What is CPU Throttling and how can i force it on?

[daskallu]

Feature Changes:
· In-game Speed Options menu now has a "Enable CPU Throttling" checkbox.
· Enabling this option will allow StarCraft to consume fewer CPU cycles. By default this option is off.

Quote taken from the latest Starcraft BroodWar patch. Aparently, enableing this option makes starcraft alot less forgiving on powerful CPU's. I haven't tested this patch yet, but this is the exact same thing i was bugged about a week ago.

This is what happened to me a week ago while playing Pharaoh. A game from 1999 broke the record in cpu temp and fan speed at 59*C and 4000rpm (old record was 56*C and 3600rpm in Borderlands). It's something I would like not to repeat again.

So is there a way to enable this CPU throttling for all applications?

 

[daskallu]

I have an Athlon 64 3200+ venice core, forgot to add.

 

[bdcrlsn]

Most, if not all, CPU's these days throttle themselves down when idle or under light use. This option is enabled through the BIOS. Intel calls it SpeedStep and AMD calls it Cool n' Quiet. I believe your CPU has it, but I'm not positive. You can see if your CPU throttles by using CPU-Z (shows CPU frequency when idle and under load) and you can go through your motherboard's BIOS to see if there's a Cool n' Quiet option.

 

[daskallu]

Yes there is a Cool'n'Quiet option in BIOS. I disabled it however, because i read it's mostly useless, especially for overclocking, wich i do.

I'll try it still and post a reply thanks for the info!

 

[daskallu]

well i enabled it now, and after 10min of Pharaoh, the cpu is still used 100% and temps go up to 53*C (disabled overclock also)

 

[hasappra]

Just as bdcrlsn said: CPU throttling only throttles your CPU to lower frequency and voltage when it is idle or light use so your cpu will not use much power. However in your case, the CPU went up to 100% which means full load, so your CPU runs as the way it is (normal frequency and voltage if not overclocked). The only way to solve your heat and noise problems are by changing the HSF (Heatsink and fan).

 

[a4rocks]

You should preferably keep the CPU throttling enabled as it saves power and reduces heat. Whenever there is a full load, CPU throttling will be disabled automatically and all the cores will run at their default clock speeds or clock speeds they are intended to run. So I am guessing whatever info the game was giving isn't correct or the patch isn't working as intended for your system.

 

[jsc]

My overclocked Core2 systems have SpeedStep enabled. I turn the feature off while I was working out the OC settings, tested the OC, reenabled SpeedStep, then tested again.

With proper OC setting, SpeedStep operation is transparent.

 

[daskallu]

I apreciate the efforts so far, but what I really need is a way to force enable throttling on aplications.

The example with the patch for Starcraft is what made me believe that throttling can fix the issue I'm experiencing with old games (such as Pharaoh, SimCity4, etc) and that is the fact that these games use 100% CPU load, and implicitly dump alot of unnecesary heat and fan noise in my case.

Sorry for misspellings.

 

[daskallu]

Best answer selected by daskallu.