HP Omen 2018 i7 8750H GTX1060 on Windows v1809 and latest drivers from HP severe throttling.

[ChrisBee]

Updated my HP Omen 15 2018 (i7 8750H, GTX 1060, 16GB RAM, 256 m.2 SSD plus 1TB HDD) to latest Windows 10 v1809. No problem until I downloaded and installed latest (Nov 2018) drivers for my particular Omen at HP Support (my laptop is registered, easy to see if new drivers are available).

After HP support drivers were installed, Omen now severely throttles CPU after about 15mins of CPU intensive gaming (although because this is a 6 core CPU, only 50% CPU usage is registered, much headroom for performance). GPU use is only 40 to 55% while gaming.

When it throttles, game runs slow, super slow, diving to 10fps (from 80 to 100fps), CPU usage dips to 30%, and GPU usage follows as 10fps does not need much GPU power. Neither CPU or GPU goes past 50% usage, yet it throttles down. CPU Temps do go at 90degrees C at start of game (GPU never goes beyond 75deg C). Omen Control Center set to Performance (same effect happens when set to Standard), Power Plan set to HP recommended (power plan created by HP, and is actually the only plan, unless you create your own.

Note, among drivers installed that caused the severe throttling is latest BIOS, and Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Client driver. All drivers from HP Support.

Is HP going to turn this gaming spec Omen to an office work laptop with this aggressive throttling via latest drivers? And 10fps is just unplayable.

Note: No BIOS adjustments, no throttle stop or other overclocking solutions installed/used in this machine.

[Echo_Lake]

@ChrisBee
Welcome to HP Forums,  

This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips,
Thank you for posting your query, I'll be more than glad to help you out 🙂

I see that you're experiencing issues after bios update and CUP is heating up to 90c,
Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, however, to provide an accurate resolution, I need a few more details:

• Have you tried playing games in "GAME MODE"?
• Have you tried with different games?

While you respond to that, I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix:

Let's perform a hard reset:

1) Shutdown the computer.  

2) Unplug all the Adapter and peripherals connected.  

3) Press and hold down the power button for 15 to 20 seconds.  

4) Plug-in the Adapter.  

5) Try to turn on the computer. 

Next, let's perform bios recovery and check

1. Turn off the computer, and then connect the power cord.

2. Press and hold the Windows key  and the B key at the same time, and then press and hold the power button for 2 to 3 seconds.

3. Release the Power button but continue pressing the Windows and B keys. You might hear a series of beeps.

   The HP BIOS Update screen displays and the recovery begins automatically. Follow any on-screen prompts to continue the startup to complete the recovery.

   

   • If the HP BIOS Update screen does not display, repeat the previous steps but press the Windows key and the V key. If the screen still does not display, your computer might not support the feature or there is a hard drive issue. Continue to the next step to install a BIOS recovery file from the HP website.

   • If the Power light turns off, the Power button was held too long. Repeat the previous steps, making sure to hold the button for only 2 to 3 seconds.

   • If a BIOS recovery message repeatedly displays, continue to the next step to install an updated BIOS version.

   • If a message that the computer improperly shut down or a boot problem is detected displays, follow the on-screen instructions to resolve the error.

   • If Windows starts, update to the latest BIOS version. Go to HP Notebook PCs - Updating the BIOS.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.

If I have helped you resolve the issue, feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below,

Followed by clicking on "Accept as solution" from the drop-down menu on the upper right corner,

Thank you for posting in the HP Support Forum.  Have a great day!

[ChrisBee]

YES: 1. Windows is on game mode, AV is on game mode (releases resources to system/game), HP Control Center is on game mode (Performance), PC is plugged in while gaming.

YES: Tried different games. On games that are not CPU intensive, no problem. CPU intensive games, it runs at 50% (yes, this i7 8750H is so good, even my CPU intensive game stresses it to only 50% and give out 80 to 100fps). BUT, it will only run at 50% for about 15mins, then it will throttle down to 30% or below CPU utilization. I'm sure this is not the GPU limiting it as none of my current games are graphics intensive. During games, the GTX 1060 utilization is only at 45 to 55%, temps at 75 deg C.

So, after 15mins, a CPU intensive game will only run at 10fps. And this only happened after installing latest HP Omen drivers from HP Support. Before that, it was probably using drivers that Windows 10 v1809 installed.  Yes, Windows does install drivers it thinks is best for the system. 

But, because I thought getting specific drivers from HP support will be even better, signed in at HP Support, found new drivers for my machine, downloaded, installed, now I got severely throttled.

BIOS update done.

Please wait as I try to do that hard reset you suggested. That involves me opening the chassis as this Omen comes with screwed in battery inside the chassis. Or should I really open this machine to do that?

[Echo_Lake]

@ChrisBee
I'm sending out a Private message to assist you with the next course of action.

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/notes/privatenotespage

[Echo_Lake]

@ChrisBee

Thank you for posting back. 

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. As you've performed relevant troubleshooting steps, I would request you to contact our Phone Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out.
HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: 

• Click on this link – www.hp.com/contacthp/
• Select the product type.
• Enter the serial number of your device or select let HP detect your product option.
• Select the country from the drop-down.
• You should see the HP phone support number or Chat option listed.

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance.