Minimum Frequency not working for CPU

[akmalamni]

Please confirm

• I have searched existing issues
• This issue is not a duplicate of an existing one
• I will fill this out to the best of my ability

Expected Behaviour

Setting the minimum frequency of CPU to a certain value should’ve ensured the frequency does not go below that

Actual Behaviour

At some intervals, the CPU frequency will decrease and maintain at 400mhz for 1-3mins, and GPU will go down to 200mhz.

The minimum GPU frequency slider worked in setting the minimum mhz, but the cpu slider did not work

Steps To Reproduce

1. Set Minimum (Mhz) of CPU to a certain value more than 400hz
2. Play a heavy game (Death Stranding, Zelda BOTW emulation, MH Rise/Sunbreak, anything that would usually require 10-15W TDP that had no issues for other steamdeck user)
3. After some time (5-30) mins, the frequency of both GPU and CPU will decrease to 200mhz and 400mhz respectively for 1-3mins
4. CPU will go lower than the minimum Mhz set earlier, but GPU will be fine and follow the min Mhz set earlier

Anything else?

Version

1.3.0 (Latest stable)

Platform

Steam Deck

OS

SteamOS 3 (Stable)

[NGnius]

What happens if you reapply the settings?

[akmalamni]

I believe the issue still persists. I'll give it a try just to give you a solid confirmation, will update within an hour!

[akmalamni]

Hello there,

I've been able to recreate the issue and clicking on 'reapply settings' did not work in setting the Minimum Mhz for CPU

GPU works fine though for the Minimum Mhz

[akmalamni]

Hello there,

Is there anything you may need from my side for this issue?

Please do let me know.

Regards

[syberphunk]

Does the CPU go up if you lower the minimum GPU ?

[akmalamni]

No, lowering the minimum GPU mhz doesn't do anything on the CPU side.

Seems like GPU side of the plugin works just fine. But on the CPU side, when this issue kicks in, the plugin is not able to do anything for the CPU

[NGnius]

Hey, sorry for the slow response. I haven't had time to try to reproduce it on my Deck since I've been focused on some architectural changes in semi-related projects. In the meantime, logs may help clarify what's really going on here.

I have a nagging suspicion that it's either a kernel bug or an overheating problem (I'm thinking VRM) that's causing this. Neither of those I can/will fix through PowerTools.

[akmalamni]

Hello there,

No worries, I understand and I appreciate you taking your time to reply to this.

That's quite unfortunate if it's not fixable by the plugin. My temps reading via the technical view are usually around 70-93c depending on the games. Is that normal? If you need any logs, can you direct me on how to get them from my system?

Do you have any suggestions on how I should fix this issue (RMA is not possible on my end)?

Thanks!

[Gpinchon]

My temps reading via the technical view are usually around 70-93c depending on the games.

Hello, allow me to try and answer that, 93°C seems a bit high, but 70°C is perfectly normal, I would say it's an average running temp for a CPU under load.

Do you have any suggestions on how I should fix this issue (RMA is not possible on my end)?

I don't think there is anything wrong with your Deck, try locking the FPS to 30 and/or lowering the in game graphics, you can even try deactivating the updated fan curve which favors silence over temperature. You could also try and undervolting your CPU/GPU following CryoByte33 tutorial, but be aware that it's more risky than playing around with PowerTools.

[Gpinchon]

Also, I have the same issue with my deck, the minimum frequency jumps from 400Mhz to 1400Mhz as soon as I close PowerTools, reapplying the settings doesn't work.
I'm gonna check out in the BIOS if there are any setting that could explain that.