Throttling power limits on Alienware hardware
Throttling power limits on Alienware hardware
Hello, I've been attempting to run games on my Alienware laptop and suddenly experience frame drops—around 20 to 30 frames lost. I wasn't sure what was causing this until recently. It seems my computer's power limit throttling might be the culprit. If anyone here can help resolve this issue, it would be really appreciated. I've attached some images of my Throttlestop settings. At the start of a stress test, the power isn't limited, but after roughly 30 seconds it drops from about 85W to 60W.
Dell employs a fixed long-term power cap embedded in their laptops. During testing, access the Limit Reasons panel. When under stress and the CPU begins throttling, the CORE section typically highlights PL1 or PL2 in red. This indicates the cause of throttling—long and short turbo thresholds. These values represent the maximum power allowed. You’ve configured these limits at 90W per core. If PL1 or PL2 appears red yet consumption stays at 60W, Dell has locked your Alienware to a 60W limit permanently. You cannot override this. Consider lowering your CPU voltage slightly; reducing it cuts power draw and lets the CPU operate more efficiently before throttling starts. For the 8750H, most users begin testing with core and cache offsets at -125 mV. If you prefer caution, start with both voltages set to -100 mV. Run Cinebench R20 for a baseline assessment: https://www.maxon.net/en-us/products/cin...-overview/. If stable, gradually decrease the core offset by -25 mV increments. Many CPUs improve in Cinebench and game performance once core voltage reaches around -200 mV. Improvements in temperatures or scores will also benefit modern games leveraging AVX instructions. Previously believed all voltages needed equal settings, but today software can exploit varied levels. Adjust Speed Shift Technology—this is ideal for managing Intel CPUs with this feature. Once enabled, set the Speed Shift EPP value on the main screen: 0 for peak performance, 80 for a balanced approach where the CPU throttles under light load.
Hey there! Glad you found the solution. I realized the issue was adjusting CPU performance mode and boosting voltage limits. I also enabled speedstep and set EPP to 0 for maximum performance. Now my machine runs about 85W without throttling, though I plan to lower the voltage even more since I know it can go further.
I was just testing MFS and it began throttling again. The core area shows PL 2 and the ring area has EDP OTHER in red. I set my voltage offset on the CPU core and cache to -80V, but the computer still crashes. I’m unsure if I need to adjust only the CPU core or also the cache, since that might have caused the crash when I undervolted it to -125V. My turbo time limit is 28 seconds, and my turbo power limits are unchanged from the previous images in the thread. Speedshft is enabled. It doesn’t throttle during Cinebench R20 unless I run something like MFS. (MFS is Microsoft Flight Simulator)
Share your experience with Cinebench R20 for voltage tweaks. If core and cache remain steady at -80 mV, stick to that setting. Now experiment by changing only the core offset while keeping the cache at -80 mV. See if further reductions in core help in Cinebench R20. Evaluate whether higher temperatures improve results or boost performance. Consider logging during gameplay to track watt usage. Run a ThrottleStop log file while playing. It will reveal how much power your laptop can handle before the CPU slows down. In earlier tests, 60W seemed to be the maximum allowed. You may have exceeded it and thought the issue was resolved. For clarity, run a demanding game for about 15 minutes. The log will highlight any throttling events. Enable Nvidia GPU monitoring in the Options menu to observe CPU throttling as well. Usually, the CPU is the main culprit. Intel has made it simple for makers to implement this. If you want me to review a log file, just attach it here. You can also paste the data to www.pastebin.com. Activating Nvidia GPU can lower the power cap, causing CPU throttling at lower wattage. That explains why zero throttling appears in tests. Once a game starts, the GPU activates and the CPU limit drops.