HP zBook x2 Core i7 7500U Displaying Incorrect Frequency In BIOS

[NCramer]

Hi,

I just traded my MacBook for this computer (2018 HP zBook x2 G4)  on Kijiji, the guy I made the trade with said that it was in perfect working order. Afterwards noticed that it was very slow in windows. I didn't know what the issue was and thought it could be fixed with a simple windows reset or something. After a couple hours of troubleshooting, running all the system diagnostics that HP provides for hardware, and disassembling the thing multiple times, I noticed that in BIOS the CPU shows up as "Core i7 7500u @ 2.70GHz" but that the BIOS (and windows) report the processor speed to be 400MHz, which would explain why it is so slow. I cleared the CMOS by taking out the battery and replacing it, and updated the BIOS to the latest version but neither of these fixed it. Is it possible that the CPU or motherboard is dead? I told the guy I made the trade with, and as soon as I identified the issue to him, he stopped responding to me on Kijiji. Is There as way to fix this or should I be contacting local law enforcement to try and get my MacBook

[svmlegacy]

Law enforcement won't help you. That would have been an as-is trade.

What does HWiNFO say, regarding clock speeds and throttle reasons?

The 7500U isn't a great performer to begin with.

 

Edit: I now realize the BIOS reports the correct speed, while you're monitoring in Windows.

It's perfectly normal for the CPU to downclock when it isn't being used hard.

 

What performance plan are you using? Battery saving will put the CPU into cTDP down, which has a base clock of 800 MHz on this chip, as well. High performance mode will unlock a higher power limit will help some.

[NCramer]

3 hours ago, svmlegacy said:

Law enforcement won't help you. That would have been an as-is trade.

What does HWiNFO say, regarding clock speeds and throttle reasons?

The 7500U isn't a great performer to begin with.

 

Edit: I now realize the BIOS reports the correct speed, while you're monitoring in Windows.

It's perfectly normal for the CPU to downclock when it isn't being used hard.

 

What performance plan are you using? Battery saving will put the CPU into cTDP down, which has a base clock of 800 MHz on this chip, as well. High performance mode will unlock a higher power limit will help some.

No, BIOS says that the CPU speed is 400MHz. It only displays that the name of the chip is "Core i7 7500u @ 2.70 GHz" The actual max processor speed reported by BIOS is 400 MHz.

 

CPUID says that the Processor's max speed is 400MHz as well. Windows task manager shows that CPU usage is pinned at 13% because it is always running at 400MHz and will not go any higher and it thinks that the processor's max speed is 2700MHz.

 

CPUID shows that the processor is constantly at 100% usage because it shows that the processor's max speed is 400MHz.

 

Its an issue I've never seen before or heard of, it was as if I had an unlocked CPU and set the clock speed to 400MHz

[NCramer]

1 hour ago, NCramer said:

No, BIOS says that the CPU speed is 400MHz. It only displays that the name of the chip is "Core i7 7500u @ 2.70 GHz" The actual max processor speed reported by BIOS is 400 MHz.

 

CPUID says that the Processor's max speed is 400MHz as well. Windows task manager shows that CPU usage is pinned at 13% because it is always running at 400MHz and will not go any higher and it thinks that the processor's max speed is 2700MHz.

 

CPUID shows that the processor is constantly at 100% usage because it shows that the processor's max speed is 400MHz.

 

Its an issue I've never seen before or heard of, it was as if I had an unlocked CPU and set the clock speed to 400MHz

The issue im experiencing is similar to this one

 

[svmlegacy]

8 hours ago, NCramer said:

No, BIOS says that the CPU speed is 400MHz. It only displays that the name of the chip is "Core i7 7500u @ 2.70 GHz" The actual max processor speed reported by BIOS is 400 MHz.

 

CPUID says that the Processor's max speed is 400MHz as well. Windows task manager shows that CPU usage is pinned at 13% because it is always running at 400MHz and will not go any higher and it thinks that the processor's max speed is 2700MHz.

 

CPUID shows that the processor is constantly at 100% usage because it shows that the processor's max speed is 400MHz.

 

Its an issue I've never seen before or heard of, it was as if I had an unlocked CPU and set the clock speed to 400MHz

Thanks for the clarification.

In ThrottleStop, check to see if BiDirectional PROCHOT is being asserted, and disable it there if possible. This will let us know if it's the motherboard or CPU causing this.

 

Also, make sure that the power plan allows 100% CPU utilization.

[NCramer]

4 hours ago, svmlegacy said:

Thanks for the clarification.

In ThrottleStop, check to see if BiDirectional PROCHOT is being asserted, and disable it there if possible. This will let us know if it's the motherboard or CPU causing this.

 

Also, make sure that the power plan allows 100% CPU utilization.

I disabled BD Prochot, and the CPU now ramps up to maximum clock speed. Could this mean that an onboard sensor is broken?

 

Also, now I am encountering another issue. Since I was able to finally use the laptop, I started installing the drivers for everything. Initially, the built in display works fine, but after installing intel graphics drivers, the laptop stops detecting it and is only able to output to external displays

[svmlegacy]

2 hours ago, NCramer said:

I disabled BD Prochot, and the CPU now ramps up to maximum clock speed. Could this mean that an onboard sensor is broken?

 

Also, now I am encountering another issue. Since I was able to finally use the laptop, I started installing the drivers for everything. Initially, the built in display works fine, but after installing intel graphics drivers, the laptop stops detecting it and is only able to output to external displays

It's hard to tell what it means. BDPROCHOT can be asserted for a number of reasons, completely determined by the manufacturer. If the thermal paste has been replaced, perhaps the chipset was missed. Sometimes it can be asserted if the charger is not up to snuff, or the battery is too far gone.

 

As far as the driver issues... I've had lots of issues with windows reinstalling old drivers and messing things up. Uninstall the video driver from device manager, and then let windows update install what it wants to.

[NCramer]

8 minutes ago, svmlegacy said:

It's hard to tell what it means. BDPROCHOT can be asserted for a number of reasons, completely determined by the manufacturer. If the thermal paste has been replaced, perhaps the chipset was missed. Sometimes it can be asserted if the charger is not up to snuff, or the battery is too far gone.

 

As far as the driver issues... I've had lots of issues with windows reinstalling old drivers and messing things up. Uninstall the video driver from device manager, and then let windows update install what it wants to.

The guy said he upgraded the RAM and didn't touch the heat sink but considering he's a scammer I wouldn't really trust him. Should I disassemble the thing to replace thermal paste?

[svmlegacy]

10 minutes ago, NCramer said:

The guy said he upgraded the RAM and didn't touch the heat sink but considering he's a scammer I wouldn't really trust him. Should I disassemble the thing to replace thermal paste?

Replacing the thermal paste isn't a bad idea at any rate.

[NCramer]

Just now, svmlegacy said:

Replacing the thermal paste isn't a bad idea at any rate.

Ok, Thanks for your help.

 

For the graphics issue, I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers with both the latest intel and HP provided drivers, but the issue persists. When the drivers are uninstalled, the internal display works at a low framerate, but when I install the drivers, the display is just black with the backlight on.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

i googled that laptop and i'm getting a completely different spec list to you. from what i found it has an 8th gen cpu in it, not 7th gen... i think you were scammed.