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i7 2860QM how to raise power limit?

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mariukonie

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Hi.
I've just upgraded from i5 2340m TDM 35W to i7 2860QM TDM 45W. All is working fine except during stress test the clock multiplier stays capped at x28 which is 2.8MHz and power draw stays around 35W so it seems the motherboard is limiting power draw. On various websites it reads it should go to 3.3MHz on all 8 cores stressed.
What is the best way to go about raising power limit.
a) Bios upgrade/unlock?
b) Hardware/shunt mod?
c) Reduce the CPUs voltage somehow?
Sony Vaio VPCEH2H1E
BIOS Insyde Version R0200Z9 date 19/04/2012
Can anyone help with unlocking BIOS advance options
Especially options to overclock the CPU, please.
Thanks.
 
I would start with downloading Throttlestop and see if you can fix it with software only.
 
Probably no chance with a laptop bios. It has no idea what a 45W chip is, as it never shipped with one.
 
I have a laptop with a 2760QM(almost identical), 2.8GHz is about what you can expect from it. 3GHz+ is only seen when web browsing.
It'll start throttling from temps after a while with an all core load anyway so I wouldn't worry about the power limit.
 
Visible Noise said:
Probably no chance with a laptop bios. It has no idea what a 45W chip is, as it never shipped with one.
Click to expand...
That's not true. If the bios boots with the installed CPU and it's identified correctly, the microcode is present and thus the power profiles are present. The motherboard will only boot a CPU it's compatible with. This is by design.

mariukonie said:
Hi.
I've just upgraded from i5 2340m TDM 35W to i7 2860QM TDM 45W. All is working fine except during stress test the clock multiplier stays capped at x28 which is 2.8MHz and power draw stays around 35W so it seems the motherboard is limiting power draw. On various websites it reads it should go to 3.3MHz on all 8 cores stressed.
What is the best way to go about raising power limit.
a) Bios upgrade/unlock?
b) Hardware/shunt mod?
c) Reduce the CPUs voltage somehow?
Sony Vaio VPCEH2H1E
BIOS Insyde Version R0200Z9 date 19/04/2012
Can anyone help with unlocking BIOS advance options
Especially options to overclock the CPU, please.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
The problem you're encountering might be a deliberate design by Sony if they have built the cooling system to only handle 35W of power. If so, there will be no way to tap the i7 for it's full power abilities.
 
With throttlestop it will show you exactly what's causing the issue, whether its PL limits VR limits, ring limits ect, its very useful
 
I've been using Throttlestop but I think BIOS is limiting me, whatever I adjust it doesn't make any improvement. I can only lower the speeds but not increase. It's new to me so I don't really know what to tweak.
Regarding temperature the max I've seen is 83C and I am going to swap paste for liquid metal so I expect it to go down to about 70.
The Bios does recognize it's a 45W chip.
What can I do to let it run at full power? I'm good with soldering if hardware tweak is involved. Thanks
ts2.JPG

ts.JPG
ct.JPG
 
mariukonie said:
I've been using Throttlestop but I think BIOS is limiting me, whatever I adjust it doesn't make any improvement. I can only lower the speeds but not increase. It's new to me so I don't really know what to tweak.
Regarding temperature the max I've seen is 83C and I am going to swap paste for liquid metal so I expect it to go down to about 70.
The Bios does recognize it's a 45W chip.
What can I do to let it run at full power? I'm good with soldering if hardware tweak is involved. Thanks
View attachment 407063
View attachment 407062View attachment 407064
Click to expand...
Yup, your system bios is locking out a lot of the power adjustments. That's what all those "lock" icons mean. This is very likely by design to stay within the limits of the cooling system. Nothing you can do.

Look on the bright side, you went from a dual core 2.4ghz CPU to a quad core 2.5ghz CPU that seems to be boosting to 2.8ghz all core, even if you can't push it to it's ultimate limits, that's still a solid upgrade. Enjoy!
 
mariukonie said:
Hi.
I've just upgraded from i5 2340m TDM 35W to i7 2860QM TDM 45W. All is working fine except during stress test the clock multiplier stays capped at x28 which is 2.8MHz and power draw stays around 35W so it seems the motherboard is limiting power draw. On various websites it reads it should go to 3.3MHz on all 8 cores stressed.
What is the best way to go about raising power limit.
a) Bios upgrade/unlock?
b) Hardware/shunt mod?
c) Reduce the CPUs voltage somehow?
Sony Vaio VPCEH2H1E
BIOS Insyde Version R0200Z9 date 19/04/2012
Can anyone help with unlocking BIOS advance options
Especially options to overclock the CPU, please.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
are you sure COOLING is ENOUGH now?;) back then I was CRAZY about CPU swapping, until I got the part that if shitty cooler is barely enough for current CPU adequate cooling, then it's no chance for "better" CPU to work really "BETTER" because of raised temps lmfao:D
 
I don't know if it's related to cooling, even when I start stress test on cool CPU (say 45-50°) it will not go above 2.8GHz.
I will put in that liquid metal too but I doubt this will make a difference in speed, I may be wrong though :).
 
mariukonie said:
I will put in that liquid metal too but I doubt this will make a difference in speed, I may be wrong though :).
Click to expand...
Very unlikely. It's not the temps that are limiting you, it's the power delivery. That system will only deliver a certain amount of power. Liquid Metal TIM will not help that.
 
The 97 Amp PP0 Current Limit is the most likely reason for throttling. The BIOS has locked this setting as well as various other settings. This was typical during the 2nd Gen era.

The PL1 and PL2 turbo power limits are locked to the default 45W and 56W. They are not causing the throttling problem.

Intel CPUs prior to the 4th Gen do not support software undervolting.
 
Is there any way to unlock the BIOS? Or any hardware mod that could potentially work?
I have ch341 if that helps.
 
With my Hawell laptop I changed all the power limits in BIOS and then some. Still limited CPU to 47W. Turned out to be the embedded controller was sending PECI commands for power limits and out of three settings for say PL1 the lowest wins. Some 8051 firmware modding for EC later and hello 100W CPU :D

Something to consider maybe.
 
:D:D said:
With my Hawell laptop I changed all the power limits in BIOS and then some. Still limited CPU to 47W. Turned out to be the embedded controller was sending PECI commands for power limits and out of three settings for say PL1 the lowest wins. Some 8051 firmware modding for EC later and hello 100W CPU :D

Something to consider maybe.
Click to expand...
His system is a Sony. Their firmware is not modder friendly by any means. I'm all for modding, but I also know when to call it a day. In this situation, I would call it a day.
 
Just asking for future in case I buy another laptop, what brands are modder friendly? Cheers.
 
Thanks.
I've just noticed I get Red POWER light on ThrottleStop when watching 4K videos. But it doesn't show up during bench test.
What is it? Is this some kind of warning or is it safe to keep watching 4k?
power.JPG
 
I'm getting this message too, randomly appears power and BD PRO. The red font looks concerning.
It happens only when running bench test and having video on YT playing in HD.
bd pro.JPG
 
Last edited:
mariukonie said:
Something is a little bit off. The temps are around 70°C. Well below being hot.
Click to expand...
Did you read the link I posted?

It’s not hot. It’s a system the designers have at their disposal to limit system power consumption.

Look, it’s a laptop. It’s locked down in all kinds of ways to be exactly the product the manufacturer wanted it to be. There’s nothing you can do about it.
 
Thank you for clearing this up. I did read the link but didn't really get the point as it's too many technical abbreviations and it's all new to me.
I guess it will last longer if it's not running at 100% so I'll just leave it as it is then.
Thanks everyone for help. Best wishes.
 
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