Processor speed locked at low GHz after computer runs for a few minutes

Question

Lately I realize that my Processor speed will reduce and locked at some level after some minutes I ran the Computer (0.8GHz). When I first run the Computer, my Processor speed is doing fine(1.5GHz), it even runs above its normal speed (2.3GHz). My Processor is, AMD A6-3420M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Grapichs 1.50 GHz

I've changed the power setting to High Performance, and set Minimum and Maximum Processor Power Management to 100%.

If my Computer does this to save the power, the speed still the same after I run heavy program/games. If it because of the heat, you can see in the picture below that my Computer runs < 70 degree Celsius and still have a normal speed when it freshly started.

So am I have to edit my Registry or something? I reset the settings on AMD Catalyst Center and still doing the same. Hope it's clear, thanks for answering. Oh my BIOS is InsydeH2o by the way.

Solution

It is probably because of the heat. You say your processor is locked at 800 MHz, but still maintains a temperature of 70°C. But, for a normal computer, the temperature at this processor speed should be far lower (~50°C). The computer is throttling CPU speed so that the temperature doesn't exceed 70°C, due to insufficient cooling.

You can try the following.

• Make sure you are not blocking fans or exhausts.
• Make sure that the System Cooling Policy (to be found among Advanced Settings under Power Plans) is set to Active and not Passive.

Comments

[Admin]

If it is locked at 800MHz and still almost 70 degrees then I would suspect it is thermally throttling. Make sure that the heatsink is secure, that you have a good thin layer of thermal material between the CPU and heatsink, check that the heatsink and fan are not blocked up by fluff and that the fan is running properly.

[Admin]

Sure the temp / speed monitoring software is accurate? Maybe compare to BIOS readings at cold start & after a reboot after "locking"? Is there a (bad) program stuck running at 100%?

[Admin]

No, I don't think so (check my edit). The temperature is the same as when the computer freshly start.

[Admin]

Yes, I changed the System Cooling Policy to Active too before. So, I need to look out for the fans right?

[Admin]

@Blatz Are you using a laptop?

[Admin]

Yes, Iam using a Laptop

[Admin]

I test it, I think heat is not the problem (check my edit). I restart my Laptop and the speed is 1.5GHz while the Temperature is the same as when the speed is 8GHz.

[Admin]

@Blatz You do indeed have a thermal problem, the fact the temperature at idle is so high, indicates something isn't working. Have you cleaned the dust out of your laptop. I assume this is a recent problem due to the age of the hardware