CPU core speed lowers from 2.6Ghz to 500mhz after a bit

tiredtom said:

Trying to figure out if I can fix this laptop cheap or not. I think the issue stems from overheating in the past. I know it isn't software as I just formatted and installed a fresh Win10 copy. After using the computer for a bit the CPU core speed reported by CPU-Z goes from around 2.6Ghz to around 500Mhz. Oddly though the CPU core temperature isn't that hot and like 110 Fahrenheit.

Anyone know if it's the CPU temperature sensor that triggers lowering clock speed or the motherboards? Open Hardware Monitor didn't detect a sensor for my motherboard, but maybe it has one not known by the software. Sometimes when this lower clock speed happens the laptop bottom feels hot, other times it feels normal. Not sure what to do. Maybe I should buy a new fan and just give it a try? Any advice?

Thanks

When I have had a CPU overheat, they just stop. I don't think they slow down. Normally PC temperatures are expressed in Centigrade, not Fahrenheit. Without any calculation, I believe that is 33 C or something like that. That is not hot at all. How did you get that reading? Are you sure it is not 100 C? You might want to check that again. https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download This is a good free program. Give it a try and let us know. == I checked an ad for the Dell E6400. It says this ==
Product not tested for Windows 10 upgrade
Dell is not testing or developing Windows 10 drivers for this product. If you choose to upgrade, some features, applications, and connected devices may not work as expected.

tiredtom said:

After using the computer for a bit the CPU core speed reported by CPU-Z goes from around 2.6Ghz to around 500Mhz. Oddly though the CPU core temperature isn't that hot and like 110 Fahrenheit.

110 F is about 43 C, not hot.

If accurate.

When it's running at 500mhz and you start a job that's a heavy load, does it speed up to 1500 or 2000 mhz? Or does it refuse to go back above 500?

It might be thermal throttling if it got too hot.

I don't know if that era CPUs supported EIST aka Speedstep, which allows a CPU to throttle down when not under a load. My CPU has a max clock of 3.5 ghz, but is sitting at 800 mhz as I type this.

You could run an app like HWinfo64 that would give you more detail on temps, mhz, fan speeds, and whether or not the CPU is thermal throttling.

You can also download and run Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility. It has a benchmark test and a stress test and I think will tell you if the CPU is thermal throttling.

I'd definitely run the Intel utility. The benchmark takes about 1 minute. The stress test can be set to run as long as you want it. Run it for 10 minutes and observe temps. You can have HWinfo64 running when you start the Intel tests, so HWInfo64 will record the max temps and speed reached during the Intel tests.