The dual X5675 system is operating inefficiently.
The dual X5675 system is operating inefficiently.
Hey everyone, I need some guidance here. I'm running an HP Z800 Enterprise with dual Xeon X5675 processors, 28GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. There are two problems that keep bothering me. First, the HW monitor says CPU speeds stay steady around 1.5Ghz to 1.7Ghz during office work. That’s not bad for an older system, but I can’t get it to hit the rated 3.06Ghz unless I run specific benchmarks like 7zip. It seems normal for those boost speeds, though. I know the boost is supposed to be higher, but overclocking isn’t an option since there’s a server board. P.S.: It looks safe to assume the Xeons aren’t throttling because I ran Cinebench with temps at 70°C and nothing happened.
Second, I’m trying to run a Windows 7 VM in VirtualBox. The resource allocation is 10 CPUs and 10GB RAM, but the performance is terrible. In the host’s task manager it shows only 3-5% CPU usage, while my VM uses around 15GB RAM. Even when idle, the CPU usage spikes to 35% or more. That’s really frustrating. What should I do? I’ve attached some pictures for reference.
The processor only reaches its required speed. Poor office performance isn't because the CPU is running too slowly—it just doesn’t need to be faster. What exactly makes your office slow? Which system is installed? Is there a GPU present? Are you using an SSD? I’m certain it’s not overheating, since 70°C stays well within safe limits. For frequency checks, try tools like CPU-Z, CoreTemp, or OpenHardwareMonitor; these give more reliable data than the general hardware monitor. The image you shared suggests the device is idle, so there’s no need to push the CPU to high speeds.
The operating system is running on Windows 10. High CPU usage during idle time usually indicates a background process consuming resources.
Consider adding throttlestop and adjusting the max multiplier. This should prevent frequency drops. Try a CPU run to check if boosts occur—if so, the low idle frequency isn't an issue; otherwise, there could be a hardware concern.
Thanks for your quick reply. Below are my responses @jaslion. I see the reasoning behind keeping Office apps off the CPU's peak, but not stressing a VM enough. The VM is running Office 2016 if it’s important. The host uses an old GPU—Quadro FX 830. I don’t run any 3D or CAD programs, so that didn’t affect me. The host is using a Samsung Evo 860 with 1TB storage on Windows 7 Pro; the CPU usage spikes in the VM when idle, but nothing runs in the background. @Somerandomtechyboi the CB15 increases about 4 cores to 3.06GHz, and that’s it. The remaining 20 cores/threads stay at 1.5GHz, which will cause throttling and revert back.
The process inside the virtual machine that utilizes the CPU is what you're referring to. It's designed to handle it, though some users face challenges with W7Pro on those dual Xeon setups, often resolving the issue by turning off one CPU.
Kilrah, you're asking if it's possible to disable one CPU in Windows. The setup is a headless server room during the pandemic, and access is limited. The VM seems to run normally now—only 5-8% under load—and I wasn't able to reproduce high usage before. You installed throttlestop; did that affect things? For context, the host's TS benchmark score is 17.332, the CB15 score is 1365, and CPU-Z shows core speeds between 3.3GHz and 1.5GHz, though HWMonitor gives a static value of 1.5GHz. It looks like HWMonitor might not be very reliable for monitoring.
Some people really dislike the initial generation of HP Z series in terms of flavor.