CPU odd frequency

[AdamAnubis]

I have an E8400 and haven't changed anything to it since installing it, but recently I've noticed the below oddities in terms of frequency:






Is this speedstep or something similar that holds back the CPU when it's not needed? Even under load on the CPU monitor it stays at 2667Mhz rather than raising to 3Ghz, but I'm not sure if this is just 1 core or both, and whether it would make any difference if it was at 3.

Would there be any gains in somehow disabling this so that it runs at 3Ghz or nothing noticable enough to really bother tinkering with? (Or eat more power?)

[Hawker1986]

What does CPU-Z say?

The 2GHz is probably speed step at work which is fine unless you like to waste money or have a particularly cold room you need heating up. As for the windows result of 2.67Ghz that is probably just wrong, sometimes it screws up.

Hawker

[Queelis]

30% is not enough load to have the CPU clocked at full frequency. Try something that loads it to 100% and then try checking.

[watercooled]

As above, it's normal for it to clock down. Try something like the 7zip benchmark if you have it which heavily loads multi-core CPUs if you want to test it. Alternatively, something like wprime.

[AdamAnubis]

I've been in games and it's been at 80%+ load but the CPU sidebar meter always reads 2667, but as you say I'm not sure how accurate that is. If I left CPU-z running while playing games would that update or is it static?

[scaryjim]

The 6x multi in your CPU-Z shot is speedstep doing its thing. The 2667MHz, however, sounds like an incorrectly set max multiplier in BIOS - I had the same issue with my Q6600 recently where the BIOS had limited the max multiplier to 8 instead of 9 so it was topping out at ... well whatever 266x8 comes to Check that the multi in the BIOS is set to the right value.

[matty-hodgson]

IT would update. Your CPU seems to use the same multiplier as mine, x6 at idle and then up to x9 at load. My Q6600 did the same, the BIOS limited the multiplier to x8 instead of x9. Have a look for that.

Edit: Haha Scaryjim, weird coincidence that we both got the exact same problem and posted about it at the exact same time .

[watercooled]

It also happened with my E7200, I think it was set to either 8.5 or 9 instead of 9.5.

[LuckyNV]

The 6x multi in your CPU-Z shot is speedstep doing its thing. The 2667MHz, however, sounds like an incorrectly set max multiplier in BIOS - I had the same issue with my Q6600 recently where the BIOS had limited the max multiplier to 8 instead of 9 so it was topping out at ... well whatever 266x8 comes to Check that the multi in the BIOS is set to the right value.

This sounds about right given the bus speed is 333MHz and it just so happens that it is ~333MHz short of 3GHz stock clock.

[AdamAnubis]

Just changed it, everything's reading 3Ghz now (2Ghz when idle). Thank you people I thought it was my CPU on its way out or something.

[Queelis]

So it was the multiplier in the BIOS?

[AdamAnubis]

Yup Was at x8

[scaryjim]

Edit: Haha Scaryjim, weird coincidence that we both got the exact same problem and posted about it at the exact same time .

Weird indeed, although I'm more concerned at the number of people with Intel Core 2 processors who've spent time gipped out of their full potential by having them running at 1x multi lower than stock! That's, what, five of us in this thread?! With a variety of different mobos and chipset? WTF!?

[AdamAnubis]

What's worse is I've had this for about a year and never noticed Only cos I got a new GPU that I checked my vista system and updated my CPU monitor.

[scaryjim]

I'd had my Q6600 for > 2 years without noticing. I only spotted it when I was monitoring CPU temps while doing some video encoding. In my defence, I'd not used the computer much. I'm not sure that leaving a Q6600 / 8800GTX standing idle is much better, though...

[AdamAnubis]

Did you notice much of a performance increase once it was enabled?