diff --git a/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc b/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
index 8e5fa81613..e67ae793d1 100644
--- a/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/boardd/boardd.cc
@@ -573,7 +573,7 @@ int main() {
   LOG("set priority returns %d", err);
 
 #ifdef QCOM2
-  err = set_core_affinity(7);
+  err = set_core_affinity(4);
 #else
   err = set_core_affinity(3);
 #endif
diff --git a/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py b/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
index 987898e739..95576c98b0 100755
--- a/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
+++ b/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ EventName = car.CarEvent.EventName
 
 class Controls:
   def __init__(self, sm=None, pm=None, can_sock=None):
-    config_realtime_process(7 if TICI else 3, Priority.CTRL_HIGH)
+    config_realtime_process(4 if TICI else 3, Priority.CTRL_HIGH)
 
     # Setup sockets
     self.pm = pm
diff --git a/selfdrive/hardware/tici/hardware.py b/selfdrive/hardware/tici/hardware.py
index 536ab4d155..f277944aa3 100644
--- a/selfdrive/hardware/tici/hardware.py
+++ b/selfdrive/hardware/tici/hardware.py
@@ -205,6 +205,11 @@ class Tici(HardwareBase):
     # amplifier, 100mW at idle
     write_amplifier_reg(0x51, 0b0 if enabled else 0b1, 7, 0b10000000)
 
+    # offline big cluster, leave core 4 online for boardd
+    for i in range(5, 8):
+      # TODO: fix permissions with udev
+      val = "0" if enabled else "1"
+      os.system(f"sudo su -c 'echo {val} > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu{i}/online'")
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
   import sys
diff --git a/selfdrive/modeld/modeld.cc b/selfdrive/modeld/modeld.cc
index 03a9dc758f..bfa5e8c362 100644
--- a/selfdrive/modeld/modeld.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/modeld/modeld.cc
@@ -137,8 +137,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 #ifdef QCOM
   set_core_affinity(2);
 #elif QCOM2
-  // CPU usage is much lower when pinned to a single big core
-  set_core_affinity(4);
+  set_core_affinity(7);
 #endif
 
   bool wide_camera = false;