Processor inquiry

[Danniboy]

hi all, im new to the site and this is my 1st post :p

I recently upgraded my Processor from a 1.4Ghz speed to 3.0Ghz and it all works fine but one thing is bothering me,
when i go to my computer properties (windows xp pro) i see that the processor speed is registerd as 1.4 when it should supposedly be 3.0?? i mean, does it mean that it is running at 1.4 instead of 3.0? is it not at its full potential? i tried to get updated drivers and tht didnt work and i tried re-installin em too and still the same, even after a re-install of xp its still the same. any1 kno wot my problem is? any help would be swell ;)

btw its an amd athlon xp i dont kno much more info, im only a minor geek who is still learning the art :o

[Rueful Rogue]

Look here at AMD's FAQ's to see if you may find an answer. Could be that the processor chip you installed is not compatible with the existing motherboard.

Did you upgrade the motherboard as well?
If not, it may be limiting the speed of your cpu. Do you know the system bus speed? (aka Front Side Bus)

[Danniboy]

how do i find the bus speed? would that info b in the bios? the motherbaord is fairly new so i never thought that was wot is causing this, it is an ASUS A7N8X - X (made in 2002) how do i find the speed for the processor aswell?

thanks for support! :P
p.s ill read those FAQ's too.

[Rueful Rogue]

Good news. Your mother board (ASUS A7N8X-X) will support the AMD Athlon XP on a 400 MHz FSB. Go to to view the spec's on it.

Here's AMD's answer to your problem (from their website)

[img]http://139.95.253.214/srvs/Data/AMD/TemplateSets/AMD_TSC_Main/Images/Header_CPU.gif[/img] [img]http://139.95.253.214/srvs/Data/AMD/TemplateSets/AMD_TSC_Main/Images/Bar_Problem.gif[/img] [img]http://139.95.253.214/srvs/Data/AMD/TemplateSets/AMD_TSC_Main/Images/space.gif[/img] Why is my processor incorrectly identified by my system at start-up?

[img]http://139.95.253.214/srvs/Data/AMD/TemplateSets/AMD_TSC_Main/Images/Bar_Cause.gif[/img] Outdated BIOS

A misidentified processor is usually the result of an outdated BIOS. If the reported frequency is incorrect and all motherboard settings are configured correctly (core voltage, bus speed, and clock multiplier), the processor is probably running at the correct speed, but is being misidentified by the BIOS. This can be confirmed by running a utility such as CPUID. This utility, available at the AMD Processor Utilities and Updates page, will measure the frequency the processor is actually running at. An outdated BIOS can also result in the processor's type being identified incorrectly, or being identified as "unknown".

[img]http://139.95.253.214/srvs/Data/AMD/TemplateSets/AMD_TSC_Main/Images/Bar_Solution.gif[/img] Update Motherboard BIOS

BIOS updates are often periodically released by motherboard manufacturers. The process of updating, or flashing, the BIOS may vary from motherboard to motherboard, so it is important that information on BIOS updates and instructions be obtained from the manufacturer of the motherboard. BIOS updates are motherboard make, model, and revision specific, and often require special flashing utilities from the motherboard manufacturer. Note: Flashing the BIOS with the wrong update, or failure to follow the motherboard manufacturer's instructions can permanently disable the motherboard!

The bus speed may be in the BIOS, or it could be controlled by a jumper setting on the motherboard.
It may be listed as FSB aka Front Side Bus.
Use Everest from this post : http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread12674-everest.html , that should tell you ALL you need to know about your pc and you can find your bus speed in there.
Basically, your processor speed is determined by the equation:
Speed = SystemBus x Multiplier
Ignore the multiplier, it's not changeable (well... it MAY be.. but ignore it anyway, it concerns us not), but you should see that if your System Bus is less than what the processor is designed to run at, then the speed will be lower than what it is rated at, (effectively, underclocking the CPU).
My friend got a new mb the other day and had the same problem, the system bus was set at 266MHz instead of 333MHz, he changed it, problem solved.

[Danniboy]

kool, i installed everest it looks really cool.
what do i look for, where do i go?
whats the next action?
soz, im still a learner im afraid :$

Everest >> Motherboard >> Motherboard
Look under Front Side Bus Properties >> Real Clock.
This is your system bus speed. Tell us what it is.
Also, look under : Everest >> Motherboard >> CPU
You can find your CPU speed under: CPU Properties >> CPU Type
It should have something in brackets, ie. (13 x 200).
This is your multiplier and system bus. (multiplier(13) x bus(200MHz)).

Edit : your FSB should be 166MHz, not 200MHz as I stated, that was just an example.

[Rueful Rogue]

Have you tired the "BELARC ADVISOR"? It's also a FREE utility which when run will profile your computer and allow you to print out a report. It will profile all of your hardware and software, list a history of all your Microsoft Hotfixes (updates), give the versions of all the software you have on your PC, and provide license info (registration keys). Pretty cool.

You can get it here:

[Danniboy]

Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.05 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. A7N8X-X REV 2.xx
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS A7N8X-X ACPI BIOS Rev 1009 02/03/2004

used belarc adviser aswell (im about to use everest too ill let ya kno in a sec..)
these are sum of the details i think ull b needin, it says the bus clock thing is 100Mhz is that right? i swaer its wrong??

[Danniboy]

ok, everest said its 99Mhz (DDR) now...somthing tells me thats crap and it should be higher, am i right? if so then how do i change it and are there any risks? i have had bad past exp with changing important settings, lol
it says effective clock is 199Mhz too is that of any use to u aswell?

[Rueful Rogue]

Going back to the posts yesterday by me regarding the AMD answer on your BIOS and the post from szukalski just after that regarding a possible jumper on your motherboard - have you looked into either of these possibilities? Did you run the utility program recommended by AMD which will actually measure the speed of your processor? You can do this without any harm to your PC or effecting your BIOS.

[Danniboy]

ok im not pretty sure my FSB is 100Mhz and theres a CPU external frequency thing in the bios, shall i make the set the frequency ratio of the cpu higher? if so how migh shall i take it? wot are the risks what should i do/not do

i dnt wanna do anything i may regret

[Zachery]

You need to check the jumpers on the motherboard, if the FSB is set to 100mhz you need to change it to 133 or 166.

[Danniboy]

hey, thanks for all your support guys, i found a way to raise the cpu frequency in the bios thur increasing the fsb thuis increasing the cpu speed, and ive done it all with success, my processor is now displaying correctly and everything is A-OK! :D thank you so much!

All good. *grins*

[jifiii]

You may need to flash you BIOS.