I7 9700f 100% CPU usage

[Gohardgrandpa]

For some reason I'm getting 100% CPU usage frequently and can't figure this out. Obviously it's making the PC run terrible. 

 

I can open YouTube and this happens, open cold war and it happens. Any idea on how to fix this? 

 

I7 9700f cpu, gigabyte b365m ds3h wifi, 16gb 2666mhz ram, 480gb adata su650 data SSD, rtx 2070 super, Corsair rmx 650 watt psu with a 2560x1440 144hz monitor. 

 

I don't have any windows updates going on, all software is up to date. Running a very minimal setup. Only programs running are msi afterburner, chrome and whatever game I have on 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Im pretty sure its power limit throttling

 

This might help

 

Short throttlestop guide to yeet power and or thermal throttling

 

Download and put throttlestop in system files (x86), open it, press the turn on button, disable bd prochot, set multiplier to your all core boost clock which is (insert cpu specific boost clk here) yeet power limits first (paragraph below this one) then run a benchmark like cinebench and see what freq your cpu will land on whilst monitoring temps amd freq and making sure that only temps are limiting your freq (make sure temp is around 95-105c) and once youve found that set the multiplier in throttlestop but add +1 or +2 over the thermal throttle freq cause youll prob have a lil bit of headroom (will be important for undervolting but if you cant undervolt cause fivr is locked dont add to the multiplier cause thats just gonna thermal throttle)

 

go into tpl menu, for turbo long and short power limit, and pp0 current limit set all boxes to 99999 and max out the sliders, clamp, lock, apply and your power limits have been yeeted

 

If you have it available go into fivr menu and undervolt your cpu and cpu cache abit, run a cpu stress test in the background like prime95 and start undervolting, -50mv is a good starting point, press apply not ok and see if it crashes, if it doesnt crash then keep lowering by -10mv till it crashes, once it crashes and youve rebooted, go back into throttlestop and raise the volts by +15mv from your unstable volt so its stable and doesnt crash

 

To run throttlestop at startup (to apply the settings) this is how

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-throttlestop-guide.531329/#post-6865107

 

This copy paste guide doesnt contain all the specific steps you may have to do so please send screenshots of all your throttlestop menus and other stuff, and if you see any (insert xx here) thats because im a moron and forgot to insert

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯

[Gohardgrandpa]

I would of never guessed it to be power limit throttling on a desktop. Temps are fine and never go past 80c while gaming. I'll give this a try right now and see what happens 

[unclewebb]

Turn on the Log File option in ThrottleStop and go play a game for at least 15 minutes. It will record your CPU speed and temperatures and will report any reasons for throttling. Attach a log file to your next post. 

 

1 hour ago, Gohardgrandpa said:

Running a very minimal setup.

Some people that think they have a minimal setup have a pile of stuff running in the background 24/7. What does ThrottleStop report for C0% when your computer is idle and you are at the desktop with no web browsers or anything else open. The C0% number is the best way to know how hard your CPU is working in the background. A minimal setup will have most cores and threads sitting idle.

 

 

 

[Gohardgrandpa]

I'm doing the log file now and I'll take a screen shot of the C0 %

[Mister Woof]

24 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

Turn on the Log File option in ThrottleStop and go play a game for at least 15 minutes. It will record your CPU speed and temperatures and will report any reasons for throttling. Attach a log file to your next post. 

 

Some people that think they have a minimal setup have a pile of stuff running in the background 24/7. What does ThrottleStop report for C0% when your computer is idle and you are at the desktop with no web browsers or anything else open. The C0% number is the best way to know how hard your CPU is working in the background. A minimal setup will have most cores and threads sitting idle.

 

 

 

man i got a lot of shit going on in mine, lol

 

how do you resize that window to show all?

 

C0% total is around 2-3%

[Gohardgrandpa]

2021-07-17.txt

[Gohardgrandpa]

2 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

man i got a lot of shit going on in mine, lol

 

how do you resize that window to show all?

 

C0% total is around 2-3%

Mine was small, 1.2%

I honestly have no clue what the hell is going on with this pc

[unclewebb]

3 minutes ago, Mister Woof said:

how do you resize that window to show all?

Double click anywhere on that table of numbers and it will expand. A handy hidden feature. 

 

@Gohardgrandpa  Your log file shows lots of power limit throttling. Go into the BIOS and increase the turbo power limits if those options are available and not locked. The 9700F has a 65W TDP rating.

 

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/193738/intel-core-i7-9700f-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-70-ghz.html

 

At default settings, it is designed to power limit throttle at 65W and that is exactly what it is doing. 

 

If you cannot find the power options in the BIOS then post a screenshot of the TPL window in ThrottleStop. PL1 and PL2 are the two power limits that need to be increased as long as the BIOS has not locked them. A screenshot will tell all. 

[Gohardgrandpa]

3 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

Double click anywhere on that table of numbers and it will expand. A handy hidden feature. 

 

@Gohardgrandpa  Your log file shows lots of power limit throttling. Go into the BIOS and increase the turbo power limits if those options are available and not locked. The 9700F has a 65W TDP rating.

 

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/193738/intel-core-i7-9700f-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-70-ghz.html

 

At default settings, it is designed to power limit throttle at 65W and that is exactly what it is doing. 

 

If you cannot find the power options in the BIOS then post a screenshot of the TPL window in ThrottleStop. PL1 and PL2 are the two power limits that need to be increased as long as the BIOS has not locked them. A screenshot will tell all. 

The bios on this board is really stripped down and it's clunky as all hell to navigate thru

[unclewebb]

@Gohardgrandpa For maximum performance, here is how I have my power limits set.

These limits are not necessary. Best to set them both sky high so your CPU can run at its maximum speed. 

 

 

The default turbo time limit is 28 seconds. The manufacturer of your computer really low balled this. Your CPU only gets to spend 1 second at the higher power limit before it gets throttled to 65W. 

 

If you disabled the C states in the BIOS, a non K CPU will not be able to reach full speed when it is lightly loaded. You can look in the ThrottleStop C States window to see if these are enabled or not when your computer is idle. 

[Gohardgrandpa]

17 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

@Gohardgrandpa For maximum performance, here is how I have my power limits set.

These limits are not necessary. Best to set them both sky high so your CPU can run at its maximum speed. 

 

 

The default turbo time limit is 28 seconds. The manufacturer of your computer really low balled this. Your CPU only gets to spend 1 second at the higher power limit before it gets throttled to 65W. 

 

If you disabled the C states in the BIOS, a non K CPU will not be able to reach full speed when it is lightly loaded. You can look in the ThrottleStop C States window to see if these are enabled or not when your computer is idle. 

Here's a screenshot of the Cstates window

[unclewebb]

@Gohardgrandpa Your previous log file did not show any huge slow downs. The 65W limit was causing some slow down but nothing major that you would ever notice in a game. There might be something else holding you back. Turn on the Log File option while playing. 

 

The core C states are enabled so that allows your CPU to use full turbo boost. No problem with that setting. 

[Gohardgrandpa]

11 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

@Gohardgrandpa Your previous log file did not show any huge slow downs. The 65W limit was causing some slow down but nothing major that you would ever notice in a game. There might be something else holding you back. Turn on the Log File option while playing. 

Alright so after making those changes things have significantly changed.

 

Cpu temps have gone thru the roof, as in 90c +. My fps increased big time, I haven't seen the cpu usage go any higher than 70% now and everything is super smooth like it should be. Seriously thank you for the help. I'm currently online looking for a cooler because I can't game on this with the air cooler I have. I have a local best buy so maybe they will have something, if not I'll order one online and use my PS5 til it comes in. Once again @unclewebb thank you so much, I was so close to buying a new motherboard cpu and cooler online and putting this on ebay.

[Gohardgrandpa]

Now I need a cooler, any suggestions on what to get? I can fit a 240/280mm aio in the front of my case, I can also put a decent sized air cooler in here too. I dont care about spending the money, that's not an issue. Just want this sucker to be cool and have a cooler I can use for a future cpu upgrade eventually

[unclewebb]

14 minutes ago, Gohardgrandpa said:

Cpu temps have gone thru the roof

That is a good sign of increased performance.

 

All Intel CPUs have the voltage set too high at default settings. This causes their CPUs to run hotter than they need to. I am not sure if ThrottleStop has access to your voltages. It depends on how the BIOS has set things up. Try posting a screenshot of the ThrottleStop FIVR window. If these settings are not locked, try setting the core and cache to an offset voltage of -50 mV. That is usually a good safe place to start testing. Many CPUs run 100% stable at an offset of -75 mV or -100 mV. This can really help reduce the temps when the CPU is loaded. 

 

Put your wallet back in your pocket. You might not need to buy a new cooler if you can reduce the CPU voltage. 

 

 

If it shows Locked at the top of this screen then the BIOS has locked CPU voltage control. 

This is how it should look at -50 mV (-49.8 mV). Both the core and the cache need to be set like this.

After you press Apply, the offset voltage should show up in the monitoring table at the top right of the FIVR screen. 

 

 

[Gohardgrandpa]

[unclewebb]

@Gohardgrandpa Copy my voltage settings and see if it makes any difference. Check Unlock Adjustable Voltage and move the slider to the left. You want a negative offset voltage to reduce the CPU voltage. 

 

I like using something simple and consistent like Cinebench R20 when adjusting the voltages. You should be able to see reduced CPU power consumption and temperatures while this test is running if the voltage adjustments are working. Things look good so far. At least it is not locked. 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/download/maxon-cinebench/

[Gohardgrandpa]

I'm surprised it's not locked. I'll load up cinebench and test this out 

[unclewebb]

Most computers leave this unlocked now. Try a Cinebench run at zero offset for a baseline and then try at -50 mV, -75 mV and -100 mV for both the core and the cache offset.

 

I think your 9700F will have no problem running at an offset of -100 mV but good to do some Cinebench testing. Open the ThrottleStop Limit Reasons window and watch for anything lighting up in red. 

 

I still need to see a log file from when you are gaming. Sometimes when you fix one throttling issue, another one can pop up. 

[Gohardgrandpa]

Ran cinebench and at -100mV highest it hit was 96c it stayed locked at 4.5ghz and gave me the highest score but it crashed when the run finished. I'm gonna try to dial it back a little and see what happens 

 

Edit: 

At -90mV it ran the whole test at 4.5ghz, highest it hit was 96c and gave me a score of 3605 

I'm gonna load up cold war and see what temps look like now in game. 

[unclewebb]

Cinebench R20 is not a very demanding test. You might be limited to -75 mV to be game stable.

[Gohardgrandpa]

7 minutes ago, unclewebb said:

Cinebench R20 is not a very demanding test. You might be limited to -75 mV to be game stable.

I didn't have time to test any games, I had to leave for work. I'm gonna look for a cooler today for it. My CPU usage went down but now my GPU temps have went up a good bit. 

[unclewebb]

Reducing the CPU bottleneck allows the GPU to work harder.

 

Intel CPUs are designed to work reliably up to 100C. No need to worry too much about the CPU temperature unless it is thernal throttling and reducing performance. At reduced voltage, your gaming temps should be OK.

[Gohardgrandpa]

On 7/17/2021 at 4:38 PM, unclewebb said:

Reducing the CPU bottleneck allows the GPU to work harder.

 

Intel CPUs are designed to work reliably up to 100C. No need to worry too much about the CPU temperature unless it is thernal throttling and reducing performance. At reduced voltage, your gaming temps should be Ok

Ill try some games tonight and see what happens temp wise and see if it throttles with the reduced voltage. Dead by daylight and siege run fine but cold war gets into the 90's and throttles. I have to get a cooler for this CPU