FW16 CPU clock speed issue on charger plug/unplug

Framework Laptop 16
1

Not sure if this qualifies as a hardware issue, BIOS bug, or skill issue on my part configuring the computer. Wondering if anyone over here has any ideas and/or has seen the same thing.

I’ve had my FW16 for a fairly short while (so the W11 OS is nearly clean), but I hadn’t had an occasion until today to be listening to music while I plugged in or unplugged the charger. So I never noticed it stutter/lag when I unplugged or plugged in the charger.
edit to add - happens on both bluetooth and speakers

With task manager open, I can see the clock speed drop to as low as 0.53GHz before recovering to the 2-3GHz+ range I expect out of the power level. Shorter stutter events don’t show as low a task manager clock, but I suspect that may have more to do with the windows task manager update speed.

Behavior from unplugging is a rather short stutter, but the plug in behavior lasts 1-5 seconds. In a particularly severe case I observed, the computer was in low power mode due to low battery, and when I plugged it in, it slowed down for enough time for the AMD driver to crash and generate a bug check/report window.

I have not tested whether this behavior persists without the GPU module attached, but it at minimum will persist between reboots.

This behavior exists on both the factory Framework charger and a UGreen 300w 5-port charger I had on hand (PD @ 140w max). If I use one of the lower watt outputs on the UGreen charger or the primary power from my FW13’s eGPU (intentionally underpowering the laptop to 40-60w), the stutter lasts shorter than the high-power stutter.

Moving my USB adapters around, I can confirm the behavior on 4/6 USB ports - the upper ones closest to the LCD panel (excluding the GPU USB-C port on the back). I did not test the remaining three USB ports.

I have a decent familiarity with digging into system issue (IT is my day job), so if there’s some specific diagnostic I can run, happy to help.

Specs:
FW16 DIY Edition
Ryzen 7 7840HS
32GB (1x32GB)
WD Black SN850X 1TB
FW 1TB expansion card
No SSD populated in the secondary bay
Radeon RX 7700S installed

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Don’t take my word for this, I’m still waiting for my '16 to get here, but I believe the system defaults to using a slower CPU speed when it’s unplugged than when it’s plugged in, to save battery power. What you’re seeing may be an artifact of that.

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I’m fairly sure I properly accounted for that. With FF14 running, CPU speed unplugged is ~2.08-2.1Ghz and plugged in it’s 2.13-2.16. With the game shut down I get 2.33-3.25GHz unplugged and 3.2-4GHz plugged in.

Willing to be proven wrong - but with the CPU running at 530MHz that feels like something’s not quite added up here

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Sorry, didn’t realize how my original reply could have been interpreted until I read your reply. I was trying to say that the temporary shift in speeds might be an artifact of changing the CPU speed due to the change in power sources. But again, I’m shooting entirely in the dark, I haven’t received the hardware yet so I can’t provide any comparisons. Someone who has will probably weigh in soon.

1 Like
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no worries, friend. May your delivery drivers be swift and careful!

Intonation is hard in pure text formats :slight_smile:

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Just tested with mine and it doesn’t happen.
There is a setting in BIOS that makes all PCIe go to Gen 3 speed when on battery. Maybe switching PCIe speeds freezes the CPU for a second?
I only have a Gen 3 SSD

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I like the theory - had to BIOS reset since I forgot to save what my PW vault had generated when I set the BIOS password, so I reset to a clean slate. Only changed settings should be chassis intrusion, firmware pass, and per recommendation I set the PCIE link state power management to disabled - sadly no dice.

On the plus side I now know how to reset the firmware password on a Framework

Since I was down there, FWIW I am running BIOS IFGP6.03.02