Why my iMac CPU frequency is not as stated by Apple?

Question

Level 1

25 points

Why my iMac CPU frequency is not as stated by Apple?

I am not sure what to do now. I just trying to see my my iMac 2020 have some issue with video editing and 3D rendering. I have iStat Menu and just installed intel Power Gadget from ( https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/articles/intel-power-gadget.html#attachment-heading) to see my CPU Frequency.

It is shocking !!! I bought my iMac 2020 with 3.6GHz 10-core 10th-generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz but now it is only showing 1.3GHz. Of course it change and I can see 2.0/2.2GHz is max.

Did Apple lied about CPU frequency ? I am really upset now.

As you see I have no application running. except Adobe Creative Code and PixelFilm small application which is just a browser.

I am shocked. no idea what to do with my iMac. Any suggestions ? Its out of 14 days to return.

Please kindly let me know what will be my options.

Regards

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Dec 29, 2020 8:52 AM

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Answer 1

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,790 points

Dec 29, 2020 9:31 AM in response to mrzayar

Your system is basically idle. Why rev the engine to your car at 7000 RPM sitting at a stoplight? When the CPU is under load it’ll throttle up and go faster.

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Answer 2

Dec 29, 2020 9:33 AM in response to mrzayar

I've noticed the same thing on my iMac 2020 based on watching the istat menus values overtime. My guess is that displayed value is what the CPU is running at, at the moment in time. I can watch it spike up to max CPU frequency when needed. If the machine is running idle mine is down to 2.9. Looks to me to be an energy saving feature.

Paul

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Answer 3

DonH49

Level 6

16,716 points

Dec 29, 2020 9:31 AM in response to mrzayar

your option is to run the Mac as is, it has turbo boost and you'll get that automatically. If you ran that iMac at maximum boost then it would over heat. This is all commonsense and to be expected.

Of course you can think what you like but you should not slam apple on these discussion boards because this is not the place for it.

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Answer 4

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,790 points

Dec 29, 2020 10:37 AM in response to mrzayar

You’re welcome. The lower clock speed saves electricity, and extends the life of your new computer. Enjoy.

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Answer 5

mrzayar Author

Level 1

25 points

Dec 29, 2020 10:23 AM in response to DonH49

Well I hope you don't think all people have same knowledge as you do. We all are humans and have anger. When we spent a lot money and still getting issue, I believe every normal will do same reaction. I love apple despite all the trouble. I am still trying to buy 28 Core Mac Pro. I have been with apple since 2009 and left windows completely.

If you have sometime, can you show me how can I dele this post ?

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