Throttling issue with PCSX2

[prithwish]

Some of you may remember I posted a thread awhile back, about some "slowdowns" while running PCSX2. The slowdown periods would start after about 10 mins, cutting down my framerate by half, and last for progressively longer periods of time.

I also said upgrading to a 9600GT solved the problem. But I didnt have the opportunity to try pcsx2 again after getting the 9600gt, coz I got into other better games then =D

Anyways, seems the problem is back when I tried out GoW. Happens with all ps2 games I own. The exact same problem... ~__~

The thing is, I had RMClock running by chance one day while PCSX2ing. AAAAAAnnd.....

I found out my CPU clock speed displayed in rmclock went from 2.81ghz to 1.4 ghz WHENEVER THE SLOWDOWNS OCCURRED. The multipler cut down to 7.0x from 14.0x, and the CPU frequency ID (FID) cut down to half too.

Also, I found out that this throttling happened whenever my cpu crossed 72c. When the temps came down, to around 68-70c, the speeds in pcsx2 went back to normal (slowdowns were gone)

Questions I have is :-

1> Are these temps while runing pcsx2 (68-73c) normal?

Because running any other resource intensive game on my pc (Crysis, Mass effect 2 are all i have right now, had far cry 2 installed until just recently, never ever caused temps to rise beyond say 60-62c. Doing nothing, just having the pc turned on sitting idle, gets about 50-55c. At the BIOS screen idle temps read about 35-40c)

2>Any way I can disable this CPU throttling?

Thanks in advance

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Forgot to mention this, specs :-

AMD Athlon X2 5600+ @ 2.81Ghz
2 GB ram (just the one stick)
GeForce 9600gt 512mb

Mainboard :- MSI K9N6SGM2-V (MS-7309)

[jesalvein]

AMD cpus are known to heat quite a lot.

About that "throttling" issue : do you happen to have AMD cool n' quiet enabled in your bios ? that could be it.

[prithwish]

I already turned Cool n' Quiet off from the bios. Problem persists anyway.

[Shadow Lady]

PCSX2 is a lot more CPU intensive than usual PC games, those tend to depend more on the graphics card, so yeah I'd say it's normal that you get those temps with pcsx2.

Get a better CPU cooler, 55ºc IDLE is definitely not good :p

[prithwish]

I uploaded two screenshots to give you guys a better idea.

This is under normal operation (no slowdown):-

[Image: gow2normal.jpg]

And now, when the condition arises :-

[Image: gow2slowdown.jpg]

See the graph for the cpu clock here. The peaks and valleys indicate that this throttlin thingy is periodic.

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@shadow lady - I'm a total newbie at cooling and stuff. Everything is stock on my pc. No OC'ing either. Help me out? ~__~ Should I install fans, or this 'thermal paste' people keep talking about?

[cloud8521]

that heat is just too high, so your cpu will throttle itself to keep itself from overheating and causing to burn itself out or lower its life expectancy.

i suggest better cooling, luckily it wont take more then $25 to get a nice cooler. you may also want to get a new case to improve airflow, in fact that is the first thing i would do, that is after checking your cpu heat sink for dust.


the thing is the max heat that your cpu can take is 70c and as you can see, your cpu is right on that mark.

so here is my list of things to try in this order, moving on the the next if the one before fails or that is not the problem

-check cpu fan for dust
-check that the cpu fan is blowing
-use CPUID hardware monitor to make ure the fan is running around at-least 2500rpm
-keep your case open when running, if that helps get a new case with better airflow.
-new CPU fan.


remember to fallow the instructions and be careful on the last 2 steps. they should not be too hard but if you are too scared or beleive that you will not be able to,, you may need to hire someone to install this eqipment.

[prithwish]

Okay, thanks. I tried out CPUID Hardware monitor.

I've just switched on the pc now, after like 7 hours. Under the "Fans" list, the "FANIN0" reads around 5300rpm right now. CPU core temps right now read 52c for Core#0 and 55c for Core#1.

[jadariin]

Thats a little too high for idle temperatures. I have a Athlon x2 240 2.8ghz oced to 3.2ghz which runs at 35-40 degrees at idle and 50-56 degrees at full load all on stock cooling.

Do you have additional case cooling fans there? It could help. Make sure you have at least 1 fan pulling air into the case and at least 1 exhaust fan. You should try to. make the air flow better. They're relatively cheap 8cm fans here cost about 3-5 dollars ea. Or you could cloud's suggestion and take the casing lid off and put an small electric fan blowing directly to your cpu.

Check for dust too. Applying thermal paste will help too but you need to remove the cpu fan from the mother board to do it and apply it to the cpu itself. If your not confident, you could ask someone who knows how to take out the cpu fan since it can get a tight fit.

[cloud8521]

Thats a little too high for idle temperatures. I have a Athlon x2 240 2.8ghz oced to 3.2ghz which runs at 35-40 degrees at idle and 50-56 degrees at full load all on stock cooling.

Do you have additional case cooling fans there? It could help. Make sure you have at least 1 fan pulling air into the case and at least 1 exhaust fan. You should try to. make the air flow better. They're relatively cheap 8cm fans here cost about 3-5 dollars ea. Or you could cloud's suggestion and take the casing lid off and put an small electric fan blowing directly to your cpu.

Check for dust too. Applying thermal paste will help too but you need to remove the cpu fan from the mother board to do it and apply it to the cpu itself. If your not confident, you could ask someone who knows how to take out the cpu fan since it can get a tight fit.

remember the case needs to actually have the fan mounts, some have none. and unless you have a router (easier to drill the holes) and a Dremel (for hole of course) i would not recommend doing that, that is if it does not have the mounts. if you do want to drill and cut make sure you buy the product first so you know where you will be drilling.

[prithwish]

I checked the CPU fan/heatsink...Clogged up BEYOND belief. Muck everywhere. It's a miracle the fan even moves...

I dont think it can ever be cleaned. Need to buy a new one, I guess....

Any tips on which CPU fan/heatsink I should get?

Thanks a lot for all your help till now