Freezes and shut downs when using Throttlestop after windows update 20H2

[J-2-F]

So I have been using throttlestop for at least a year with no problems on my omen 15 2018 . Recently I updated to windows 20H2 and I experience random freezes (for a couple of seconds) and then the laptop immediately shut downs without any BSOD. It happens completely in random times even at idle, while some other times it has been running for 15 hours continuously with no problem. At first I thought it was the mismatched Ram that I upgraded recently , so I bought a pair of new crucial 2666mhz ram but nothing changed .

I have been running the last week and half without throttlestop and there have been zero freezes and shut downs . I havent noticed anyone with a similar problem and thoubleshoouting the problem has been very difficult since a lot changed in a very sort period of time both in Hardware (ram) and in software ( a lot of drivers updates after the windows update ) . Does anybody know something about this or has a similar experience ?

Hp omen 15 2018

i7 8750h
RTX 2060
16 gb ram 2667mhz (upgraded from 8 gb )

Os build : 19042.804
Bios version : 1.9
using throttlestop 9.3

 

[unclewebb]

even at idle

When your undervolt is too big, most laptops will crash when lightly loaded or idle. With the voltage at -145 mV, try running the TS Bench test. Set the Threads to 10 and Size to 960M. Can you pass the TS Bench test with 0 errors reported? The TS Bench is a good basic test for stability. Any errors in this test means you need to adjust your voltage.

there have been zero freezes

If you only crash when using ThrottleStop then your undervolt is set too high. Most 8750H are 100% stable at -120 mV but hardly any 8750H are 100% stable at -145 mV. If you are having random reboots or freezes, your CPU needs more voltage. Try setting the core and cache to -110 mV and test that for a few days. If that is OK then try -120 mV or -125 mV. If -110 mV is not OK then try -100 mV. I would never go higher than -125 mV.

Once you find a voltage that is 100% stable, then you can try running Cinebench R20.

MAXON Cinebench R20.0 Download

CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer's performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON's award-winn

www.techpowerup.com

The CPU core and cache offset voltages do not need to be set equal to each other. Most 8750H owners get their best Cinebench results with the cache at -125 mV and the core at close to -200 mV. Run a baseline test with the core and cache voltages set equal. After that, increase only the core offset in steps of -25 mV and run another test. See if your results improve and run the TS Bench again to make sure you are still stable.

Here are some Cinebench R20 test results when using different voltages.

Cinebench Test.zip

drive.google.com

I have been using Windows 10 20H2 and ThrottleStop for a while now. No issues and very stable. Do not try to set your voltage to the absolute bare minimum. Always use a little bit of extra voltage so you are 100% stable.

 

[J-2-F]

The thing is I was running with cpu core and cache offset at -144.5 for a year or so without any problems (Although I had speedshift set to 128 and slightly lowered turbo boost limits ). At -146 i was seeing BSOD so I lowered a bit to -144.5. Tested with Ts Bench 960M without any problems . I even played wither 3/AC U for 3 hours without problems at -144.5 and then it shut downs without a BSOD at chrome.

Could this be a problem with my drivers after the update ? Cause sometimes it can run for 15 hours a day without any problems and the next day it crashes at chrome in the first 45 minutes of use .

I will test the stability at -125 mV both core and cache offset and i will follow up in this post .Thanks for the help

BTW why does HWmonitor report a slight difference ( a bit higher ) both in core and cache offset than throttlestop ?

 

[unclewebb]

The thing is I was running with cpu core and cache offset at -144.5 for a year or so without any problems

It is not unusual for a CPU to need a little more voltage over time. CPUs naturally degrade over time. A voltage that is 100% stable today, might not be 100% stable a year from now. If you are seeing a BSOD at -146 mV then 144.5 mV is way too close to the edge of stability. You should never see a BSOD. Back it off to -125 mV like everyone else successfully uses on the 8750H.

sometimes it can run for 15 hours a day without any problems and the next day it crashes at chrome in the first 45 minutes

When you are running on the edge of stability you can expect to have random crashes. It might take a minute or an hour or several hours.

Could this be a problem with my drivers

This is a problem with your voltage.

Perhaps Windows 10 20H2 was recompiled and it is using a slightly different mix of AVX instructions or something like that. Perhaps that is why you noticed instability soon after this recent upgrade. Perhaps it is just random chance that you first noticed this problem after your recent upgrade. No one knows for sure. All that is known is that your CPU is not stable now so to make it stable, increase the voltage.

HWmonitor report a slight difference ( a bit higher ) both in core and cache offset than ThrottleStop ?

HWiNFO64, Intel XTU and ThrottleStop all report the same voltage.

Here is an example when the voltage register contains a value of 1152

Correct Method
Voltage = 1152 / 1024
Voltage = 1.125 V

HWMonitor Method
Voltage = 1152 / 1000
Voltage = 1.152 V

HWMonitor seems to be using the wrong conversion factor. It divides by 1000 instead of dividing by 1024. That is why HWMonitor always reports slightly higher voltage. I recommend that you use HWiNFO64 instead.

If you want HWMonitor to report the correct voltage, contact the developer and let him know about this problem.

 

[J-2-F]

Thanks that helped a lot . I will test the system stability at -125mV and I will follow up.

One last question , is there any point in undrevolting the intel iGPU even if i only use the dedicated. I read somewhere on reddit that the cpu could draw a little more power if you undervolte the iGPU.(although i doubt it will be useful in my case because of the bad thermals) Is it true ?

 

[unclewebb]

Power consumption of the Intel GPU is not significant when you have a dedicated GPU. Undervolting the Intel GPU will likely cause instability before you accomplish any power savings. Monitor iGPU power consumption. It is usually very minimal.