Intel Turbo Boost Difficulties

Okay, okay. I frequently play Gamecube/ Wii (mostly Gamecube) games on Dolphin Emulator. However, my processor (a laptop i7) is just on the verge of being able to run them. For example: Super Mario Sunshine runs just under 90% speed on high-ish settings without turbo boost. When my processor turbo-boosts, I can run the game flawlessly on highest settings.

For whatever reason, sometimes it just doesn't turbo boost, or it starts and stops.
For example: When I start a game, I look at the turbo boost monitor and its turbo boosting almost as high as it will go. Ill put the game in fullscreen and play it for a little while (with it running perfectly), then ill notice a sudden frame drop. At that point I go back and look at the turbo boost monitor and its stuck at basic speed, not turbo boosting.

Sometimes it wont turbo boost at all, sometimes I can play for hours with it running the whole time, sometimes it starts and stops. And I always make sure I have all background/ any other programs closed to ensure its under the same conditions.

Can anyone give me any advice on what the problem might be or how to fix it?

If your Bios allows turn off overspeed protection turn on enhanced turbo and bump the core multipliers up. Don't go to high laptops can heat up quick.

Sounds like your laptop is getting very hot and thus turning off turbo boost. Try monitoring your CPU temps while gaming since many laptop BIOS disable turbo boost when the CPU reaches 85 degrees Celsius. I recommend Real Temp 3.70 to monitor temps to a log file since Real Temp also shows the multiplier of the CPU aside from the temps.

theveterans said:

Sounds like your laptop is getting very hot and thus turning off turbo boost. Try monitoring your CPU temps while gaming since many laptop BIOS disable turbo boost when the CPU reaches 85 degrees Celsius. I recommend Real Temp 3.70 to monitor temps to a log file since Real Temp also shows the multiplier of the CPU aside from the temps.

This was indeed my problem.
I would ask what my next step is in raising the degrees in which it switches it off, but I don't think I want to risk the longevity of my processor considering this is a laptop and parts can't simply be replaced.

From now on I suppose that I'll keep an eye on the temperature and let it sit for a minute or two if it gets too hot.

Thanks for the help :)

laungst said:

theveterans said:

Sounds like your laptop is getting very hot and thus turning off turbo boost. Try monitoring your CPU temps while gaming since many laptop BIOS disable turbo boost when the CPU reaches 85 degrees Celsius. I recommend Real Temp 3.70 to monitor temps to a log file since Real Temp also shows the multiplier of the CPU aside from the temps.

This was indeed my problem.
I would ask what my next step is in raising the degrees in which it switches it off, but I don't think I want to risk the longevity of my processor considering this is a laptop and parts can't simply be replaced.

From now on I suppose that I'll keep an eye on the temperature and let it sit for a minute or two if it gets too hot.

Thanks for the help :)

use a program called "game booster" by iobit. it will shut down unnecessary programs, processes, and services, and free up some resources. by doin this, ur CPU will have less to deal with while you play the game, and also keep it cooler. also you can take apart your laptop, and clean out the heat sync and intakes. if you cant take it apart, simply just use a tooth brush against the intake and brush ur intakes teeth for a good 2 mins. then just blow it out. it helped me a few times.

laungst said:

theveterans said:

Sounds like your laptop is getting very hot and thus turning off turbo boost. Try monitoring your CPU temps while gaming since many laptop BIOS disable turbo boost when the CPU reaches 85 degrees Celsius. I recommend Real Temp 3.70 to monitor temps to a log file since Real Temp also shows the multiplier of the CPU aside from the temps.

This was indeed my problem.
I would ask what my next step is in raising the degrees in which it switches it off, but I don't think I want to risk the longevity of my processor considering this is a laptop and parts can't simply be replaced.

From now on I suppose that I'll keep an eye on the temperature and let it sit for a minute or two if it gets too hot.

Thanks for the help :)

Another suggestion is to use throttlestop 5.00 by Tech Inferno. This program will definitely bypass that BIOS CPU throttling and you risk having a thermal shutdown when the CPU reaches 100 oC while locking the multiplier to "turbo". In other words, Turbo Boost will not turn off until you reach a thermal shutdown which is dangerous not just for your CPU, but also for the OS and HDD. I suggest to keep the multiplier at 2.5 or 2.6 GHz while gaming.

I show you my settings on Throttlestop 5.00 that I use while gaming. At this setting, CPU temps only reache 85 degrees while sacrificing very little performance on games. For Throttlestop to lock the CPU multiplier, you need to put a constant load on the CPU and gaming is obviously an example.