T42p ? Speedstep problem

[ozman]

Hi all - I have a brand new T42p 2373KTM. Problem is that while running CPU intensive software (aka games) - intermittently the notebook seems to go into 'low-speed mode' .... I have noted that the system settings show CPU @ 600MHz (rather than normal 2GHz) at this time. This occurs while plugged into AC power, and is self limiting and lasts about 1 minute. I have ensured the latest bios is installed, double checked the bios settings, and spoke to IBM support.

It still seems to be doing this and I was wondering if anyone had experienced any similar problems, or if you had advice about what settings to adjust. Obviously I wouldnt mind if it was trying to conserve power when i was using battery, however it does this while plugged into AC and it makes my game unplayable while it occurs.

Thanks in advance for your expertise

[lfeagan]

My vote is thermal issues. Use Mobile Meter to monitor the temperature.

[ozman]

I have installed mobilemeter and it seems to be running at ~86 degrees celcius. This is a brand new (1 day old) T42p - are thermal issues a recognised issue with these models? Should i contact IBM and return it or would they all be like this? I assumed that the performance model (T42p) would be built to handle fairly continuous CPU utilisation....

On the other hand, is there anything you can recommend to help this problem....

Thanks again.

[meditate2001]

my t42 is always around 40. i would say return it.

[tselling]

My guess is also that its thermal related. I had that problem with a t41p 1.7Ghz in 14" model and also in a 1.8Gh T42p 14" model. I have not had seen problem with a 1.8Ghz 15" T42p. Its one of the reasons I have not upgraded to a 2Ghz model. According to mobmeter passive cooling will kick in at 88.5 degrees which is the CPU slowdown.

BTW I have only had this happen in a few games that are both CPU and GPU intensive (namely Everquest and Everquest II).

[lfeagan]

Yeah, 86 celsius is smoking hot. I have all of my mobos set to shutdown if the CPU exceeds 70 celsius. Someone must have failed to put the thermal grease on correctly. Run some Prime95 and see how it does. You should run the torture test option for maximum heat. It works pretty well at heating your system up. My peak temperature after 20 minutes of running was 65 celsius. side note: make sure that you don't have your air vents blocked. One of those simple things sometimes overlooked.

Prime 95