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5960x idle functionality @ 1200MHz

timelapse
Level 7
I'm currently trying to wrap my head around the Haswell-E idling functionality.

In my personal experiences with the x99 platform and 2011-3, I'm amazed at how much frequency switching occurs during load on my x99 system. I have run tests on 3 different 5960X chips along with 2 different x99 Asus motherboards: The x99 Deluxe & the x99-e WS.

Besides the variable OC performance on each CPU (2 decent Costa Rica chips and 1 sub-par Malaya chip), I have been observing the CPU frequency jumping around like crazy in CPU-Z (ROG Asus release) and AI Suite 3 (DIP3). When I push a full load the system (I have done this with all the various configurations mentioned above), you will see the CPU frequency rapidly jump between 1200MHz (assuming the OC is running @ 100MHz) and the OC speed (i.e. 44000).

It just doesn't make sense to me why the frequency is switching like this under a full load (all 8 cores) in Adobe After Effects while rendering. I started to think this was an issue with AI Suite (in the latest version, 1.090 and the older version, 1.088), so I tried using the AI Suite Clean Install (running this on Win 8.1, 64). After doing so, I observed similar CPU frequency occurring with CPU-Z but not as rapidly. At this point, I started to understand that the CPU idle speed is actually part of the Haswell-E technology. I see it listed on the CPU spec sheet, so I guess it's completely normal. Is this so?

OK, so here's the twist:

I can actually render around 25% faster in Adobe After Effects @ STOCK 5960X speeds (no OC with AI Suite 3). When I set up an OC with AI Suite 3, I get a much higher CPU frequency (4.4+ versus the stock 3.5 w/ Turbo Boost) BUT the rendering is actually slower.

What's going on with AI Suite / Dual Intelligent Processors and the 5960x? The more I observe, the more confused I am.

Thanks in advance.

I should note that I have been an OSX user for many years. I finally got fed up with Apple and their Mac Pro line, so I made the switch back to Windows after the x99 (DDR4, Haswell-E) release. I have spent 3 weeks straight learning about the new system and experimenting with various boards, etc to find the optimal set-up. My x99 deluxe arrived with 3 bad SATA ports, so I returned it and made the upgrade to the x99e-ws which is what I'm currently running.

Current system specs:

5960x + Asus x99e-ws
64GB 2400 Ballistic (8x8)
Windows 8.1, 64-bit
Corsair H100i w/ Tuniq TX-4 thermal paste
1000-watt EVGA power supply
Asus GTX980
14,651 Views
22 REPLIES 22

Arne_Saknussemm
Level 40
The fluctuation in CPU speed and hopefully voltage with it (Speedstep/ EIST) is one of the great new technologies and something you have paid for so enjoy it 😉

AI suite....I wouldn't let overclock anything....doesn't surprise me something goes wrong....do your own OCing by hand in the BIOS.

I find your CPU experience interesting...I have a made in Malaysia CPU and it is rubbish....as far as I have seen they are not nearly as good as the Costa Rica chips...only seen one good example...pretty damning stuff

Arne Saknussemm wrote:

I find your CPU experience interesting...I have a made in Malaysia CPU and it is rubbish....as far as I have seen they are not nearly as good as the Costa Rica chips...only seen one good example...pretty damning stuff


The Malaysia CPU I picked up for $899 was awful. It was quickly returned to Micro Center. So far, the 2 Costa Rica CPUs from Amazon are decent (average).

Chino
Level 15
The fluctuations that you're seeing with your CPU frequency is normal behaviour. That's the way it's supposed to work. The CPU will downclock to decrease power usage and heat output. When a sufficient load is applied, it will go right back up.

Regarding you getting better performance at stock than with an overclock can point to two things. Either your overclock is unstable or your H100i isn't capable of keeping the temperatures in check which would lead to your CPU throttling.

Thanks for the info, guys.

I spoke to a tech support agent at Asus today and he provided a similar answer. I did some more tinkering in the bios and found a way to almost eliminate the idle state altogether. It isn't perfect, but it works. More testing required.

As for the AI Suite OC, the cooler was doing a great job. Temps never exceeded 70C under full load for several hours.

I'm fairly convinced that AI Suite is throttling between the OC and idle speed too frequently. Running stock doesn't switch it as quickly from what I can see in CPU-Z during rendering tests.

Chino
Level 15
If you want your CPU to always run at its maximum frequency, all you have to do is disable the Intel Speedstep option in your BIOS. 😉

Chino wrote:
If you want your CPU to always run at its maximum frequency, all you have to do is disable the Intel Speedstep option in your BIOS. 😉


Chino helped me with a similar post, but you can keep it enabled but changing the power management plan, balanced will downclock to 1200mhz and load to 3.5.

High Performance will keep it to 3.5 and a stable voltage, they dont change at all.

Chino
Level 15

timelapse
Level 7
In my testing yesterday, disabling Intel Speed Step does help but the processor will still periodically drop into idle state. If you disable C-state AND speed step, it stays locked at a constant minimum. Render times are even faster in Adobe After Effects after doing this in the bios.

Is there anything dangerous about keeping these disabled and apply a modest OC? Generally speaking, I assume any OC will only apply to Turbo Boost frequency. I know that changing the BCLK will bump up the base speed, but I don't plan on doing that initially.

Thanks