# How fast is my CPU really running?



## Kevin O'Connor

Well I just installed a Celeron 1GHz CPU in my old HP Pavilion mobo. Everything I have researched and ask questions about on this forum stated that my mobo would not support 800MHz CPU or higher.

The BIOS setup screen states the new CPU is a Celeron 1GHz, 128Kb cash and a 100MHz FSB speed.  That is what the BIOS states the CPU is but is the CPU really running at these speeds.

I replaced the stock 733MHz Celeron with a 1GHz Celeron, the FSB speed should have switched from 66MHZ to 100MHz, the RAM is now maxed out at 512Mb, the HDD was replaced with a 7200rpm drive and the OS was updated to Win XP.  I would have thought these changes would have made a big improvement in overall system speed. I do notice some improvement but I think the clean HDD made the biggest improvement.

How do I verify what speed my CPU / complete system is running at?


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## Geoff

i dont think that the power supply is only 100mhz, when i looked at my power supply, i thought that it was around 150watts, but there are 2 places on the power supply that list watts, you have to look at the "total wattage", you should have at least a 200 watts, i know this has nothign to do with your question, just wanted to let you know.  


To get to the point of your question, going from a 733Mhz to a 1Ghz isnt a big difference, i think that since you saw a slight difference, thats all your going to see, the hard drive makes a slight difference but not that much performance wise.  So i think your processor is running at the right speed.


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## Cromewell

www.cpuid.com pick up CPU-Z to check clock and FSB/BUS speeds.  I wouldn't expect that upgrade to make a big performance boost but there should be some


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## Kevin O'Connor

I wish I would have tested the system speed prior to the upgrade. Thanx for the link, I'll try that tonight.


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## runbird05

I just downloaded the cpuid program on my new laptop that's running an Athlon 64 3400+ s754, which is supposed to be running at 2.2Ghz according to HP's site.  The cpuid tells me that its only at 800Mhz, so what's the deal with this?


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## Praetor

What does the program describe the 800MHz as being.


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## runbird05

Under the clocks section of the display it says core speed 797.95 MHz.  It says my HTT is at 199.5 MHz and my multiplier is 4.0.  Something else that is weird is that immediately when I open the program it says it's running at 1795MHz, but quickly switches to the 797 reading

Well, I just tried something else too...I left the cpuid program running minimized so I could keep monitoring the speed, and when I went to install a program and increased the load on the cpu the speed shot up to 1795 w/9.0 multiplier again, and then once it's idle it drops back down. I'm still confused though...


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## Bobo

runbird05 said:
			
		

> Under the clocks section of the display it says core speed 797.95 MHz.  It says my HTT is at 199.5 MHz and my multiplier is 4.0.  Something else that is weird is that immediately when I open the program it says it's running at 1795MHz, but quickly switches to the 797 reading
> 
> Well, I just tried something else too...I left the cpuid program running minimized so I could keep monitoring the speed, and when I went to install a program and increased the load on the cpu the speed shot up to 1795 w/9.0 multiplier again, and then once it's idle it drops back down. I'm still confused though...



I have same proc, and it is just an inbuilt program to do so, but I have yet to figure out why the fsb is that low, though, it should be at 1600


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## Praetor

> Under the clocks section of the display it says core speed 797.95 MHz. It says my HTT is at 199.5 MHz and my multiplier is 4.0. Something else that is weird is that immediately when I open the program it says it's running at 1795MHz, but quickly switches to the 797 reading


Ah ok, what you're encountering is the lovliness of Cool and Quiet (aka Speedstep, aka for-people-who-like-quiet-computers-but-dont-get-good-air-or-water-cooling). The reason I asked about "what" was described as being 800MHz was because your HTL (hypertransport) also runs at 800MHz.



> Well, I just tried something else too...I left the cpuid program running minimized so I could keep monitoring the speed, and when I went to install a program and increased the load on the cpu the speed shot up to 1795 w/9.0 multiplier again, and then once it's idle it drops back down. I'm still confused though...


Essentially cool n' quiet just means your CPU doesnt run at full capacity unless you need it to (thus genmerating less heat etc)



> but I have yet to figure out why the fsb is that low, though, it should be at 1600


Thats because Athlon64s dont have a FSB. They have a HTT and a HTL. The HTL is 1600.


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## runbird05

Well, I understand the cool 'n quiet, but do I have to really stress the cpu for it to get up to the advertised 2.2Ghz, or is there something else to this (the highest I've hit is 1.8Ghz)?

Sorry to keep asking, but thanks for the replies.


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## Bobo

runbird05 said:
			
		

> Well, I understand the cool 'n quiet, but do I have to really stress the cpu for it to get up to the advertised 2.2Ghz, or is there something else to this (the highest I've hit is 1.8Ghz)?
> 
> Sorry to keep asking, but thanks for the replies.



I have yet to figure out any way to disable the coolncrap, but ocing might work


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## Praetor

> Well, I understand the cool 'n quiet, but do I have to really stress the cpu for it to get up to the advertised 2.2Ghz, or is there something else to this (the highest I've hit is 1.8Ghz)?


1. Realistically speaking the COol and Queit does a very good job of dynamically clocking the system so it not much of a real performance issue (but rather a personal annoyance type issue)
2. Turn off the Cool and Quiet in BIOS 



> I have yet to figure out any way to disable the coolncrap, but ocing might work


How about "Turn it off"  (see the mobo manual for exact details but usally in the POwer/Boot section)


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## xxxalpinexxx80

build a computer with a pentium 4 2.8 for 200 dollars  or get a compaq presario with a celeron d 3.33 and 512 ram for 350 dollars


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## Froboy7391_99

if you turn off cool n quiet or speedstep it keeps your cpu at the lowest speed. I tried to turn off speedstep on my Pentium M 2.0 Ghz and it just stayed at 800 Mhz.


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## Shady

Do you guys realize that this thread is 2 years old...?


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