CPU Underclocked

[MTIH1992]

My CPU is a AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+

It is said to run at a Max Of 2GHz, but it only runs at 800Mhz! It mite be undercloed but the bios doesnt let me do anything to put it back to normal. (just so u know, the bios is updated to the most recent). I run Windows XP Pro. I was wondering if there are any programs to help me to put the CPU back to normal. If not, please tell me how to do it. Thanks,

Matt

 

[wideboy]

Is it a laptop or a desktop?

[MTIH1992]

Laptop. Acer

[wideboy]

Most laptops drop down to about half-speed when on batteries. Is this the case here? On mains power it may then be 2GHz. Two ways round this, one is in the power saving setup ( Control Panel, Power Options ), the other is a program called Speedswitch.

http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/

I know it can be a pain to see such a slow speed on batteries but 800Mhz is a lot faster than we were used to a while back. Ok if you're not playing games?

[MTIH1992]

Its 800MHz even when on AC power!

[Ralph]

It might be the PowerNow! technology which limits the speed of the processor to only what is required at that moment. If you start up a game, you'd probably get the full 2GHz. Check the Power Options in Control Panel and have a read of http://tinyurl.com/3bbk .

[wideboy]

Matt. When you say it is 800MHz on mains, is that having the mains connected before you switch on, not connecting after? I know it sounds daft but it does make a difference, especially with Power Now.

[MTIH1992]

Before i turn it on.

[wideboy]

Still thinking!!

[wideboy]

Have you tried to reset your BIOS to the default settings? I take it that you can't see anything about multipliers and speeds when you say that your BIOS doesn't let you do anything.

[wideboy]

From the Acer website FAQs

http://support.acer-euro.com/faqs/faqsearch.html

System properties shows 500-800 Mhz, only

Problem:

The Aspire 1350 shows in Windows system properties a speed of 500-800 Mhz. Why is this and why can�t i have the full speed all the time?


Solution:

The reason for this behaviour is the PowerNOW technology of AMD and internal heat protection mechanisms in Bios and chipset. The full power of the cpu will be available when it is needed by applications. If the cpu or it surroundings get too hot, the fan or fans will speed up and if this is not enough to lower the heat, the cpu speed will be set to a lower level to let the notebook cool down. Too much heat can damage the cpu and core components easily. All in all it is to consider that the cpu in a notebook has much smaller space for heat dissipation and air circulation as in a desktop machine.

Here is a test program and document regarding the AMD PowerNOW technology: 

 Two links here on the website

But this doesn't solve the problem on mains!

[wideboy]

or this one:-

Windows XP shows lower CPU speed

Problem:

The System tool in Control Panel doesn't report the correct speed for my Acer Notebook. The difference between the reported speed and the actual speed is quite large.


Solution:

"Windows XP uses Windows Power Management, which has a variant of Intel's "SpeedStep" built in. This applies to all processors, whether or not they are "Intel" or "AMD", and whether or not they have "PowerNow" or not. Windows XP controls the speed of your CPU in order to save power, reduce heat, and prolong battery life. This is controlled via: Microsoft Power Management.

To view this do the following:
Click: START - > Control Panel

On the Control Panel you should see:
POWER OPTIONS. (If not, go to Classic View). Then it should be there. Double click on it.
Look for: Power Schemes.

You should see it selected as: Portable/Laptop

When in this power schemes, windows will automatically scale your CPU to run at the required speed for an application to function fine. Thus it will run at full speed if you are running an intense 3D game, but run at slow speed when typing in MS WORD.

If you change it from: Portable/Laptop to Home/Office Desk, windows will force the CPU to run at FULL speed at all times. Thus change it from: Portable to Home Office. Then click APPLY and OK.

Now check your CPU speed. Should be faster If not, reboot, and tada, you're all set."

Please also refer to a Microsoft Tech article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316965