So I have this laptop for school (and since my main rig is no longer up) and it is using an AMD A8 APU. Its not bad but the game performance was way less than expected, but I also didnt expect much so lets not forget I understand what I am dealing with. Note- I have this lappy setup on my work desk with another screen so I have monitoring apps on the second screen to do my investigation Heres the problem and why I feel underwhelmed by the power- It throttles HARD. The second the gpu (Radeon R5) gets a full load on it (800mhz) it throttles the cpu down to 1.4 ghz. It turbos to 2.4 but the only time it ever hits that is when the gpu isnt doing anything. ummmmmmm. So when I need the cpu power, I dont have it. The temp is sitting at 55c when playing path of exile and never goes up more than a few celcius. You can literally watch msi afterburner show the gpu hitting 800hz and while that is ramping up, the proc speed (cpu-z, task manager AND core temp) instantly drops to 1.38ghz. Ive tried core unparking, setting the power options to max performance and even in the ccc panel, setting the minium cpu to 100%, all does nothing. What it looks like to me is AMD or HP cutting some serious corners to keep their TDP and/or temp under control. But I didnt pay for a 1.3ghz laptop, I paid for a 2.4ghz and im not getting it. It makes the few games I do try to play, play at approx. 20 fps. Throttlestop does not support my processor so that is a dead end as well. Anyone know how to get my full proc speed instead of half of it?
Would need a bit for information on type of laptop & which A8 processor you have. Could be as simple as a badly installed cooler needing a reseating.
AMD A8-6410 processor with Radeon R5 graphics HP 15-f111dx laptop- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c04497708
I'll have to see with my A8-3500M laptop and see if that happens. I don't think it does. Just checked and no , mine doesn't do that. It's rated at 1.5ghz with turbo of 2.4. It will idle at 800 and jump up to 1000, 1400, and 2400. It still hits 2.4 with the GPU on load but only on 2 cores at a time. It is the older first generation Llano APU though and I'm only using it's built in HD 6620G GPU. Also, we bought that exact same laptop you have for my GF's daughter on Amazon. We could maybe find out if hers does that but she's not really a gamer. There is a BIOS update listed on the HP site. Version F.21A dated 11/14/2104. Maybe that would help if you don't already have that version.
The A8-6410 has a 15W TDP. Chances are, it's hitting it's TDP when you're attempting to game, forcing it to throttle the CPU.
Not sure how much this will actually help but have you tried using OverDrive? When its activated it keeps my core clocks up from going down to idle. http://www.amd.com/en-us/markets/game/downloads/overdrive Overall though you cant really do much with APUs since they're CPU + GPU in one die so if one increases in heat, both will be affected. GPU side being stronger than Intel but CPU is a little lacking in terms of performance. If it had a dedicated GPU or dedicated cooling (like most gaming laptops) then it will less likely throttle.
In my experience, the overdrive is not available in HP AMD APU equipped laptops. It's greyed out in the driver controls.
Yeah, I think it is just hitting its tdp and then crapping out. I actually exchanged the laptop for an i5 laptop, its a model or so higher than the amd one, spend the extra $100 on it and it does the exact same thing....at the same mhz as well, they both throttled down to 1164mhz after about 30 seconds. Kinda irks me....I know this is not a gaming laptop, but its all I have right now and I paid for xxxx ghz and im not getting it haha, how sucky is that. Im trying throttlestop but it looks like its not working either. Thing that really sucks is that both laptops, the amd and intel one from hp, they both never go over 55c or so. Never seen it over 58c. So its not overheating by any means, and im running the lappy dual screen so I can monitor the temps and throttling. There is really no way to stop this? Basically what is happening is anytime there are graphics going, the cpu grinds down to 1.1ghz......ummmm, thats when we need the ghz the most.
Which Windows is it using? Under Power Settings -> Processor Power Management -> System Cooling Policy, is it set to active or passive? Active: Will spin the fans faster to get cooled. Passive: Will try to cool down by throttling rather than using the fans
win 8.1 x64 and its set to active under cooling policy. I made sure everything is set to performance while plugged in as well.
Laptops usually have one (single) cooling system for CPU and GPU: heat-pipe from CPU and heat-pipe from GPU joins and single fan blows on that joined pipe. When cooling system starts to fail to loose all heat it takes from CPU and GPU both chips starts to overheat fast. In case of APU you have twice the heat in one chip. One of the way to help in this situation is special pedestal (for laptop) in which several fans are mounted. When laptop is placed upon such pedestal it gets additional cooling. Also you can disassemble cooling system to replace the the original thermal paste with the best (on the market) one.
I don't know about the Intel chips but I do know that AMD's APU's will off load some of what the CPU would normally process onto the GPU. I don't know what games you play but my 2011 vintage laptop will run Skyrim at an average 40fps with medium settings and WoW at 50-70 on mostly low settings. You're not going to run Ultra settings with an APU laptop. It seems like the emphasis on laptops nowadays, except for the high end gaming ones like ASUS, is power efficiency over performance. I noticed that the laptop we bought for the GF's daughter (the same one as you had) only has a 45W power supply. Mine came with a 90W one. My Llano lappy will max at 65c. The one I had before it, a single core Turion with a dedicated Xpress200M chip, would go as high as 92c while gaming. You could cook a pop tart in the air coming out of it. lol
There might be a way to completely disable the power management but then you'd be taking a chance of frying everything.
Not unless someone mods the BIOS or releases a tool that can change the cTDP. I have a laptop with an i7-4500U and it does the same. However, the OEM's control panel utility has an option to select Fan speed mode, this also changes the cTDP from 15->25W when changed from Balanced -> High Performance, and if its plugged in. With that set, I see Turbo much more up to 3Ghz versus the 2.1~2.4 it floats around with Balanced. Check to see if HP has anything, if not, then unfortunately, that's the best you'll get. I know how frustrating it is because if I run MadVR for example, the HD4400 gets pegged 100% and already uses 15W. If I then run anything else, the entire system is super slow. It then takes a second or two for the video to start dropping frames as the CPU cores receive a distribution of juice from the iGPU. Your best bet is to limit the FPS on the iGPU so that it won't ever take up the entire TDP.
Hey thanks for the input good sirs (and possibly ladies). I have checked for fan control elsewhere and it seems that it just has the hp control for the fan and the only 2 options are passive and active. I do understand that this thing is not a gaming machine but its all I have right now haha. I suppose im more upset because I feel kinda screwed on this. Its like buying a 500hp car but the only time you have all 500hp is when your taking your kids to school in a 25 mph zone haha. Does not make any sense to me. Also strange, all the games I have run so far are all almost EXACTLY pegged at 30fps. The cpu drops to 1164 or whatever and the gpu goes up to 850-1000. Civ V, TF2, Path of Exile- when its at its native res (1600x900) its always 30fps. I thought something was locking it at first but lowering the res down increased it to 40-50 fps.....very interesting. Ive been messing with Throttlestop but ive had mixed results with some hard locks and crashes haha. edit- also, the proc/gpu NEVER get over 60c, so I really dont think its a cooling issue, unless cpuz, gpuz, throttlestop and coretemp are all wrong.
It is most likely the TDP not temperatures. My i7 hits 80C under load and only starts to throttle at over 85C. You might want to check if you have the power saving gaming option enabled in the Intel control panel, it'll limit your FPS to conserve power. Also disable Vsync if its on in any games, since you're below 60 FPS it'll start capping your framerates. 1600x900 is not playable on HD4400s (TF2, any sort of medium intensive games) HD5000s with 15W TDP won't run it much better either. Remember, you're capped via power, even if the iGPU can theoretically run it, it has to share power with the CPU.
If you're getting 30fps, learn to accept that. Games are very playable at that rate. Also , while I would agree with turning off Vsync, it only caps framerates when you would go over 60 or over your screen's refresh rate. At lower framerates, it does nothing.
