My CPU won't run higher than 35% in all cores

I have a Dell XPS 15 with a Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300HQ CPU @ 2.30GHz, 2304 MHz, 4 Cores, 4 Logical Processors.

I'm struggling with an issue where I'm running UserBenchmark tests and it's returning that my CPU is highly under performing. Furthermore, I ran a test whilst having my task manager graphs up and noticed that it won't run higher than about 35% in all cores. It just seems to flat line at that percentage.

I've tried all the recommended settings changes such as the power settings min/max. Could my CPU be damaged? Or are there any more obscure settings that I could try?

this is the screenshot you asked for

Patrick Jackson

Posted 2018-07-01T14:26:46.870

Reputation: 1

What PowerPlan do you have enabled? – Ramhound – 2018-07-01T15:33:26.627

in terms of the process power management settings i have the minimum and maximum on 100% with the system cooling policy active and the high performance option. – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-01T15:38:59.867

Answers

It's because your board is blocking more usage due to cooling issues. I had the same problem a year ago because my fan wasn't running.

This is a common issue, see this Microsoft forum post.

EDIT

Here is a list to check everything, your bios Screenshot indicates it's a problem with Windows. Try setting power state to 100% first.

BenjaminWegener

Posted 2018-07-01T14:26:46.870

Reputation: 11

My fan is definitely running but i will try and cool it down and then if nothing changes i will open it up and check for dust. Thanks for you advice. – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-01T15:29:07.293

this wasn't the problem – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-01T20:56:34.283

What frequency are the cores running g at when under load? – davidgo – 2018-07-02T11:35:24.117

according to coretemp they are running at 797.85MHz (99.73x8.0) – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-02T12:09:06.487

and when running a benchmark test its 0.78GHz on resource monitor – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-02T12:14:40.227

Can you post your BIOS settings for voltage an chipset? And what about booting a linux live system? – BenjaminWegener – 2018-07-02T18:57:28.803

yeah just about to now, let me know if this is the wrong screenshot. I haven't tried a Linux live system as i am a student and have a lot of work on here. – Patrick Jackson – 2018-07-02T21:33:39.137

The Screenshot is perfect. As you can see, current clock speed is 2.3ghz. Edited my answer accordingly. – BenjaminWegener – 2018-07-03T08:55:26.237

-1

You can do more accurate heat troubleshooting by using a tool such as Speccy which can show motherboard and cpu thermometer readings. This will allow you to verify if it is a heating problem more confidently. Unfortunately the motherboard sensors are thermistors and they burn out and go unreliable sometimes. If the laptop is exposed to fine fibers (especially cat hair or cloth fibers) the solution is to clean your fan and heatsink. I've seen this on half a dozen laptops. A second possible cause is that your cpu has disconnected from its heatsink. This is where a screw of the heatsink pops off and so your cpu isn't seated correctly. It causes the exact same cpu throttling symptom. But I've only seen that on desktops.

Evan

Posted 2018-07-01T14:26:46.870

Reputation: 1