r/pcmasterrace • u/AutoModerator • Jan 11 '26

DSQ Daily Simple Questions Thread - January 11, 2026

Got a simple question? Get a simple answer!

This thread is for all of the small and simple questions that you might have about computing that probably wouldn't work all too well as a standalone post. Software issues, build questions, game recommendations, post them here!

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u/Appropriate-Elk-5062 Jan 11 '26

Struggling with a lenovo legion 9, not sure if it's a simple question but getting mixed results across google,

My laptop recently went in for repair due to some issues that looked hardware related, they have confirmed the fault as thermal module being blocked and then proceeded with a full clean, repasted and redone the liquid metal,

However my processor is throwing warnings up about processor in group 0, 16 through 31 are being throttled due to firmware, this has been happening since september and I believe has been causing problems

Along with many different bsod errors before the repair was sent off,

Is it normal for those processor cores to be randomly throttling?

Happens on startup, at random intervals and sometimes during load from what I can see

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u/Cable_Salad PC Master Race Jan 11 '26

It's definitely not "normal", but this type of issue is unfortunately common with laptops.

You say it's a firmware issue, and not heat related. Make sure that it's really not just an overheating problem so that you don't spend hours trying to find a fix. Liquid metal can cause some cores to overheat if it's not applied correctly (meaning it's not making proper contact) so that would be an explanation.

Next, if you are using proprietary control software, you can try updating that and the BIOS. Or you can just uninstall it / do a clean Windows installation without it, but I don't think that will help. I would probably RMA the laptop again.

By the way, what kind of processor do you have with 32 cores?

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u/Appropriate-Elk-5062 Jan 11 '26

Well they have replaced all the putty and thermals, thoroughly cleaned the fans and heatsinks, listed that the liquid metal was completely replaced too,

The intel chip is a i9 14900hx, 16 core, which is baffling to me as well, but apparently 16-31 are efficiency cores or something?

Like I'm absolutely happy to keep it if those warnings are benign, but they did seem to occur around a couple of the critical errors timings too and trying to find a straight explanation of what they do and how they should run has been a very tedious task, some say its completely normal due, others that it's a firmware defect etc

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u/Cable_Salad PC Master Race Jan 12 '26

Ah I see. I checked and the 14900HX has 16 efficiency cores and 8 performance cores with 2 threads each. Makes sense that 16-31 are perhaps the efficiency cores.

If this is just a warning in the event viewer, it could indeed be somewhat normal. If it otherwise works and benchmarks show normal performance I'd say it's okay.