I have an older bare metal server that recently upgraded from Windows Server 2016 to 2022, and now it's not reaching its base clock speed. The server is a Dell PowerEdge R720 with dual Intel Xeon E5-2690 CPUs, but I'm only getting around 1.23GHz, which is causing serious performance issues for my guest VMs. I've checked a few things, like disabling core parking and adjusting power plans, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions for fixing this underclocking problem?
5 Answers
What you're experiencing sounds like it's tied to mitigations for vulnerabilities like Meltdown and Spectre being enforced now that weren't before. This can particularly affect older systems. You might want to look into disabling some of these mitigations if possible, but be cautious of the security implications.
Make sure your system profile is set to maximum performance in the BIOS. This setting can stop the system from throttling down, which might be causing your issues. Check out the Dell owner's manual for guidance if needed!
From what I know, this sort of issue is often caused by firmware power management and not the OS. If iDRAC is reporting the correct speeds while Windows is showing lower, then it's likely a BIOS setting. Make sure to check the BIOS system profile, C-states, and power caps to see if they're limiting performance. Also, ensure that both BIOS and iDRAC are fully updated.
You might be dealing with issues from recent updates from Microsoft or Intel that could be slowing down older hardware for security reasons. Consider running the `Get-SpeculationControlSettings` PowerShell command to see what mitigations are currently active.
Considering your processor is quite old, it might be struggling with the demands of Windows Server 2022. Have you checked for chipset driver updates or any Intel security patches? These can sometimes lead to performance hits.
Thanks for the tip! I'll look into adjusting the BIOS settings. Appreciate it!