Help with Intel HD Graphics 3000, Please.

[JuJuty]

hello. inside is running an Intel i3 Quad Core 2370m @ 2.4GHz + Intel HD Graphics 3000 on the HM75 Express.


when running Furmark, i notice the GPU Core Clock goes up to 1150MHz from 650MHz. i would like to know how to enable that extra 500MHz to always on. is there a way?

i have tried changing power profiles in windows and graphics. and have tried different driver versions with XTU. also tried all versions of ThrottleStop. apparently some feature called Dynamic Frequency? i don't know.

all i know is that that extra 500MHz would be handy for games. i see in games where even areas that have less FPS it is still at 650MHz. i will do fine with temperatures, the system sits on top of a small fan keeping temps down.



any help appreciated.

 

[wingman99]

Is there any options in Bios?

 

[JuJuty]

Is there any options in Bios?

unfortunately, no. and i can't seem to determine the exact version either. my last thought was to try one of those AMI hacks over at bios-mods. but without knowing exactly the file i need... it says in bios, "Aptio Setup Utility - American Megatrends, Inc" and the version is A10.

the laptop is a Dell Inspiron 3520, and you can check the service tag 4RSW9V1 for more on it. the latest BIOS it shows... the only thing i can seem to think would indicate an exact version is "Enhancements
-Update N13M-GS VBIOS to 1301gsp_4g_75.17.65.00.02.rom". but am still not certain.

do you think a BIOS mod would work for me? if not, what about some way to just fool the GPU load sensor to thinking it is at a high enough load to trigger that boost?



i am just looking for ANY way to always-on that extra 500MHz. the system can handle it, even over periods of time.

 

[Theocnoob]

I think finding a way to fool the system into thinking the iGPU is under load to get your 500Mhz is probably your only option.

 

[JuJuty]

I think finding a way to fool the system into thinking the iGPU is under load to get your 500Mhz is probably your only option.

do you know how i can do that? it seems like it should be possible.

 

[trents]

Is this thermal throttling that is going on?

 

[JuJuty]

Is this thermal throttling that is going on?

no. the thermal throttle starts at around 82c. it drops the power down to like 0.2 for it. but i managed to resolve BD PROCHOT initiating by adding a small fan under the laptop. temps are for sure not an issue. i would just love to smooth out some frames with that extra 500MHz. i am sure it is safe to sustain it, so long temps are stable.

i see no instability from running Furmark for even over an hour. temps stay at 76c. the power level seems high at 13.5w, but the system is stable.

 

[cyberfish]

If the graphics clock doesn't go up during gaming it's probably because the game was CPU-limited (your CPU is a pretty low frequency dual core), and GPU wasn't fully loaded anyways.

Also, how are you checking GPU clock during game play? Are you alt-tabbing out? The frequency may go down as you tab out. Modern processors (CPUs and GPUs) only take milliseconds to change frequency, so they do that very often.

 

[JuJuty]

If the graphics clock doesn't go up during gaming it's probably because the game was CPU-limited (your CPU is a pretty low frequency dual core), and GPU wasn't fully loaded anyways.

Also, how are you checking GPU clock during game play? Are you alt-tabbing out? The frequency may go down as you tab out. Modern processors (CPUs and GPUs) only take milliseconds to change frequency, so they do that very often.

i can check stats a couple of ways. either put GPU-z to always stay on top or using rivatuner statistics server. i mostly use GPU-z, but it doesn't stay on top of 3DMark05.

on Furmark this is the settings used... everything off except dynamic background and burn-in. put in a 1024x768 resolution (windowed). with the furry object is 4FPS, the core clock sits at 1150MHz and even after an hour the temp goes no further then 76c with the power level at 13.5~14.5w under like 85~100% load. turn the furry object off and i see about like what is seen while playing a game. 107FPS, 72c, 2.5w and 60% load

now in the games i like to play they sit much easier. even after hours it doesn't go past 66~72c and power levels pretty much don't go past 1.4~2.5w. and load is usually around 30~60%.

 

[wingman99]

I would trust rivatuner statistics server OSD.

 

[cyberfish]

i can check stats a couple of ways. either put GPU-z to always stay on top or using rivatuner statistics server. i mostly use GPU-z, but it doesn't stay on top of 3DMark05.

on Furmark this is the settings used... everything off except dynamic background and burn-in. put in a 1024x768 resolution (windowed). with the furry object is 4FPS, the core clock sits at 1150MHz and even after an hour the temp goes no further then 76c with the power level at 13.5~14.5w under like 85~100% load. turn the furry object off and i see about like what is seen while playing a game. 107FPS, 72c, 2.5w and 60% load

now in the games i like to play they sit much easier. even after hours it doesn't go past 66~72c and power levels pretty much don't go past 1.4~2.5w. and load is usually around 30~60%.

If load is around 30~60% there is your proof that you are not GPU-limited, and clocking the GPU higher won't help.

 

[wingman99]

Is the OP saying 30~60% GPU load or CPU load?

 

[JuJuty]

GPU load.

all i am trying to figure out is how to enable my system to always apply that extra 500MHz to the GPU core clock. it only applies it when the GPU is under heavy enough load. but when playing games, they don't put it under that much load to make it apply. however, adding that extra 500MHz will increase my FPS. this would be really helpful in some areas where some more FPS is needed.

 

[wingman99]

What does your CPU utilization show while gaming? The problem I see is you don't have enough GPU utilization to make the clock increase.

 

[JuJuty]

What does your CPU utilization show while gaming? The problem I see is you don't have enough GPU utilization to make the clock increase.

for the CPU...


while using Furmark and the furry object on, it only shows 2% utilization. when turning off the furry object it shoots up to 30%. however, it completely tops out CPU1, barely putting load on other CPU's.

now in-game it shows about 30~40% utilization. i notice it places the most load under CPU0. load order from highest to lowest is CPU0 CPU2 CPU3 CPU1. the distributes load throughout all CPU's, though. and doesn't top out any CPU.

 

[cyberfish]

GPU load.

all i am trying to figure out is how to enable my system to always apply that extra 500MHz to the GPU core clock. it only applies it when the GPU is under heavy enough load. but when playing games, they don't put it under that much load to make it apply. however, adding that extra 500MHz will increase my FPS. this would be really helpful in some areas where some more FPS is needed.

That means extra 500 MHz won't actually give you more FPS. Both your CPU and GPU need to do some work every frame, so your overall FPS is determined by the slower of the two. If the GPU is not used 100%, that means the CPU is the slower one, and increasing GPU frequency won't help. That's why it's not applied.

while using Furmark and the furry object on, it only shows 2% utilization. when turning off the furry object it shoots up to 30%. however, it completely tops out CPU1, barely putting load on other CPU's.

now in-game it shows about 30~40% utilization. i notice it places the most load under CPU0. load order from highest to lowest is CPU0 CPU2 CPU3 CPU1. the distributes load throughout all CPU's, though. and doesn't top out any CPU.

That means Furmark sets CPU affinity and the game doesn't (there's nothing wrong with this). When no affinity is set (forcing a thread to run on a single CPU), the scheduler will move it around many times per second for thermal reasons. This is perfectly normal, and is what causes what you are seeing (load spread across the cores). However, if the game is single threaded or barely multi-threaded, which seems to be the case here, the numbers should add up to around 100% if you add the load on all CPUs up, and that indicates a CPU bottleneck.

 

[JuJuty]

That means extra 500 MHz won't actually give you more FPS. Both your CPU and GPU need to do some work every frame, so your overall FPS is determined by the slower of the two. If the GPU is not used 100%, that means the CPU is the slower one, and increasing GPU frequency won't help. That's why it's not applied.



That means Furmark sets CPU affinity and the game doesn't (there's nothing wrong with this). When no affinity is set (forcing a thread to run on a single CPU), the scheduler will move it around many times per second for thermal reasons. This is perfectly normal, and is what causes what you are seeing (load spread across the cores). However, if the game is single threaded or barely multi-threaded, which seems to be the case here, the numbers should add up to around 100% if you add the load on all CPUs up, and that indicates a CPU bottleneck.

i can totally understand what you are saying about the 500MHz not being able to help me. however, there are operations that only the GPU handle, right? how would increasing the core clock not increase the speed of those operations? things like pixel/texture fillrate. shouldn't a higher fillrate potentially increase FPS?

i have only had a few machines in the past, but in every case increasing the GPU core clock by 200MHz has had even a small, but noticeable impact. in most areas about 5~8FPS more.

 

[wingman99]

now in-game it shows about 30~40% utilization.

That number seems disturbing when the Game is only using 30-40% of the CPU. I would do a clean install of windows 10 and see what it will do for gaming without all the Dell proprietary Drivers.

 

[JuJuty]

can't say that is something i want to do, and actually just very recently did a refresh using windows 8.1. (it wouldn't be a problem if i had the media to make a full backup) none of the drivers install anything for the CPU. what i can do is uninstall them all plus remove any leftovers. but as far as GPU drivers go... i have tried older version and newer versions. versions from Intel and versions from Intellimodder. i never once notice difference in performance, and difference in 3DMark05 scores are negligible.


anyhow, i have never actually tried doing anything without the drivers installed. so... we shall see what happens i guess. xD

 

[wingman99]

Did you format the storage drive before reinstalling the OS? Well from what you have said looks like you tried everything almost.