How can I change the CPU clock speed of my computer? It is a Dell Inspiron 5720 laptop, running Windows 8.1 Pro. In Linux, I know there are ways of doing this from the operating system itself, instead of having to go through the BIOS, like this and this. Is this possible in Windows?
Windows – Change CPU Clock Speed from Windows
cpucpu-speedwindows
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Thanks everybody who tried to help me. Finally the problem was solved.
Other people reported that Current clock speed in BIOS is the same as Maximum clock speed. Which was different on my laptop - I had Current clock speed same as Minimum clock speed. There was something wrong with it not in OS, not in BIOS but "deeper".
- Current clock speed: 1.000 GHz
- Minimum clock speed: 1.000 GHz
- Maximum clock speed: 2.000 GHz
I also updated BIOS and nothing changed. When I set BIOS to default values and restarted, message was displayed saying
A 65W AC power adapter has been determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery may take more time to charge.
The adapter was already a suspect after about 7 hours of investigation, what might be the problem. This was the final evidence. What can cause CPU to operate slower? CPU speed can be set in BIOS, in OS, so something really deep in the system is the cause.
I use 65W car/air adapter all the time, it's small and great. I asked my friend to give me my old big 90W adapter back and.. The CPU works now at 2 GHz and is not throttled down.
Having a "balanced" power scheme is not the issue.
It allows your CPU to downclock, go to 100%, and even turbo boost if needed.
If your CPU speed is halved, it may mean:
The CPU is thermal throttling.
Intel's XTU utility can help you check this.Your laptop feels like it's on battery power, yet you have AC on.
Try removing your battery (you should remove it anyway when using from AC!) and try again.Check if your power profile is really what is should be.
Like "Maximum" is really 100%.Sometimes turbo boost can cause throttling or issues on poorly cooled laptops, you can disable it by setting 99% in the Balanced power profile. It will still run your CPU at it's max clock speed, yet will not use Turbo Boost. It's also a great way to have a cool and fast laptop, minus the loud fans. I do this all the time on my laptop - because plenty of apps just waste CPU cycles for no reason.
Applying the latest BIOS can also be a good solution.
Just make sure you have your battery in the laptop, and it is charged > 60%.
Best Answer
I believe you can achieve lower frequencies from power options menu:
image link
Setting maximum and minimum processor state to some percentage will probably fix the frequency on some level depending on your maximum CPU frequency.
However, this appears not to be under-clocking. A more detailed answer explains this in depth.