System running slowly?

[RobertM525]

I have had, for a few months now, an Intel Core 2 Duo E7300, and lately I'm feeling like it's not running as fast as I would expect, given some other systems I've used. So I was looking at my DirectX stuff, and I saw this line for my processor:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7300 @ 2.66GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.1GHz

Now what, exactly, is that "~2.1GHz" supposed to mean? That my system is somehow underclocked? That it's temporarily running at a lower clockspeed to save power? The sticky at the top of the forum seems to suggest this is the case.

So, to investigate, I launched WoW and ALT+TABed back to Windows, closed DXDIAG.exe, and then opened it again. And, nope, it still reads "~2.1GHz". Of course, maybe it simply doesn't update. Or maybe, somehow, WoW running in the background wasn't sufficient to be a "load" for the processor (which I find odd, but could be the case, I suppose).

Now I'm not trying to overclock my computer, but, for the same token, I'd just as soon not be underclocking it somehow as well.

Some of the Gigbyte utilities I installed with my motherboard drivers acted a bit funny for a while (crashing upon Windows loading, for example), and I'm wondering if, perhaps, they might be the source of potential problems--assuming I have any.

In an effort to quantify how fast my computer is, I just downloaded PCMark05. My results were a score of "6634." I have no idea how good or bad this is.

FWIW, some of my other hardware includes:
2GB (2 x 1GB) Kingston ValueRAM PC2-6400
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 Motherboard
EVGA 512-P3-N861-TR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2

So, is my system running normally and my expectations for its performance were just unrealistic or is my system, perhaps, running slower than it ought to? Is there a good way to find out if my system is running at its potential? (And, if not, why not.)

Thanks!

 

[13thmonkey]

try downloading TAT - intels thermal analysis tool, it will tell you what the clock speed is, and let you load it so it forces it to come out of the lower power mode. typically it will pop in and out of lower power mode (6x multiplier) very frequently, probably more frequently than the windows system spec thing updates, so you might be running at full speed, but you may not see it.

 

[RobertM525]

try downloading TAT - intels thermal analysis tool, it will tell you what the clock speed is, and let you load it so it forces it to come out of the lower power mode. typically it will pop in and out of lower power mode (6x multiplier) very frequently, probably more frequently than the windows system spec thing updates, so you might be running at full speed, but you may not see it.

When I run the TAT, it gives me an error message saying, "Invalid Processor. Terminating Tool." So perhaps it's not compatible with the E7300...?

 

[13thmonkey]

I'm surprised about that, its a C2D based CPU. Can you try coretemp, it'll show you the current multiplier, speed and the temps, it updates frequently enough to see it in real time.

 

[RobertM525]

"Coretemp"? I've never heard of it. Do you have a (reliable) link to it?

 

[cfvh600]

Download CPU-Z and run the program along with Prime-95 and see what CPU-Z says about your CPU's clock speeds.

 

[13thmonkey]

first on the list

http://www.google.co.uk/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=coretemp&meta=lr%3D

 

[amdfangirl]

Coretemp or my personal favourite, CPU-Z

 

[gamerk316]

Whats probably happening is one of Intels power saving measures is reducing the multiplyer. Use CPUz, Coretemp, or Realtemp to confirm.

 

[RobertM525]

Download CPU-Z and run the program along with Prime-95 and see what CPU-Z says about your CPU's clock speeds.

Here's what I got.

With just Firefox open, CPU-Z reported:
Core Speed: 1600.1 MHz
Multiplier: x 6.0
Bus Speed: 266.7 MHz
Rated FSB: 1066.7 MHz

When I was running Prime95, CPU-Z reported:
Core Speed: 2267.0 MHz
Multiplier: x 8.5
Bus Speed: 266.7 MHz
Rated FSB: 1066.8 MHz

 

[amdfangirl]

Yes, its the Speedstep underclocking feature. It's perfectly normal as stated by the sticky.

 

[RobertM525]

Yes, its the Speedstep underclocking feature. It's perfectly normal as stated by the sticky.

So, just to be clear, I should never see my multiplier at 10x (the listed stock multiplier)? Because my reading of that sticky suggests that it dropping down at idle is normal, but the failure to go above 8.5x on my processor is not.

 

[13thmonkey]

yes you should if it is a 2.66Ghz chip. Check in the bios to see if it is spotting the cpu correctly, most of these chips can alter the multiplier down, but not up, so it may have been set to a lower level after an 'event'.

 

[RobertM525]

yes you should if it is a 2.66Ghz chip. Check in the bios to see if it is spotting the cpu correctly, most of these chips can alter the multiplier down, but not up, so it may have been set to a lower level after an 'event'.

While I did not find anything in the BIOS which stated the name of the processor (assuming you meant for me to check to see if my BIOS was identifying the model of my processor correctly when you said "Check in the bios to see if it is spotting the cpu correctly"), I did find a setting under Motherboard Intelligent (something--Tracker?) that had a manual multiplier setting. It was set to 8 and had a "fine" setting set to 0.5, which would, I believe, explain the 8.5x multiplier. I changed it to 10 (the fine setting subsequently disappeared), and voilà, CPU-Z now reports a 10x multiplier and 2667 MHz clock speed.

Thanks, everyone! I would imagine this will make my system speedier.

Though if I want more gains in ALT+TABing performance, perhaps what I really need is more than 2GB of RAM.

 

[13thmonkey]

Glad to be of service