CPU base clock and boost clock question

[JaZoN_XD]

I have a 4570 and the base clock is 3.2ghz, locked processor. however, when idling or not doing anything, does that clock go lower to say 500mhz like a gpu would do? If not, how would it save energy then? wouldn't it just be wasting power and making unnecessary heat? Also, the turbo boost clock is 3.6ghz i believe. Is only one core turboed or the whole cpu?

[Comessy]

1. Yes, it downclocks if extra processing power isn't required

 

2. Only 1 core boosts up to 3.6

[Notree]

I have a 4570 and the base clock is 3.2ghz, locked processor. however, when idling or not doing anything, does that clock go lower to say 500mhz like a gpu would do? If not, how would it save energy then? wouldn't it just be wasting power and making unnecessary heat? Also, the turbo boost clock is 3.6ghz i believe. Is only one core turboed or the whole cpu?

Yes the 4570 idle's around 800mhz when nothing is going on.

[JaZoN_XD]

ahh thanks. What application can i use to monitor my cpu frequency real time? (like msi afterburner)

[Django]

When your processor is idle C1 is invoked which is a halt command that stops the core clock(s). IOW clocks are at 0 MHz. Further core and package C-States such as C3 and C6 provide further power savings while idle. When monitoring frequency with software the core(s) are briefly activated to measure them so never show 0Hz. Instead use C0 percentage. You can run HWiNFO to show how much package power you are using. There usually isn't a lot to be saved by down clocking if C-States are active since running at full speed will get the work done quicker and allow more idle time than running at lower clocks.

 

Note that C1 is a core state and should not be confused with C1E which is a package state.

[Blackie Sheen]

ahh thanks. What application can i use to monitor my cpu frequency real time? (like msi afterburner)

I would recommend CPU-Z for such a task.

[PhiberOptik]

ahh thanks. What application can i use to monitor my cpu frequency real time? (like msi afterburner)

I would recommend  HWiNFO or CPUID HWMonitor, both show min, max, and average. CPUID CPU-Z is great for real time but you have to be watching it at all times to know whats going on. HWiNFO and CPUID HWMonitor also monitor everything else in your system, including the GPU.

[JaZoN_XD]

When your processor is idle C1 is invoked which is a halt command that stops the core clock(s). IOW clocks are at 0 MHz. Further core and package C-States such as C3 and C6 provide further power savings while idle. When monitoring frequency with software the core(s) are briefly activated to measure them so never show 0Hz. Instead use C0 percentage. You can run HWiNFO to show how much package power you are using. There usually isn't a lot to be saved by down clocking if C-States are active since running at full speed will get the work done quicker and allow more idle time than running at lower clocks.

 

Note that C1 is a core state and should not be confused with C1E which is a package state.

Uhhh dayum, that's intense. So what your saying is that whenever I use a software like cpu z to look at/monitor core clocks, it will always show 3.2ghz? For some reason, i see in cpu z that all my cores are running at 3.2ghz but with SUPER low voltages when idling. Also, when i use something like intel burn, i don't see any of the cores going to the 3.6 turbo speed.

 

Lastly, i don't know if this is normal but i somehow managed to overclock my locked i5 4570 (3.2 stock) to 3.4 for some reason.

[Django]

3.6GHz uses the 36x bin at a bclk of 100MHz and is for when only 1 core is active, 4 cores active is limited to 34x bin. Reading low voltages at idle is probably just the sampling of the Super IO not updated yet from the first moments the CPU is activated from idle.

 

HWiNFO will tell you much more about your system than CPU-z.