CPU max 800mhz

Issues & Assistance
1

Maybe another issue with firmware updates.
I have been wondering for 1-2 days why my laptop Lenovo T560 is so slow. Now I realized that the maximum CPU frequency was somehow limited to 800mhz.
After some reading on the internet I added intel_pstate=disable to the kernel parameter and after a reboot the cpu clocks normally again.

garuda-inxi

System:

  Kernel: 6.15.3-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.1.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
    root=UUID=d888e546-a95a-413a-9e0e-acb0cef2ded1 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    vt.default_red=30,243,166,249,137,245,148,186,88,243,166,249,137,245,148,166
    vt.default_grn=30,139,227,226,180,194,226,194,91,139,227,226,180,194,226,173
    vt.default_blu=46,168,161,175,250,231,213,222,112,168,161,175,250,231,213,200
    quiet loglevel=3 mitigations=off intel_pstate=disable ibt=off
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.4.1 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.15.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20FH0023GE v: ThinkPad T560
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: 20FH0023GE v: SDK0J40705 WIN
    serial: <superuser required>
    part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20FH_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad T560
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: N1KET58W (1.45 )
    date: 12/12/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 28.9 Wh (73.0%) condition: 39.6/44.5 Wh (89.0%)
    volts: 11.9 min: 11.4 model: SONY 45N1743 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
    status: not charging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-6600U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake
    gen: core 6 level: v3 note: check built: 2015 process: Intel 14nm family: 6
    model-id: 0x4E (78) stepping: 3 microcode: 0xF0
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 2 cores: 2 threads: 4 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB
    desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 4 MiB desc: 1x4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 2601 min/max: 400/2801 boost: enabled scaling:
    driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 2601 2: 2601 3: 2601
    4: 2601 bogomips: 22399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-9 process: Intel 14n built: 2015-16 ports:
    active: HDMI-A-2 off: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0
    chip-ID: 8086:1916 class-ID: 0300
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.18 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.8
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-2 model: Idek Iiyama PL3271Q serial: <filter>
    built: 2023 res: mode: 2560x1440 hz: 60 scale: 80% (0.8) to: 3200x1800
    dpi: 93 gamma: 1.2 size: 698x393mm (27.48x15.47") diag: 801mm (31.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 2560x1440 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x0630 built: 2015 res: 1920x1080
    dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2 size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris wayland:
    drv: iris x11: drv: iris
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.1.4-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:1916 memory: 15.11 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.313 layers: 5 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
    HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 25.1.4-arch1.1
    device-ID: 8086:1916 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
    (LLVM 20.1.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 25.1.4-arch1.1 (LLVM
    20.1.6) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: gputop, intel_gpu_top, lsgpu
    wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:9d70 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.15.3-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api tools: N/A
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e v: kernel
    port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:156f class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp0s31f6 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 8260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:24f3 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth wireless interface driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-7:5 chip-ID: 8087:0a2b
    class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: N/A
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 232.89 GiB used: 40.3 GiB (17.3%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 870 EVO 250GB
    size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2B6Q scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%) used: 40.3 GiB (19.7%)
    fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 1024 MiB size: 1022 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 616 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.3 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.3 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.3 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.47 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 55.0 C pch: 47.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): fan-1: 3184
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.47 GiB used: 3.81 GiB (24.7%)
  Processes: 248 Power: uptime: 9m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 6.17 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1469 libs: 411 tools: pacseek,paru Compilers:
    gcc: 15.1.1 Shell: garuda-inxi default: Bash v: 5.2.37 running-in: konsole
    inxi: 3.3.38
Garuda (2.7.2-1):
  System install date:     2025-05-31
  Last full system update: 2025-06-26
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
  Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
  Failed units:
2

Without that added kernel parameter does things work fine in other kernels, like LTS?

3

Ok, it´s a longer run it seems.

The found workaround disabling intel_pstate did only work for 2-3 reboots. Then the 800mhz limit was back. No matter which kernel (Zen or LTS).
It´s weird. Read around for 2 hours, but without trying anything out at first.
Then I remembered that I had created a manual snapshot shortly after I had set up the system. It´s from 2025-06-11. I have now booted this and the 800mhz limit has disappeared. The CPU is working as it should no matter which kernel.

garuda-inxi

System:
  Kernel: 6.15.1-zen1-2-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.1.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
    root=UUID=d888e546-a95a-413a-9e0e-acb0cef2ded1 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    vt.default_red=30,243,166,249,137,245,148,186,88,243,166,249,137,245,148,166
    vt.default_grn=30,139,227,226,180,194,226,194,91,139,227,226,180,194,226,173
    vt.default_blu=46,168,161,175,250,231,213,222,112,168,161,175,250,231,213,200
    quiet loglevel=3 mitigations=off ibt=off
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.5 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.14.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 20FH0023GE v: ThinkPad T560
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: 20FH0023GE v: SDK0J40705 WIN
    serial: <superuser required>
    part-nu: LENOVO_MT_20FH_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad T560
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: N1KET58W (1.45 )
    date: 12/12/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 36.5 Wh (92.2%) condition: 39.6/44.5 Wh (89.0%)
    volts: 12.4 min: 11.4 model: SONY 45N1743 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
    status: not charging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-6600U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Skylake
    gen: core 6 level: v3 note: check built: 2015 process: Intel 14nm family: 6
    model-id: 0x4E (78) stepping: 3 microcode: 0xF0
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 2 cores: 2 threads: 4 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB
    desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 4 MiB desc: 1x4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 500 min/max: 400/3400 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 500 2: 500 3: 500 4: 500 bogomips: 22399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Skylake GT2 [HD Graphics 520] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-9 process: Intel 14n built: 2015-16 ports: active: eDP-1
    empty: DP-1, DP-2, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:1916
    class-ID: 0300
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x0630 built: 2015 res:
    mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2
    size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris wayland:
    drv: iris x11: drv: iris
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.1.3-arch1.3
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2)
    device-ID: 8086:1916 memory: 15.11 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.313 layers: 5 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
    HD Graphics 520 (SKL GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 25.1.3-arch1.3
    device-ID: 8086:1916 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
    (LLVM 20.1.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 25.1.3-arch1.3 (LLVM
    20.1.6) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info
    x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:9d70 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.15.1-zen1-2-zen status: kernel-api tools: N/A
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e v: kernel
    port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:156f class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp0s31f6 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Wireless 8260 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel pcie: gen: 1
    speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:24f3 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 232.89 GiB used: 40.43 GiB (17.4%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 870 EVO 250GB
    size: 232.89 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 2B6Q scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%) used: 40.43 GiB (19.7%)
    fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 1024 MiB size: 1022 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 616 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
  ID-3: /home raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.43 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.43 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 205 GiB size: 205 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 40.43 GiB (19.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.47 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
    comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 35.0 C pch: 33.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): fan-1: 0
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.47 GiB used: 3.42 GiB (22.1%)
  Processes: 250 Power: uptime: 2h 13m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 1 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 6.17 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1437 libs: 404 tools: paru Compilers:
    gcc: 15.1.1 Shell: garuda-inxi default: Bash v: 5.2.37 running-in: konsole
    inxi: 3.3.38
Garuda (2.7.2-1):
  System install date:     2025-05-31
  Last full system update: 2025-06-11
  Is partially upgraded:   No
  Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
  Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
  Failed units:

EDIT: Posted inxi from the wrong machine :face_with_peeking_eye:. Will correct it in few minutes.
Done

4

Only apply this to a computer that is not online, or is behind a firewall and running trusted software. Older processors may have increased performance after applying this change to GRUB. However, this is mainly for older Linux.
Do you have test this with and without this option ?

1 Like
5

No, I have not carried out a performance comparison. As far as I know, the vulnerabilities in CPUs are more of a theoretical nature for home users.
I´m using a firewall in the OS, my router has one too and around 1.5 million domains are additional blocked using Pihole on a Raspi.

6

Not right…with kernel 5.1 or earlier, that improved the performence (some older intel cpus)
example

Elapsed time User time System time % CPU
i7-8809G 25s 41s 4.3s 190%
i7-8809G mitigations=off 22s 38s 3.5s 190%
i7-8809G hyperthreading off (BIOS) 29s 32s 3.9s 120%
i5-4250U 34s 89s 9s 290%
i5-4250U mitigations=off 33s 89s 8s 290%
1 Like
7

Ok, thank you very much for information about this. I will think about it. But not today. I’ve been reading too much because of the CPU problem and am not receptive enough now.

Back to topic…
As written above, the snapshot I used was from 11.06.2025. I have now run garuda-update so that the computer is back to the status before the snapshot. After a reboot there is no new limitation of the CPU. Of course I’m glad that it is like it is now. But I have absolutely no clue how the whole thing came about.

8

Possible is also..a laptop cooler

9

The computer was completely dismantled by me about 3 weeks ago, cleaned and the thermal paste (Thermal Grizzly Duronaut) replaced. The fan is working normally. The device only very rarely reaches 60°C. Now, when writing with 4 applications running and 6 tabs open in the browser, it is 35°C. I think excessive temperatures can therefore be ruled out.

I now suspect a connection with the battery and power supply unit. The external battery is defective and therefore not used. However, the internal battery is still very good. It has 90% of its original capacity. The power supply unit delivers 90 watts. According to lenovo’s specifications, this should work without throttling. Also, this device is not actually affected by the throttling when the battery is missing. Especially as the internal battery is still present.
Maybe the BIOS somehow got stuck, I have no idea. In any case, there were no BIOS messages to this effect. Nevertheless, I reset it and also discharged the transistors (disconnected the battery and pressed the power button for 30 seconds). I can only wait and see if the phenomenon occurs again at some point. To be on the safe side, I have ordered a docking station with a 120 watt power supply which will arrive next week.

10

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