i7 8565U CPU performance limited by throttling and capping, stable at low temperatures without bottlenecks
i7 8565U CPU performance limited by throttling and capping, stable at low temperatures without bottlenecks
Hello, my HP Pavilion 14 x360 has consistently struggled with performance, especially in Rocket League. I've been digging into the issue and haven't found a clear solution yet. Since I play the game most often, I'll focus on that context. When the game is launched alone, it runs smoothly at 110-120fps and works well on 1080p. However, when other apps like Discord or Spotify are running, performance drops sharply to around 50-80fps, sometimes as low as 20fps. I initially suspected the MX250 GPU was the culprit, but upon closer inspection, under heavy load the GPU usage drops to 30-60%, not the full capacity. It doesn't appear to be a RAM issue, as the 16GB memory isn't nearly at capacity. The CPU, on the other hand, severely limits performance, often operating at just 0.5GHz or even lower during lighter tasks, with a clock speed hovering between 2.5 and 3.5GHz under stress. Examining Windows' built-in resource monitor (resmon) reveals the CPU throttles significantly when under load, while HWMonitor shows temperatures around 70°C—likely due to throttling rather than power consumption. It seems the issue isn't isolated to gaming; it affects other applications too, sometimes causing the CPU to hesitate when apps like Discord launch. I've noticed occasional smoother play if I wait a few minutes, but it's inconsistent. I suspect undervoltage might be the cause, though I can't adjust settings since voltage control is fixed. I'm struggling to find comparable discussions online, so feel free to share more details if anyone has insights.
Adjust the voltage a bit lower, consider XTU or Throttlestop. You're reaching 91°C and hitting the maximum wattage, so it's slowing down. I used a matebook pro with the same CPU, did some repairs, added more thermal pads, lowered the voltage and it stopped acting up.
You're asking if it hits the target once and never comes back. I didn't notice it even reached 80°C during monitoring, so it probably stops trying. Undervolting isn't an option—it's fixed in the BIOS and can't be changed. I might try repasting later to avoid damaging my machine. Thanks.