Windows task manager reporting wrong CPU freq

[cbc02009]

Hello all,

 

I'm having a very strange issue with my htpc that I've never encountered before. Windows task manager is reporting my processor frequency as 0.4Ghz no matter what the processor is actually running at. The numbers reported by HWinfo mirror what the processor is supposed to be clocked at, so I don't think it's an issue with the processor or the hardware. The cpu usage numbers also seem incorrect, like it will claim 100% usage sometimes when HWinfo shows it closer to 75-80%. I'm completely stumped as to what could be causing this issue, and I'd appreciate any information that anyone might have about this problem.

 

Here's my current HTPC setup:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	Purchased For $134.99
CPU Cooler	be quiet! - Shadow Rock LP 51.4 CFM CPU Cooler	Purchased For $44.90
Motherboard	MSI - B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	Purchased For $129.99
Memory	Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	Purchased For $0.00
Storage	Samsung - 850 EVO 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	Purchased For $0.00
Case	Phanteks - ENTHOO EVOLV SHIFT Mini ITX Tower Case	Purchased For $109.99
Power Supply	Corsair - SF 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	Purchased For $89.99
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$509.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-30 14:49 EDT-0400

 

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

There are some design quirks, like it can only show one clock speed when there are 4 independently clocked cores (I don't know which one it picks or how it picks one). Also Task Manager reports CPU utilization by how long it spent not running the System Idle process. The author of HWInfo uses some tool provided by Intel as a basis.

 

I would argue however, that Task Manager, as the name implies, is not meant to be a hardware resource manager. It just happens to poll enough data to make it a secondary feature. Also if HWInfo requires you to run with elevated privileges, then it likely is using information that Task Manager by default won't, because Task Manager doesn't ask to be elevated (which is a good thing)

[cbc02009]

3 hours ago, Mira Yurizaki said:

There are some design quirks, like it can only show one clock speed when there are 4 independently clocked cores (I don't know which one it picks or how it picks one). Also Task Manager reports CPU utilization by how long it spent not running the System Idle process. The author of HWInfo uses some tool provided by Intel as a basis.

 

I would argue however, that Task Manager, as the name implies, is not meant to be a hardware resource manager. It just happens to poll enough data to make it a secondary feature. Also if HWInfo requires you to run with elevated privileges, then it likely is using information that Task Manager by default won't, because Task Manager doesn't ask to be elevated (which is a good thing)

None of the clocks are running at 400Mhz. This happens even when I set all cores to the same speed. It's like it's not reading from the correct register or something.

 

Processes reports system idle task using ~99% of the cpu, but task manager is claiming ~30% usage at idle.

 

I know it's never going to be as accurate as HWinfo, but I've been building windows computers for 20+ years and I've never had one that was this far off.

[Mira Yurizaki]

4 hours ago, cbc02009 said:

I know it's never going to be as accurate as HWinfo

Well here's the thing, does HWinfo require elevated privileges to run? Because if it does, that would explain a lot. Task Manager doesn't require it by virtue that it makes no sense to bar a normal user from killing their own apps.

[Donut417]

Windows 10 used to say my i5 3570K was clocked at over 5Ghz and its stock. SO.... I just believe that Windows 10 is flat out broken.