Higher clock speeds directly results in worse FPS - must keep turbo boost OFF or governer in POWERSAVE for games to be playable

[DarthZiplock]

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Have you tried?

• Searching through existing/closed issues to see if your bug has already been already submitted? Yes
• If installation failed with auto-cpufreq-installer,have you tried installing auto-cpufreq using Snap package? n/a
• Have you tried configuring auto-cpufreq? yes
• Have you tried suggestions in troubleshooting section? yes

Error output:

n/a

---

System information:

Add/paste output of:

aUsing settings defined in /etc/auto-cpufreq.conf file

-------------------------------- Battery Info ---------------------------------

battery count = 1
BAT0 start threshold = b'80\n'
BAT0 stop threshold = b'85\n'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linux distro: Fedora Linux 43 KDE Plasma Desktop Edition
Linux kernel: 6.18.4-200.fc43.x86_64
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 258V
Cores: 8
Architecture: x86_64
Driver: intel_pstate

------------------------------ Current CPU stats ------------------------------

CPU max frequency: 2200 MHz
CPU min frequency: 400 MHz

Core    Usage   Temperature     Frequency
CPU0      2.0%        39 °C      2200 MHz
CPU1      2.0%        39 °C       691 MHz
CPU2      1.0%        38 °C      2022 MHz
CPU3      3.0%        39 °C       400 MHz
CPU4      1.0%        37 °C      2200 MHz
CPU5      0.0%        37 °C      2201 MHz
CPU6      3.0%        37 °C      1862 MHz
CPU7      1.0%        37 °C       400 MHz

CPU fan speed: 0 RPM

CPU fan speed: 0 RPM

auto-cpufreq version: 3.0.0

Python: 3.14.2
psutil package: 7.0.0
platform package: 1.0.9
click package: 8.1.7
distro package: 1.9.0

Computer type: Convertible
Battery is: charging

auto-cpufreq system resource consumption:
cpu usage: 0.0 %
memory use: 0.14 %

Total CPU usage: 2.4 %
Total system load: 0.43
Average temp. of all cores: 37.00 °C 

Currently using: powersave governor
Currently turbo boost is: off

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

When governer is set to "performance," either via .conf file or override, FPS in games is half what it is in "powersave" governer mode.

I.e. Battlefront 2 runs at 40-50fps in "powersave," but only 14-17 in "powerformance."

Effect is similar across all intense games, roughly a 50% reduction.

This happens regardless of EPP and EPB settings. SEE COMMENT BELOW FOR UPDATE.

The system seems plenty fast otherwise in either mode.

Contents of my auto-cpufreq.conf file:

# settings for when connected to a power source
[charger]
# see available governors by running: cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors
# preferred governor
governor = powersave

# EPP: see available preferences by running: cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/energy_performance_available_preferences
energy_performance_preference = performance

# EPB (Energy Performance Bias) for the intel_pstate driver
# see conversion info: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/pm/intel_epb.html
# available EPB options include a numeric value between 0-15
# (where 0 = maximum performance and 15 = maximum power saving),
# or one of the following strings:
# performance (0), balance_performance (4), default (6), balance_power (8), or power (15)
# if the parameter is missing in the config and the hardware supports this setting, the default value will be used
# the default value is `balance_performance` (for charger)
energy_perf_bias = performance

# Platform Profiles
# https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/sysfs-platform_profile.html
# See available options by running:
# cat /sys/firmware/acpi/platform_profile_choices
# platform_profile = balanced

# minimum cpu frequency (in kHz)
# example: for 800 MHz = 800000 kHz --> scaling_min_freq = 800000
# see conversion info: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/frequency/mhz-to-hz.html
# to use this feature, uncomment the following line and set the value accordingly
# scaling_min_freq = 800000

# maximum cpu frequency (in kHz)
# example: for 1GHz = 1000 MHz = 1000000 kHz -> scaling_max_freq = 1000000
# see conversion info: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/frequency/mhz-to-hz.html
# to use this feature, uncomment the following line and set the value accordingly
# scaling_max_freq = 1000000

# turbo boost setting. possible values: always, auto, never
turbo = auto

# settings for when using battery power
[battery]
# see available governors by running: cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors
# preferred governor
governor = powersave

# EPP: see available preferences by running: cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/energy_performance_available_preferences
energy_performance_preference = power

# EPB (Energy Performance Bias) for the intel_pstate driver
# see conversion info: https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/pm/intel_epb.html
# available EPB options include a numeric value between 0-15
# (where 0 = maximum performance and 15 = maximum power saving),
# or one of the following strings:
# performance (0), balance_performance (4), default (6), balance_power (8), or power (15)
# if the parameter is missing in the config and the hardware supports this setting, the default value will be used
# the default value is `balance_power` (for battery)
energy_perf_bias = power

# Platform Profiles
# https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/userspace-api/sysfs-platform_profile.html
# See available options by running:
# cat /sys/firmware/acpi/platform_profile_choices
# platform_profile = low-power

# minimum cpu frequency (in kHz)
# example: for 800 MHz = 800000 kHz --> scaling_min_freq = 800000
# see conversion info: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/frequency/mhz-to-hz.html
# to use this feature, uncomment the following line and set the value accordingly
# scaling_min_freq = 800000

# maximum cpu frequency (in kHz)
# see conversion info: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/frequency/mhz-to-hz.html
# example: for 1GHz = 1000 MHz = 1000000 kHz -> scaling_max_freq = 1000000
# to use this feature, uncomment the following line and set the value accordingly
# scaling_max_freq = 1000000

# turbo boost setting (always, auto, or never)
turbo = auto

# battery charging threshold
# reference: https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq/#battery-charging-thresholds
enable_thresholds = true
start_threshold = 80
stop_threshold = 85

[DarthZiplock]

UPDATE: Further testing the issues is related to Turbo boost. In Performance governer with turbo boost set to Always or Auto, I get 14-20fps. With Turbo set to Never, I get 30-40fps.

Most interestingly, with governer set to Powersave and Turbo boost set to Never, then I get nearly 60fps.

It's acting exactly backwards of what it should.

This is happening in every game I have on my system. Some are native Linux builds, some are run through Proton/Steam. Higher clock speeds directly results in terrible fps.

This did not occur with the stock tuned power profiles. More performant profiles improved fps.

[AdnanHodzic]

Any changes when you use a config file and configure it to your own liking?

[DarthZiplock]

Any changes when you use a config file and configure it to your own liking?

Config file behaves exactly the same. I can reproduce the results in realtime by minimizing my game, editing the config file, hitting save, and watching my fps respond inversely.

Side note, it's cool that the config file is read life instead of requiring a reboot. Very handy.

EDIT: I can grab a video if that's at all helpful.

[CasperGamingOne]

I can confirm this behaviour also, side note it's nixos, but it still goes to the maximum frequency and power when turbo is auto or always and i reach 100 C way to easily :((

[AdnanHodzic]

I can confirm this behaviour also, side note it's nixos, but it still goes to the maximum frequency and power when turbo is auto or always and i reach 100 C way to easily :((

@shadeyg56 can you confirm?

[CasperGamingOne]

i managed to find a resolution at me by using throttled service, now it changes the frequencies again so it doesn't exceed 95/96 C hotspot

Update: So at least for me thermald doesn't do anything, as i tested with throttled and thermald + auto-cpufreq and just throttled + auto-cpufreq. Just throttled should be enough for this issue. If i am stupid and did smth wrong, than stupid me 🫣

[AdnanHodzic]

i managed to find a resolution at me by using throttled service, now it changes the frequencies again so it doesn't exceed 95/96 C hotspot

Update: So at least for me thermald doesn't do anything, as i tested with throttled and thermald + auto-cpufreq and just throttled + auto-cpufreq. Just throttled should be enough for this issue. If i am stupid and did smth wrong, than stupid me 🫣

@DarthZiplock can you confirm if this work for you as well?

[DarthZiplock]

i managed to find a resolution at me by using throttled service, now it changes the frequencies again so it doesn't exceed 95/96 C hotspot
Update: So at least for me thermald doesn't do anything, as i tested with throttled and thermald + auto-cpufreq and just throttled + auto-cpufreq. Just throttled should be enough for this issue. If i am stupid and did smth wrong, than stupid me 🫣

@DarthZiplock can you confirm if this work for you as well?

I ended up having to remove auto-cpufreq entirely due to another problem: my system would slow down drastically after 24 hours. Emulators and games would run at only about 60% of their normal fps unless I rebooted first. Since removing auto-cpufreq, that problem has disappeared.

[AdnanHodzic]

That should def not be caused by auto-cpufreq, but that would require a new issue to figure out what happened exactly.

Regardless, closing the issue.

[shadeyg56]

It sounds like the CPU is probably hitting TJMax and throttling. When the CPU boosts, that is not going to help with temps. Have you done gaming on Windows before and experienced a similar thing? You might need to improve your cooling setup

Regardless, I agree this isn't an issue with the auto-cpufreq software