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Is it Normal to Operate Below the Base Frequency for My Intel® Processor?

Content Type: Troubleshooting   |   Article ID: 000089082   |   Last Reviewed: 05/13/2024

Description

Need to know if it is normal to observe that cores run at a lower frequency than the base frequency listed on the Intel specification page for that processor.

Resolution

Yes. When a low-complexity workload, such as light web browsing, is running on the system, the processor power and frequency will frequently be lower than the specified base values. This is typical operational behavior, and the processor will move to higher operating states when workload demand increases. In some situations when the processor is waiting for information from external sources (such as a web server), it may move to a lower operating state to save power.

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This article applies to 76 products.
Intel Atom® Processor C Series Intel Atom® Processor D Series Intel Atom® Processor E Series Intel Atom® Processor N Series Intel Atom® Processor S Series Intel Atom® Processor X Series Intel Atom® Processor Z Series Intel® Celeron® Processor 1000 Series Intel® Celeron® Processor 2000 Series Intel® Celeron® Processor 3000 Series Intel® Celeron® Processor 4000 Series Intel® Celeron® Processor 5000 Series Intel® Celeron® Processor G Series Intel® Celeron® Processor J Series Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ M Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 5th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 7th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors 8th Generation Intel® Core™ m Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 Processors Intel® Core™ X-series Processors Intel® Core™ Processor N-series Intel® Core™ i3 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ i5 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ i7 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ i9 processors (14th gen) Intel® Core™ processors (Series 1) Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor Series Intel® Pentium® Processor 1000 Series Intel® Pentium® Processor 2000 Series Intel® Pentium® Processor 3000 Series Intel® Pentium® Processor 4000 Series Intel® Pentium® Processor D Series Intel® Pentium® Processor G Series Intel® Pentium® Processor J Series Intel® Pentium® Processor N Series Intel® Pentium® Silver Processor Series

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