Using powertop v2.7-28-g3f5bccb, combined with the following CPU/system: 19:21 niw-hv03:~ # lscpu Architecture: x86_64 CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit Byte Order: Little Endian CPU(s): 12 On-line CPU(s) list: 0-11 Thread(s) per core: 2 Core(s) per socket: 6 Socket(s): 1 NUMA node(s): 1 Vendor ID: GenuineIntel CPU family: 6 Model: 45 Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3930K CPU @ 3.20GHz Stepping: 7 CPU MHz: 3400.000 CPU max MHz: 3800.0000 CPU min MHz: 1200.0000 BogoMIPS: 6400.76 Virtualization: VT-x L1d cache: 32K L1i cache: 32K L2 cache: 256K L3 cache: 12288K NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-11 and the following computational non-IO load: 19:23 niw-hv03:~ # w 19:23:42 up 10 days, 18:44, 1 user, load average: 12.73, 12.54, 12.43 USER TTY FROM LOGIN@ IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT root pts/0 ares40.inai.de 19:17 6.00s 0.06s 0.00s w 19:23 niw-hv03:~ # sensors coretemp-isa-0000 Adapter: ISA adapter Physical id 0: +80.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 0: +80.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 1: +79.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 2: +74.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 3: +76.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 4: +78.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Core 5: +79.0°C (high = +81.0°C, crit = +91.0°C) Leads to these frequencies being shown across the system: 19:21 niw-hv03:~ # cpupower frequency-info analyzing CPU 0: driver: intel_pstate CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 maximum transition latency: 0.97 ms. hardware limits: 1.20 GHz - 3.80 GHz available cpufreq governors: performance, powersave current policy: frequency should be within 1.20 GHz and 3.80 GHz. The governor "powersave" may decide which speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 3.40 GHz (asserted by call to hardware). boost state support: Supported: yes Active: yes 3600 MHz max turbo 4 active cores 3700 MHz max turbo 3 active cores 3800 MHz max turbo 2 active cores 3800 MHz max turbo 1 active cores # powertop <Frequency Stats tab>: Package | Core | CPU 0 CPU 1 | | Actual 3.4 GHz 3.4 GHz Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% 100.0% | Core | CPU 2 CPU 3 | | Actual 3.4 GHz 3.4 GHz | Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% 100.0% | Core | CPU 4 CPU 5 | | Actual 3.4 GHz 3.4 GHz | Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% 100.0% | Core | CPU 6 CPU 7 | | Actual 3.4 GHz 3.4 GHz | Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% 100.0% | Core | CPU 8 CPU 9 | | Actual 3.4 GHz 3.4 GHz | Idle 100.0% | Idle 100.0% 100.0% Why is it showing all-idle-100%? That makes no sense. Another user reported this to me for a similar model, apparently with a BIOS-overclocked 4460(non-K) [fam 6 model 60 stepping 3]. BOINC global host info reveals that 6-60-3 is also used for 4790K.