frequency until your in windows. You can flip the switch to the off position while windows is running, so that's something you could quickly check on.
I don't have that. I possess a Start button, Reset button, MemOK! II switch, and a ReTry button. The MemOK!! II switch helps retrain memory when the motherboard isn't responding due to memory issues and should be used during system boot failures (as described in the manual).
The fresh Windows setup isn't fixing the problem. It seems to point to a hardware concern, given that the UEFI shows the CPU base clock at 800MHz. Temporarily disabling BD PROCHOT with ThrottleStop works (it returns to 800MHz after restart). V-Tune also noted the CPU is being throttled by BD PROCHOT. I'm unsure why this is happening, and it's unclear whether Intel, Asus, or the motherboard is at fault.