How to use ThrottleStop to work around Motherboard's slow mode?

[frylander]

Hi there!

A quick explanation of my situation first: A few days back, my computer started working slowly for no reason at all. I thought it was due to some windows update or GPU driver, so I started updating stuff, uninstalling stuff, etc. I even reinstalled Windows 10 to have a clean install, but the problem kept presisting. In the end and by pure chance I found out about other user with my same problem, and he had figured out the issue.. it was that the motherboard's slow mode had been activated by itself.

So, I opened my PC and checked the motherboard... and exactly, my MB's slow mode LED was on, despite me having never used it. If I try to switch it off it just flickers and eventually goes back to ON, which is annoying at the very least. Then I started looking for a way to override the MB's slow mode through software and came up with ThrottleStop, which seems to be a software developed especially for that. Because the MB works just fine whenever slow mode isn't active, and it doesn't get high temperatures at all or anything similar, so I know it's not due to that. I believe MSI might cap their MB's after a certain use on purpose to get people to buy new ones... but that's just my opinion.

That said... I do need some help using this software, as I'm not an expert. I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me exactly what do I need to change in order to get rid of the slow mode's limitations, or if it's even possible in the first place. I already tried going into the BIOS and disabling Intel's adaptative thermal monitor, but that didn't help.

Anyways, here are my PC specs in case they're needed:

X99A Godlike Gaming MSI Motherboard
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
RAM 16 GB DDR4
Intel i7-5930K that usually runs at 3.5GHz, but now is capped to 1.2 GHz due to the slow mode, slowing down my computer significantly.

Also here is what ThrottleStop says about my CPU's limits, whatever that means.

As you can see, my CPU is capped at 1.2 GHz and won't go up, though if I use the slow mode switch it flickers back to 3.5GHz before going back to 1.2GHz, rendering my PC mostly unusable for anything other than reading documents or using the internet, and even that lags. Whenever the slow mode gets activated, those 3 buttons become red and my CPU goes to 1.2GHz, and when slow mode gets deactivated all 4 labels go yellow and my computer gets back to normal.

I tried messing around with some settings but nothing helped, and I'm a bit afraid of frying my CPU or something, lol. I'll keep looking for a fix on the meantime, so I'll post back if I do find an answer.

Thanks in advance!

Okay, so I think I'm doing this right, but for some reason ThrottleStop isn't doing anything when I disable BD PROCHOT. It still limits my CPU, how is that possible? Perhaps should I try an older version of ThrottleStop? Or am I doing something terribly wrong?

As far as I came to understand, all I have to do is uncheck BD PROCHOT and cloick "Turn On" and it should work as intended without any artificial throttle, right? However, it remains the same no matter whether I check or uncheck BD PROCHOT. Is the software not working properly?

 

[basco]

did ya do a bios reset? and if it flickers turning on+off it seems to me it could be shorted maybe from dust?
i would inspect it

does it do that on both bioses?
do ya have oc genie on? any software from msi like gaming app or so?

 

[frylander]

It's fairly clean, and resetting bios didn't help. I don't have OC genie on, nor any software from MSI. It started doing this literally all of a sudden for seemingly no reason, so I doubt any bios/software is the cause.

 

[unclewebb]

The slow mode switch crapping out is a common problem on MSI motherboards.I guess MSI saved a few pennies when they ordered a million of these things. When these switches fail, the CPU is forced to run at its slowest speed.

Sometimes using some contact cleaner on the switch and cycling it rapidly on and off 101 times can help clean the dust and dirt out of the switch and get it working properly again.

Most of the time, using ThrottleStop to disable the BD PROCHOT signal path is enough to get the CPU back up to its full rated speed. In your screenshot, you have not clicked on the Turn On button yet. I will have to assume that you have tried this and it did not do anything.

Having MAX TURBO and CORE P1 light up in red at the same time as BD PROCHOT is unusual. I have never seen the regular 4 core 4th Gen Haswell CPUs light up like that.

The only other thing I can think of is click on the FIVR button and try setting the Non Turbo Ratio to 1. Post a screenshot of the FIVR window so I can have a look.

Is the software not working properly?

It looks like ThrottleStop is working OK but it has never been specifically tested on a MSI motherboard running a 5930K with this particular throttling problem. It is a very unique problem. You need to complain to MSI.

 

[frylander]

Alright, I'll try cleaning the switch and spamming it on and off to see if that helps. Doubt it can get any worse, that's for sure. I think that might actually help since I at times had the chance to have it stable in a "off" state, however restarting the computer made it unstable again, and now I can't get it to replicate that stability, so perhaps the physical switch is the actual issue rather than anything bios related. That could explain why disabling BD PROCHOT doesn't do anything I suppose, as it's constantly being overriden by the switch sending the BD PROCHOT signal.

My PC is fairly clean but I suppose I could dissassembly it for better cleaning or something, as my components are fairly big and don't allow for much movement when cleaning it.

Anyways, for the moment being here are my newest ThrottleStop screenshots:

I also put the ThrottleStop option settings in case anyone needs them to help me out. As you can see the program is turned on and BD PROCHOT is turned off, yet it keeps throttling for some reason. And now I've learned that I can't buy a motherboard with the required socket to support my current processor, so if I can't get this motherboard working, I'll have not only to buy a new expensive motherboard, but a processor too... not cool. Ideally I'd get this working, as when it works, it works just fine. I also contacted MSI through email and I plan to call tthem directly this monday, but until then I'd like to keep trying stuff out.

Thanks for the help! Now I'll shut my computer down for a while to try to clean it properly and see if that makes any difference. I'll post back with the results.

 

[unclewebb]

Here is something that is unusual.

Where it says 255, that is the current Non Turbo Ratio that the CPU is using. It is normally set to 0.

After you get up and running again, push the OK button and then open up this window again and see if this changes to 1. This problem is separate from the BD PROCHOT issue but might be why MAX TURBO and CORE P1 are lighting up in red.

 

[frylander]

I tried it, but no matter how many times I click OK and go back, it remains in 255. I tried it with the Lock tick set and unchecked too, didn't make a difference.

Is there a fix to that? Maybe if I fix that, BD PROCHOT will stop too?

Also, I roughly cleaned my PC, though out of all things my motherboard was the most clean component. Still, I cleaned it as best as I could with a soft brush and what not, and switched the damn switch 101 times as instructed. Didn't make a difference.

 

[unclewebb]

All the tricks that often times work did not so you are out of luck. Complain to MSI and keep your eyes open on EBay for a similar motherboard from a different manufacturer that does not have this problem.

 

[frylander]

My luck is amazing, everything that could go wrong for me always goes wrong, lol.

Thanks for the help either way, this is clearly the last time I'm buying from MSI, as one of their expensive GPU's also burned on me just 1 month after guarantee ended. In my eyes, they're either scammers or just very bad at their work, either reason is good enough to not buy from them ever again.

Good luck to you all!

 

[AsRock]

What cleaner did you use ?, maybe trying to clean it again might help, as you say what harm can it do now after all it did show some hope.

 

[Deleted member 193706]

No excuses for a top of the line motherboard that cost $400+ only 5 years ago to crap out like this and MSI should extend the warranty and fix it or provide you with an alternative. I've had 10+ year old motherboards that cost 4x as less still be fully functioning after 10-15 years of service. You expect it with budget and middle of the road parts, not high end enthusiast.

 

[frylander]

They won't extend the warranty, I had a $500+ MSI GPU burn just 1 month after warranty was over, I contacted them, and they didn't help in any way.

To hell with MSI, I'm never buying from them again and I seriously hope they go bankrupt for their scammy business model.

And I don't have anything to clean my MB other than a simple soft brush so that's what I used, but by the looks of it I don't think it will help. The LED used to flicker before when switching on and off, but now it stays mostly ON all the time... so it would seem the issue got worse.

 

[Deleted member 193706]

Vote with your wallet then my friend, that's the only way they will learn, just ask Gigabyte... hopefully you can find a used replacement on ebay or W/E but even now X99 boards and CPU's don't come cheap

 

[AsRock]

They won't extend the warranty, I had a $500+ MSI GPU burn just 1 month after warranty was over, I contacted them, and they didn't help in any way.

To hell with MSI, I'm never buying from them again and I seriously hope they go bankrupt for their scammy business model.

And I don't have anything to clean my MB other than a simple soft brush so that's what I used, but by the looks of it I don't think it will help. The LED used to flicker before when switching on and off, but now it stays mostly ON all the time... so it would seem the issue got worse.

For the switch try some Deoxit D5, or even more available CRC Electronic Cleaner can be normally found at that sell stuff for cars.

 

[frylander]

I've honestly already given up on this motherboard, and I'm looking to either get a repair, find a second hand MB with the same socket, or get a new motherboard/CPU combo. I've been troubleshooting this thing for a whole week and I'm just done, I want to have nothing to do with it, I want it gone from my life as soon as possible, lol.

Plus, I believe I did say I need my computer for work, so time is essential, and I've lost enough time as it is trying to fix this piece of MSI garbage. I have my eyes on a new Gigabyte MB, and hopefully that one will last me more than the minimum. I know my old Gigabyte MB is still working to this day after 10+ years of use, since my brother is using it now after I upgraded my whole PC. Now that is quality right there.

Yes, I hate MSI, and that hate will never fade. Fu** 'em.

 

[AsRock]

hehe Gigabyte, anyways what ever, good luck with that.

 

[Grog6]

You could always remove the switch, and jumper a wire across the proper terminals to permanently turn it "ON".

Why a manufacturer would add such a switch, I can't imagine.

 

[unclewebb]

Why a manufacturer would add such a switch, I can't imagine.

The purpose of that switch was so extreme overclockers running LN2 could boot up with the CPU at a safe speed like 800 MHz or 1200 MHz. Once Windows had settled down, then they could flick the switch and jump up to maximum speed and hopefully get a CPU-Z screenshot or similar. Nice feature but these switches fail all the time on MSI boards.

I was thinking that a person could try crushing this switch with a pair of vice grips. After that, if this switch needs to be closed, easy enough to solder a wire across it. I would try that before buying a new board.

 

[frylander]

Too late, lol. I sent a message to MSI asking for help and explaining what I had already tried, and they literally told me to try and flick the switch once the computer was on, something I told them I already had done many times. I bought a new gigabyte board which hopefully won't break soon after warranty is over like all MSI products have done so far.

Thanks to you all for the help though. I hope we all learned something here: Never buy from MSI.

 

[inostupid]

I know this is an old thread but after pulling my hair out for 3 days with this same issue I found a simple fix. Carefully MOVE the switch half way between on and off and the LED goes out and SLOW mode is off and issue solved.