CPU clock speed stuck at 0.39 GHz

[AnantHelpless]

Hi. I have been facing this issue for months now.  while I play any games after a while the CPU clocks down to 0.39 GHz staying there for a while and bottlenecking the GPU as well causing massive FPS drops in any games. this may sound like a thermal throttling problem but after checking the temperatures and HWINFO there was no sign of thermal throttling WHEN the laptop went to 0.399 Ghz the actual throttling did not clock it down to that low but only 1.6 GHz which also is unrelated to the issue. I did update the latest May 10 BIOS update and the issue seems to not be resolving at all now. I have tried a clean reinstall of windows 11 and switching to Windows 10. but nothing seems to work. I have tried updating all the Display drivers as well. all the components still passed the HP hardware test and as for some more peculiarities with the issue.

• It only happens when playing a game. thats it. 
• no matter under how load the CPU/GPU are in in other applications the drop only happens while playing games. 
• the temperatures are extremely random and so is the Utilisation. as for some games like Valorant which are easier to run and only allocate 25% of my GPU and 20% of my CPU and also for games like Forza Horizon 5 which allocate all my resources. the drop still as frequent in either games
• putting the CPU or GPU under load does not effect the system at all. 

My Specs are Mentioned Below: 

• AMD Ryzen 5 4600H
• NVIDIA GTX 1650 TI (DGPU)
  
• AMD Radeon Vega 6.
• 8 GB DDR4 3200 MHz Ram

prior to this i thought it was only when the DPGU was under load but then I realised it is not about the DGPU neither about the load it only happens on the games I play (Forza Horizon 5, Grand Theft Auto V, Valorant). and it does occur with the iGPU as well. 

Please let me know if any further clarification is needed. 

Thanks. 

[Raj_05]

Hi @AnantHelpless,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

The issue you're experiencing with your HP Pavilion Gaming laptop, where the CPU clock speed drops to 0.39 GHz during gaming, is indeed perplexing, especially since it doesn't appear to be a thermal throttling problem. Let's explore some potential causes and solutions.

• Power Settings: Your laptop might be reducing the CPU clock speed to save power or manage heat in an aggressive way. Ensure your power plan is set to high performance.
• BIOS Settings: Sometimes, specific BIOS settings can affect CPU performance. Double-check the BIOS settings related to power and performance. Resetting to default or updating to the latest BIOS might help.
• Driver Issues: Even if you’ve updated the drivers, sometimes a clean install of both the GPU and CPU drivers can resolve such issues. Use tools like DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely remove old drivers before reinstalling the latest ones.
• Background Processes: Ensure there are no background processes that might be causing the CPU to throttle. Disable unnecessary startup programs and background applications.
• Software Conflicts: Some third-party software, including performance monitoring tools or overlay applications, can cause conflicts. Try disabling or uninstalling such software temporarily to see if it resolves the issue.
• Malware: Malware can cause unusual CPU behavior. Run a full system scan using a reliable antivirus program.
• Hardware Issues: Despite passing HP hardware tests, there could still be an intermittent hardware issue. 

 

[Raj_05]

Solutions:

Check Power Settings:

• Go to Control Panel > Power Options and select High Performance.
• Ensure that the minimum and maximum processor state is set to 100%.

Update or Reset BIOS:

• Double-check if there's a newer BIOS update available. Sometimes, reapplying the latest BIOS can resolve issues.
• If you've updated the BIOS recently, try rolling back to a previous version if the problem started after the update.

Clean Install of Drivers:

• Use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely remove GPU and CPU drivers.
• Reinstall the latest drivers from the official NVIDIA and AMD websites.

Adjust Game Settings:

• Lower in-game settings to reduce CPU load and see if the problem persists.
• Disable V-Sync and any frame rate limiters to see if it affects the issue.

System Monitoring:

• Use software like HWMonitor or HWiNFO to keep track of CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds, and power usage in real-time while gaming. Look for any anomalies.

Windows Settings:

• Ensure your Windows is up-to-date.
• Go to Settings > Gaming > Game Mode and try toggling Game Mode on or off.

Check for Throttling:

• Even if temperatures seem normal, tools like ThrottleStop can help you understand if any power limits are being enforced by the system.

Memory Upgrade:

• 8 GB of RAM can be limiting for modern games. Upgrading to 16 GB might provide a more stable gaming experience.

By systematically going through these steps, you should be able to narrow down the cause of the issue and hopefully resolve it.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4

HP Support 

[AnantHelpless]

Hello. I have tried most of your listed solutions, but I would like to mention it again that its not a general system spec issue. it is with a game of any magnitude, additionally i have already monitored it using HWINFO and there were no such drops while using 3DMARK or any Benchmark/heavy software but only during games. 

[Raj_05]

Hi @AnantHelpless,

Thank you for your response, 

I'm sending a private message to assist you with the next action.

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link.

I hope this helps! Keep me posted.

Alden4

HP Support