XPS 8940, SST turned off

Have you checked in BIOS setup to see if SpeedStep is enabled?

Ok, make me look. :-)

It is in the Bios, and surprisingly, it is enabled. Looking at Intel's site i7-10700 (base, not the K) does have "Enhanced SpeedStep Technology".

Is HWInfo, again, giving me the wrong info?

@CheetahChrome​ 

Before Ron answered, I looked at my 8940 and have the same situation, SST is off. I did look in my BIOS as well, the latest Dell Release, V2.23.1, and it IS set on.

I did Google HWINFO64 and SST and did find that in their forum, in 2021, this was a bug (https://www.hwinfo.com/forum/threads/hwinfo32-64-misreporting-sst-status-on-both-7-06-4500-and-7-07-4505.7463/) that was fixed?

At the time I wanted to do more checking before replying, but 'things' got in the way.

So I looked for another program that would show me if it was on or not? Found ThrottleStop (https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/):

It shows SST on?

This is a fairly complex program, and there is a link in the package for a 'basic understanding' of the program, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCDIK-nnois&ab_channel=jedi22300 and this is where it gets interesting....

It basically says that SST is 'old'??? It checks using 'Speed Shift EPP' which it says is newer? From there, the YouTube goes of changing a bunch of stuff... but this video is THREE YEARS OLD.... and an 'old' CPU model.

Googling Speed Shift EPP vs. SST shows a lot of info, but not sure myself what is best?

The AI synopsis of the search shows this:

========================

So, I am sort of CONFUSED? Relying on a 3 year old YouTube to change something? Google AI makes it clearer (see above), but old HWINFO bug supposedly fixed?

The last statement I posted doesn't help?

Leads me with more questions than answers?

• IS SST actually enabled?
• HWINFO bug or not?
• How can I verify if it is actually working (SST)?

So I opened Task Manager and looked at the CPU chart:

That shows I did (or have the capability of going to) reach 3.87 Ghz? Letting it run, I've seen it show 4.80 Ghz even. So, I'll assume it is WORKING?

So, IF that is true, then it would sort of indicate 1 of 2 possible answers to this:

1. HWINFO bug is the issue?
2. Dell BIOS is possibly the issue here, which if the Task Manager correct, IS NOT the case for SST not being enabled BUT maybe something in VRAM not set correctly for HWINFO to see?

That sort of circles back to HWINFO being the culprit, no?

So, Ron, if you run HWINFO, what do you see? Other XPS users with models newer than the 8940, do you see SST on in HWINFO?

@CheetahChrome, what BIOS version are you on?

@ispalten When I wrote the post I was on the previous Bios version. But on reading one of Ron's other posts I was enticed to check my driver's via the Dell Support assist web site and noticed a `Recommended` Bios update (minor version upgrade), so I ran it. Here is the latest and the same HWInfo

I love your research on that and thanks; very informative. I am inclined at this point o believe that HWInfo is at fault and that SST, being what appears a useful technology is in fact running on the system/chip/chipset.

@CheetahChrome​ 

Well, there are few things here that sort of make me feel it is an HWINFO problem.

When I just started it, it announced it had a new Beta and I got it. SST is still RED, so it certainly was not on something to be fixed I'd think. Might it not be known and reported?

Secondly, we have 2 different XPS8940's. You didn't put up the full HWINFO screen but I can see some differences between us.

You have an older CPU, 10th Gen Comet Lake, and I have the 11th Gen Rocket Lake.

Different Motherboard and Different RAM speed and size.

So I suspect you have one of the early XPS8940's before the newer 11th Gen CPU's shipped (I waited for that to happen).

No matter what, with different motherboard and CPU's, and I even ran HWINFO's Beta with no change.

One thing to note, HWINFO's setting for DARK MODE doesn't seem to work for me. Other programs that allow a mode to be selected (one choice is the Windows default), but not this one???? Another 'bug' maybe?

I am not sure, but I also think the 'older' 8940's shipped with Win10 (which would have been another reason I waited?).

So, at this point, I guess I'm inclined to call this a bug on HWINFO. Throttle Stop sees SST set as does the BIOS. and Task Manager shows it going higher than the 'standard' speed. That is 2 against 1 I guess and 2 wins in my book.

I guess one could report the problem on the HWINFO forum, but I suspect it might not get a true answer, especially if the problem is a h/w issue in that the code is correct but something in the h/w isn't reporting the right response, and without an 8940 to test on, it might not be a simple fix or one to debug without the h/w?

With all the differences between our h/w, it does sort of rule out the h/w as it doesn't work on a variety of motherboards, BIOS levels, and CPU's.

@CheetahChrome  - What version of Windows are you running?

I have same version of HWInfo64, 8.14-5580, on my XPS 8930, Win 10 (i7-9700), and it says SST is enabled on my PC:

I know that's probably correct because base speed on my I7-9700 is 3.0 GHz and yesterday, I was watching performance in Task Manager, while running an intensive process and CPU speed was over 4 GHz.

If you're using Win 11, try setting Compatibility Mode for HWInfo64 to use Win 10 and see if that changes anything.

Maybe there's an issue with HWInfo64 reading your i7-10700 and possibly newer CPUs.  Don't think you have a BIOS issue since Throttlestop tells @ispalten that it's enabled while HWInfo says it's off. 

@RoHe​ 

I'm on Win11 and in the Properties Compatibility mode there is no Win10 choice, closest is Win8. Tried that, no change.

Also possible @CheetahChrome is on Win10 as his XPS seemed to be the one sold before W11 and a newer 11th Gen CPU was in the XPS series.

So it still leaves us with a HWINFO64 bug OR if @CheetahChrome is running W10, a design issue with the XPS8940. However, if Throttlestop can see it set, I'm leaning towards HWINFO on W11 specifically.

@RoHe I am on Windows 11, the latest Dev Insider Build, which is based on 24H2.

As to Compatibility (I think the last time I used that was on Windows 7...but I digress) that is a no go, For Win 10 (which really Win 11 is based off of) is not a selectable option :




@ispalten I will see your 11th Gen and raise you a new 8940, but also with an I7-11700 CPU. It is bizarrely on a Gen 10 motherboard that Dell actually sold that to me. (This 8940 generations situation I am planning on posting a new community chat on later, so just ignore the Rocket to Comet issue for now).

It, too, has the SST as `on` in the bios but not shown `off` HWInfo. I pulled the machine It's running an older version of Windows 11 Pro, non-insider dev build, and here is a shot of the older bios



And here is the next shot after an update to a more recent bios 

My original machine with all the panels:



So there is the `Comet Lake` chipset on both boards with two different generations of CPUs and the same issue. 

Now our Rogues Gallery of possible suspects are

1) BIOS is not working with the Gen 10 Chipset/CPUs

2) HWInfo cannot report a proper status for SST when on.
3) CPU

As a side note, I will be building a new PC around the I7-11700 chip shown above to take advantage of PCIe 4 which Gen 10 does not provide. I have ordered entirely new components: a case, a power supply, and an Asus Motherboard. When I get that one running, I will report back to this thread to see if its SST register is active.

Otherwise...HWInfo is the primary suspect. Shoot the messenger, right? 

Must be a bug, since it reports correctly for my XPS 8930 with 9th Gen CPU. So it's time to start a new thread in the HWInfo forum.

And, we get what we pay for, zero in this case...

FWIW, HWinfo shows SST green on both my 8950 and an 8940 I have access to (Alder Lake and Rocket Lake).

@Element115s4​ 

Correction....the 8940 actually was showing SST as Red.

@CheetahChrome​ 

A side note here, another user and I had a private conversation (DM) as I recall on another issue. He had a Dell replacement motherboard, one above the last one showing in the 8940 FAQ listing. In probing around he discovered the PCie4 was on the new board.

Too many 8940 motherboards, and I suspect the board is not the problem as Throttlestop can see SST set on. So with that data point I'd 'expect/suspect' the BIOS did its job and set up the VRAM correctly for the OS to read it, and was @RoHe and I have seen, our CPU speed exceeds at times the base speed.

As for the H470, that chipset supports both 10th and 11th Gen Intel CPU's (see https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/201835/intel-h470-chipset/compatible.html), so that is why it shows for both. The Intel chipset doesn't matter in this situation.

As posted by @Element115s4, his 8940 also shows SST RED, but the other XPS, an 8950 it is green. This 'problem' (which at this point I consider 'cosmetic') is it seems only on 8940's and may not be a motherboard problem (only the author of HWINFO can determine 'why' this is) as other XPS models work fine.

Too lazy to put my XPS8700 back together and try it or even d/l the program to my wife's XPS8500 and I'm pretty sure they would report SST correctly.

When Speed Shift Technology is enabled, ThrottleStop will show SST in green just like HWiNFO shows. Both programs report this correctly.

If the BIOS does not enable Speed Shift Technology, open the ThrottleStop TPL window and try checking the Speed Shift box. Many computers have an option in the BIOS to enable Speed Shift but often times it does not actually work. The BIOS option might make Speed Shift available but sometimes forgets to actually enable it. Available and enabled are two different things. 

A previous post circled the SpeedStep feature. This is not the same as Speed Shift. SpeedStep is an older CPU control method that is no longer used when Speed Shift Technology is enabled. 

If you use ThrottleStop to enable Speed Shift, you might need to restart HWiNFO before it changes SST from red to green. The ThrottleStop SST indicator should update automatically. 

@uwebb2​

When Speed Shift Technology is enabled, ThrottleStop will show SST in green just like HWiNFO shows. Both programs report this correctly.

Well, as you might see above, BOTH do not show SST enabled.

If the BIOS does not enable Speed Shift Technology, open the ThrottleStop TPL window and try checking the Speed Shift box. Many computers have an option in the BIOS to enable Speed Shift but often times it does not actually work.

Define "does not actually work"? Would not one way to be to look at the actual SPEED the CPU puts out in Task Manager for instance? If it is higher that the 'normal/base' speed, and by a significant amount, doesn't that mean that the SST is 'working'?

The BIOS option might make Speed Shift available but sometimes forgets to actually enable it. Available and enabled are two different things. 

Check the wording in the BIOS, 'ENABLED' is in mine... and again, if the speed goes up to near MAX in the CPU spec., then it is working.

A previous post circled the SpeedStep feature. This is not the same as Speed Shift. SpeedStep is an older CPU control method that is no longer used when Speed Shift Technology is enabled. 

Those two are not the same... they do basically perform the same however. The 'older one', SST is where the OS controls it, and Speed Shift EPP is newer, and the CPU does the controlling. Both might provide the same 'boost', and probably the CPU one wouldn't require OS 'overhead' at the cost of CPU steps.

If you use ThrottleStop to enable Speed Shift, you might need to restart HWiNFO before it changes SST from red to green. The ThrottleStop SST indicator should update automatically. 

Can you prove this with a screen grab of BOTH Green? They sound 'mutually exclusive' to me.

I'd just post on the HWInfo forum and see what they have to say...