A556 - CPU Turbo Boost not working from cold boot

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wickmesh
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Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:00
Product(s): Lifebook A556, Esprimo E420, Primergy TX200 S7

A556 - CPU Turbo Boost not working from cold boot

Postby wickmesh » Tue Dec 07, 2021 10:14

My A556 will only activate the Intel Turbo Boost Technology on the processor from a warm boot, i.e. a restart (with the machine already powered on). From a cold boot (anything coming from power off - i.e. power on with power button, resume from hibernate, resume from sleep) Turbo Boost does not function.

I am monitoring the CPU clock frequency (i.e. processor Turbo Boost function) with CPUID's Hardware Monitor program - although it's pretty obvious when it's not working as the laptop runs a LOT slower without it. (I noticed my laptop running more slowly a few months ago and made investigations; at first I was thinking it was thermally throttling but I am having no issues in that way.)

When Turbo Boost is working the CPU frequency will vary between 0.5GHz (low power idle) and 2.5GHz (turbo). When it is not working, the CPU remains stuck at 2.2GHz at all times (also meaning it consumes more power when it could be idle, which will affect battery life). (Yes this happens even when the CPU utilisation drops to near zero, there's not any active processes causing CPU load.)

How can I make this function work correctly from a cold boot please - such that I'm not having to restart my laptop straight after switching it on every time - and I can use the hibernate function and come back to a quickly running computer?

Further - the frequencies I am seeing do not correspond with what Intel says the processor is capable of. I'm assuming this is because of how Fujitsu set up the laptop, for thermal/power consumption etc reasons? Or is there something else wrong and is my laptop missing further performance capability? Intel suggest an 0.8GHz "TDP down", 2.3GHz base, 2.4GHz "TDP up" and 2.8GHz Turbo Boost frequency.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/88193/intel-core-i56200u-processor-3m-cache-up-to-2-80-ghz.html

Further #2 - Windows 10's Task Manager doesn't register the actual CPU clock frequency - claiming a 2.3GHz CPU running at a 2.4GHz base frequency and never changing/updating to reflect the actual CPU clock, unlike other Win10 computers I am using which show a varying clock frequency with load. These same numbers are displayed also when the CPU is stuck at 2.2GHz.

Thanks
Andrew/Wickmesh

My A556 spec: i5 6200u, running Windows 10 version 2004, build 19041.1348, experience pack 120.2212.3920.0, bios version 1.21 (17/5/17), EC version 0.23 (17/5/17)

wickmesh
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:00
Product(s): Lifebook A556, Esprimo E420, Primergy TX200 S7

Re: A556 - CPU Turbo Boost not working from cold boot

Postby wickmesh » Tue Dec 07, 2021 17:30

Problems partly fixed! I'm not yet convinced this is working perfectly but it seems good enough to post. (It's amazing what writing a post for help does to your Google skills...)

(1) Turbo Boost is now active from cold boot (but hibernate and sleep still breaks it)
(2) With software help, I can get the processor to run up to 2.7GHz

The first fix is to turn off fast startup.
Run > Control > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power button does > Change settings that are currently unavailable > Untick "Turn on fast startup (recommended)"

Funnily enough with this unticked, from power on I actually get to the login screen faster! Login to a usable desktop and shutdown are probably a bit slower though.

The second fix is to run a free program called ThrottleStop.
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/
This program can be used (with lots of tweaking) to extend laptop battery life - but I've used it simply to unlock the Turbo Ratio limits on the processor, which were set to 25 (x100MHz hence 2.5GHz max processor frequency). Now set to 28 (in theory giving access to the full single core 2.8GHz possible performance) I reliably get 2.7GHz on both cores. The laptop is transformed - it's like I've fitted a new processor.

Guide to using Throttlestop
You'll also want to set up ThrottleStop to run automatically on Windows Startup, the best way to do this is a scheduled task set to run the program at logon, with maximum privileges to get rid of the UAC prompt.

(Unfortunately even with ThrottleStop running, the processor still gets stuck at 2.2GHz if I use hibernate or sleep - and Task Manager remains oblivious.)

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Ask Fujitsu
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Re: A556 - CPU Turbo Boost not working from cold boot

Postby Ask Fujitsu » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:04

Hello :)

This information is for 1st line. Basically, you have found a way to bypass systems and configurations to achieve the desired setup; however, this is something in which we cannot advise beyond what you have already started and tried.

Mainly because 3rd party applications like the one mentioned are not, nor will they normally be regularly tested by Fujitsu.

Unfortunately due to the EoL support status of the device, plus the fact that you want to use an unintended set up with your system, it befalls under their responsibility.

Best,
Fujitsu Support Forum


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