Task Manager reporting wrong CPU frequency


Recommended Posts

Don't know if this is a bug or a feature but the Windows 8 Task Manager always shows frequency higher than CPU-Z.

When I do CPU intensive task, it shows 5.10 Ghz frequency which is obviously wrong as my i5-3550 has maximum frequency limit of 4.10 Ghz.

fmrpM.jpg

Anyone noticed this? Clean re-install nor updating BIOS helped.

Well your CPU will automatically underclock itself when it's not being used, so that part is probably correct.

But when it displays 5.1GHz, I have no idea what's going on there. Does CPU-Z show the same thing?

This is normal if speedstep is on and you are using Balanced as your power plan AFAIK.

The CPU will clock down, then clock up to it's standard operating speed. That CPU operates at 3.30Ghz, and Turbos up to 3.7Ghz. Run prime95 on it and you should see it go up to 3.7Ghz.

I don't see where it says 5.1ghz but I don't know why it's showing 4.1Ghz unless you overclocked it

  On 09/10/2012 at 14:15, sanke1 said:

CPU-Z shows 4.1 Ghz. Windows task manager shows 4.8 Ghz or 5.1 Ghz depending on it's mood.

I would definitely say it's a Windows problem then. But you shouldn't be surprised. :rolleyes:

  On 09/10/2012 at 14:10, sanke1 said:

Don't know if this is a bug or a feature but the Windows 8 Task Manager always shows frequency higher than CPU-Z.

When I do CPU intensive task, it shows 5.10 Ghz frequency which is obviously wrong as my i5-3550 has maximum frequency limit of 4.10 Ghz.

Anyone noticed this? Clean re-install nor updating BIOS helped.

the newer intel cores have "Turbo Boost". Which will underclock your CPU automagically during low loads. During more CPU intensive tasks it will bring it up to speed. It's possible that when CPUz is launched it doesn't have much load and as such you see a lower speed, whereas I am assuming Windows 8 can take that into account and show the maximum, as well as the current.

  On 09/10/2012 at 14:58, Deranged said:

If you've got the system overclocked then yes, it's probably just showing the max speed under TurboBoost. When only one or two cores are active it'll boost the speeds. http://en.wikipedia....tel_Turbo_Boost

i5-3550 is Non-K edition. It cannot be overclocked.

  • 2 months later...
  Quote
i5-3550 is Non-K edition. It cannot be overclocked.

That has absolutely nothing to do with it. Turbo Boost doesn't require a K series processor and is enabled on most of the I-series processors. Basically if it detects that a running program isn't multi-core optimized it shuts off some (1, 2, or even 3) of the cores and overclocks the remaining cores.

For example, my processor is 1.73 but with turbo boost enabled (on 1 core for this example) it rises to 2.93.

What's weird though is Intel says your CPU has a max turbo frequency of 3.7, but Windows is reporting 4.1/5.1 :/ Maybe your motherboard/BIOS is reporting the wrong CPU?

^^ Motherboard and Bios are reporting the exact CPU which I purchased. It's just that Windows Task Manager reports incorrect frequency compared to CPUz or any other CPU freq monitoring program.

This issue has nothing to do with overclocking. The new Task Manager in Windows 8 is incapable of reading correct CPU speeds in some cases. I call this Windows bug.

People replying about Speedstep, try reading again. Looking at the pictures will help explain, also. That's what they're there for.

That being said, I've not seen that, but I generally use slightly older processors. Maybe it's the way the newer ones are seen by the OS?

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Yet my Surface Pro 7+ was running ok with 23H2, only having issues with the laggy-mess that's the new File Explorer...
    • Brave browser blocks Windows feature that takes screenshots of everything you do on your PC by David Uzondu If there's anything Microsoft Build 2024 will be remembered for, it's the introduction of the controversial Windows Recall on its new Copilot+ PCs. Pitched as a "photographic memory" for your computer, this feature works by constantly taking screenshots of your activity to build a detailed and searchable timeline of everything you have ever seen or done. Almost immediately, critics and security researchers labeled the feature a privacy nightmare, pointing out that a single piece of malware could gain access to a user's entire digital life. In response to the backlash, Microsoft promised that users will be able to filter which apps get recorded, but some developers are not waiting around. Just about a month after the feature became generally available for Copilot+ PCs (it is now rolling out to users in Europe), some app developers took matters into their own hands to protect their users. One such company was Signal, which implemented an opt-out feature called "Screen Security" to prevent its chats from being captured. It cleverly uses a Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag to black out the application window during a screenshot attempt, using the same technology that streaming services like Netflix use to prevent people from recording movies. Now, Brave Browser has joined the party, announcing on X that it will block Recall by default with its v1.81 update, which is expected in the coming weeks. While Microsoft stated that Recall would not capture content from private browsing windows, Brave's new update just tells the Windows operating system that all of its browser windows are private. This prevents Recall from snapshotting anything you do in Brave, not just the activity in a designated private tab. In its announcement, the company did give Microsoft some credit for making changes following the initial public outcry, such as making Recall an opt-in feature. However, the company still feels that giving any application unrestricted access to a user's browsing history is a huge risk. If you, for some reason, like Windows Recall, you can disable the upcoming protection by navigating to Settings, then Privacy and Security, and toggling off the "Block Microsoft Recall" option.
    • I have the Tab A9+ also, and I agree with all your points. I really like this tablet.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      SmileWorks Dental earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Community Regular
      vZeroG went up a rank
      Community Regular
    • Collaborator
      Snake Doc earned a badge
      Collaborator
    • Week One Done
      Snake Doc earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Johnny Mrkvička earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      587
    2. 2
      Michael Scrip
      199
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      192
    4. 4
      +FloatingFatMan
      131
    5. 5
      Xenon
      122
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!