Diagnose
Fast, then slow. That is a curve, and a curve has a cause.
A machine that starts strong and fades has reached a limit. The test holds the load long enough to see which one, and says so.
What the report tells you
Three figures, each with its reading.
When it fell
s
The point on the curve where throughput left its peak. Ten seconds in is consistent with a boost timer. Ninety seconds in is consistent with heat. A sensor tool confirms which.
How much
%
Decay after the boost ends and the machine settles; the early boost step is shown on its own. Small is design; large and sliding is a problem.
The cause
consistent with
Which of a power budget expiring, cooling falling behind, or another program on the cores the shape is consistent with, with a confidence and the noise floor stated. A sensor tool confirms which.
The diagnosis
The shape of the curve, read for your case.
01A single step down
Consistent with a power budget expiring: a burst, then the sustained limit. Comparing on mains in performance mode, or a sensor tool, confirms it. Normal, and adjustable only in firmware or the vendor's power tool.
02A steady slide
Consistent with cooling falling behind, every second under load losing a little more; a sensor tool confirms it. This is the one that responds to cleaning, paste and airflow.
03Erratic
Consistent with another program on the cores. The report cannot see which; the operating system's task list can.
Every class comes with a stated confidence and the measurement’s own noise floor. How the shape is read
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- No temperature reading: the browser infers thermal behaviour from the curve and never reports degrees.
- No name for the competing program: the report can see the cores are shared, not by what.
- One run cannot tell a quietly shared core from a slower machine. The before/after comparison can.
Which run
Standard, 3 minutes.
The standard run's forty-five seconds catches a boost timer expiring and the start of a slide. If the curve is still falling at the end, run the deep test.
All three kinds are free. The choice is on the set-up screen.
Questions
Asked in these words.
- Why is my computer fast at first and then slow?
- The processor boosted, then hit a limit. If the limit was a power budget it stepped down once and held; if it was heat it slid gradually; if another program took the cores it became erratic. A sustained-load test shows which, because each has a different shape.
- Is it thermal throttling?
- A slide is consistent with it. A single clean step is consistent with a power limit rather than heat, which cooling does not change; comparing on mains in performance mode, or a sensor tool, confirms which. The report names the shape and states how confident it is given the noise in the measurement.
- What should I try first?
- For a slide: clean the fans and check airflow. For a step: check the power plan and the vendor's performance mode. For erratic: open the task list and look for what is using the processor. Then run again; the report compares the two runs.