Thinkpads Forum

Hi All,

I just bought a Thinkpad X230 (Core i5 3230m 4GB/500GB) and was trying to format some power schemes. I wanted to create an ultra low power scheme that reduce the processor speed to a minimum. I did so using the Windows 7 interface where I could reduce the maximum power % to 0.

What I noticed, however, was that the processor speed never changed no matter which setting or power scheme I chose. I even chose the preset Lenovo power saving schemes and that didn't change the speed either. It was always "stuck" on 2.6 Ghz according to the Control Panel/System reading. Normally, it should be closer to 1Ghz when power saving schemes are selected.

I'm wondering what I'm missing here. I've been over the power schemes a few times -- both in Lenovo Power Manager and the Windows 7 power options. It's puzzling.

I have seen this before on other people's laptops.

The first thing I would check would be your BIOS and ensure that the things such as speedstep are enabled. Might as well make sure hardware VT is turned on also, it will greatly improve VM performance if you make use of virtual machines. Might as well enable hyper-threading as well.

Finally you can also check for a BIOS update and embedded controller firmware update.