CPU Throttling Continuously Based on Power Issues

[zfJames]

I have owned my HP Spectre x360 15-ch0xx for almost a year at this point and have experienced numerous issues related to CPU usage which seem to be based on a lack of power to the CPU (bad motherboard?).  First, I had an issue where the clock speed would lock at exactly 25% CPU usage and 25% clock speed (0.77 GHz).  I found that the times where the clock speed would lock corresponded to a usage increase in the integrated GPU so I switched most of my apps to my discrete GPU  (manually because there was no BIOS option to use the discrete GPU as the default -_-).  This generally fixed my issue, although it still locks the clock speed at some points because the Desktop Windows Manager (dwm.exe) still sometimes uses the integrated GPU excessively.  Nevertheless, here is my current problem (previous text still important):

I have rarely seen my CPU usage go above 50% for most tasks, including gaming with stuff like Minecraft.  I know that Minecraft typically uses system resources inefficiently, but it still appears that CPU usage is getting cut off at around 50% most of the time even when the game or other task is unresponsive due to slow processing.  I believe that this is still a power issue with the CPU, especially since the clock speed seems throttled.  Do you have any suggestions or ideas regarding potential fixes?  Also, if there is any way to fix the issue where dwm uses the integrated GPU, please let me know.

What I have tried (not a comprehensive list):

Checking power management plans and current CPU usage (everything is on maximum performance)

Used the computer with the power cable plugged in.

Checked usage monitor

Screenshots (check captions for number label):

Screenshot 1: Sample process using "high power" while only 40% or so CPU

Screenshot 2: CPU Usage graph showing top at 50% consistently even though computer is sluggish

Screenshot 3: CPU power settings

Here is my GPU information:

Integrated: Intel(R) HD Graphics 630 25.20.100.6615 (3/8/2019)

Discrete:  Radeon RX Vega M GL Graphics 25.20.15008.2 (12/25/2018)

I am running Windows 10 Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363 and my processor is an Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8705G CPU @ 3.10GHz, 3096 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s).  BIOS version is  AMI F.31, 5/20/2019

Let me know if you need any other information!  Thank you for your time!321

[The_Fossette]

@zfJames,

I reviewed your post and I understand that the computer is overheating and the CPU is throttling due to power.

I recommend you update the BIOS from the below link and check whether the issue is resolved.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp100001-100500/sp100463.exe

If you continue facing the issue, then follow the steps in the below article and perform a system test to check for hardware issues.

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c03467259

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

P.S: Welcome to the HP Support Community 😊

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

[zfJames]

@The_Fossette The system check came back negative and the BIOS issue did not resolve the problem...  I thought it did, but then the moment the integrated graphics card spooled up to a high usage percentage, the CPU was instantaneously locked again at the 0.77GHz and my system was almost unusable.

I did want to state that HP's lack of BIOS options (e.g. I can't switch default graphics cards) means that I will probably purchase from another company in the future.

[zfJames]

I did originally accept your solution but see my message above because the problem still resurfaced as soon as the integrated graphics card usage spiked.

[The_Fossette]

@zfJames,

I recommend you contact support as this looks like a hardware issue.

Here is how you can get in touch with support.

1)Click on this link – www.hp.com/contacthp/

2)Select the product type.

3)Enter the serial number of your device or select let HP detect your product option.

4)Select the country from the drop-down.

5)You should see the HP phone support number or Chat option listed.

Cheers!