Processor frequencies do not match in Windows 10

In today’s post we will explore the cause and possible resolution of the issue CPU frequencies displayed in the Windows 10 system property page do not match. From the System property page, you can modify visual effects, processor planning, memory usage, and virtual memory.

If you have a Windows computer with multiple Intel processors, and you open the System property page, and under the Processor section, the processor name is displayed but the two frequencies listed do not match, so this article explains why.

This can happen if you install the Intel Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) driver, which provides additional power management and increases battery life. And after installing the Intel CPPC driver, the second processor frequency listed on the System Properties page does not match the first.

Processor frequencies do not match in Windows 10

On the Control Panel> System page, you can see two different CPU frequencies listed relative to your processor. Why does this happen?

According to the Microsoft Support Knowledge Base article:

The first frequency listed for the processor is fixed and is part of the processor name. The second frequency is normally calculated by Windows using States P or the frequency of the time stamp counter. However, when the Intel CPPC driver is installed, the system uses CPPC to manage the processor frequency, not P states. Therefore, Windows uses the frequency of the time stamp counter to determine the processor frequency. On systems with Intel processors that support configurable thermal design power (TDP), this may cause a difference between the second frequency listed and the first.

Microsoft points out that this is an aesthetic problem and does not affect the way Windows manages processor frequencies. Windows is aware of the processor frequency at a given time and will manage it accordingly.

I hope you find this information useful.