Got some processor problem. Any help would be appreciated. :)

[Deleted]

i'll try to explain as best as I can because i'm not too good with explanations!

So my processor has decided on it's own (somehow) that it has 3 speeds. Bad - Average - Good.

My processor most of the time runs in "bad" and randomly changes to "average". About 10 seconds after it goes into "average" it goes to "good" and then for however long my computer needs it in good, it stays but when it doesn't need that much speed it goes back to bad. And the cycle starts again and again and it's really starting to frustrate me.

Any ideas?

P.S I understand that this isn't the best explanation ever and will try to be online for follow up questions within the next 30 minutes, due to, you know, needing some sleep.

Edit: Forgot to include what processor it is, purely just copying the name from the properties: Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU P6100

[chaud]

That is how Speedstep is supposed to work. It lowers the speed when it isn't being used to reduce power usage and heat.

[Voytrekk]

Are you referring to the clock speeds of your CPU? If so, it might just be the processor changing the clocks/voltages to reduce power consumption and wear on your CPU.

[Deleted]

Speedstep? *frantically googles* Damn it to hell...Any idea of how to stop it or maybe lower the threshold?

And I guess I am probably referring to the clock speed. It does tend to lower the heat generated and the battery life is drastically changed when it happens so I guess that is probably about right.

[glo]

Speedstep? *frantically googles* Damn it to hell...Any idea of how to stop it or maybe lower the threshold?

And I guess I am probably referring to the clock speed. It does tend to lower the heat generated and the battery life is drastically changed when it happens so I guess that is probably about right.

The P6100 is a notebook CPU, and 99% of notebook BIOS firmwares aren't going to let you turn it off.

Regardless, there's no reason to disable it. It clocks correctly when it needs to, you wouldn't see any performance gain. Also, completely disabling it would generate A LOT of extra heat in your notebook for no reason, eventually leading to much shorter lifespans of the various pieces of hardware.

[Voytrekk]

Well, if you really want to disable it, then you will have to go into your BIOS to do that. Motherboards are all different, but it will generally be in the CPU settings. There really isn't a reason to turn it off, as it will just wear your out your CPU even faster.

[Deleted]

Well...If it will not improve performance gain from disabling I guess i'll just leave it on, will have to live with the randomness of speed gains.

Thanks for the help people. Much appreciated.

[Deleted]

Depending on what operating system you're using, it can also impact on how the computer handles it. Most laptops come (nowadays atleast) with a quickbutton to select a prefered performance mode. I know windows 7 has a performance setting aswell, which on my laptop was seperate from the program called by the button. If this is set to anything but maximum performance, you're bound to see plently of speed drops.

As people state above, it is intended to lengthen the batterytime and lower the wear and tear of the cpu. However, unlike what has been said here, those who experience bigger issues with the speed changes are recommended to -try- and turn it off, to see if they can find any noticable difference in performance. This will ofcourse cost cpu-lifetime, mind, you'll most likely buy a new one before its dead. None the less it will alter the performance of the cpu, thus running it differently from how it was originally intended.
For those questioning this, just go to the intel support forums and look up speedstep. There are several people posting issues, and the most common response is to try running without it enabled.

Another thing you can do is make sure the system actually recognizes the cpu as the one it really is. For this you need the intel cpu id utility (or something..)
*cutnpaste* You can download the Intel® Processor Identification Utility at: intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/

If you are unable to get to your motherboard bios, I'd recommend calling either a friend with decent pc skills, to come help you. Or alternatively call the support of the company that made the pc for you, and have them guide you through it. Or bring it to them.

[Nellah]

Well...If it will not improve performance gain from disabling I guess i'll just leave it on, will have to live with the randomness of speed gains.

Thanks for the help people. Much appreciated.

It's not randomness at all, though. It clocks itself up when it needs to, and when it doesn't need its full power, it reduces the clock. My 2500K drops down to 1600MHz regularly, though its full power clock ranges from 4200MHz to 4800MHz depending on how cold it is that day and whether I feel like feeding it voltage.

[Nightbliss]

Well, downclocking on Laptops and Desktops are still a pain in the ass, despite what people told you.
Speedstep and CoolNQuiet are far from perfect and will make your computer sluggish when you want to work fast.

A quick example, you are browsing and then go idle for a couple of seconds, speedstep kicks in and then you return and open a browser page, speedstep takes a couple of good seconds to wake up and you're left with sluggish performance for a couple of seconds.

Sometimes, they won't even kick in properly as I've experienced on my i5 laptop.

The thing is, 600Mhz is good to keep the PC idleing, but for browsing, most of the times and specially now with all the gibberish on pages consuming resources, 1000 or 1500Mhz might not even be enough to properly navigate through webpages.

Disabling Speedstep will improve performance none the less because you will have it running at top notch power all the time making the experience more enjoyable but as someone said it will also debitate more heat and consume more thus degrading the hardware.

What you can try as someone already said is to change the power settings on Windows and see if it helps.

[glo]

Well, downclocking on Laptops and Desktops are still a pain in the ass, despite what people told you.
Speedstep and CoolNQuiet are far from perfect and will make your computer sluggish when you want to work fast.

Cool-n-Quiet has nothing to do with Speedstep. It's only for AMD processors.

A quick example, you are browsing and then go idle for a couple of seconds, speedstep kicks in and then you return and open a browser page, speedstep takes a couple of good seconds to wake up and you're left with sluggish performance for a couple of seconds.

"Couple of good seconds" is simply BS. A massive exaggeration. It only takes a fraction of a second.

The thing is, 600Mhz is good to keep the PC idleing, but for browsing, most of the times and specially now with all the gibberish on pages consuming resources, 1000 or 1500Mhz might not even be enough to properly navigate through webpages.

This entire statement is invalid. If the processor comes close to full load while downclocked, it will increase it's clockrate until it can comfortably handle the load, all in a fraction of a second. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference.

---------------

We're not running P IIIs with early speedstep anymore, and all of these random issues you're going on about haven't been a problem for years.

[Nightbliss]

Cool-n-Quiet has nothing to do with Speedstep. It's only for AMD processors.



"Couple of good seconds" is simply BS. A massive exaggeration. It only takes a fraction of a second.




This entire statement is invalid. If the processor comes close to full load while downclocked, it will increase it's clockrate until it can comfortably handle the load, all in a fraction of a second. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference.

---------------

We're not running P IIIs with early speedstep anymore, and all of these random issues you're going on about haven't been a problem for years.

lol...
What a joke...

You think I don't know that CNQ and Speedstep are the very same thing but from different brands?...
I was stating both technologies are far from perfect and the rest of my statements aren't bullshit because they come from my own experience.

When I load CNQ on my Desktop Quad, I can see the difference between having it on and having it off. The system feels sluggish with it on because unfortunately, it doesn't respond fast enough and the speed it assumes as necessary isn't quite enough.
If you don't feel this way, then it's your own opinion and perhaps you're used to slow experiences.

The same goes for my i5 Lap and the other not so high end laptops I have laying arround.

Your last statement is even more ridiculous.
The Speed isn't adjusted meticulously to adapt to the type of load, it will simple increase the load in pre designated steps until it feels enough as in, CPU usage isn't too high nor too low.

Shows how much you know about CNQ and Speedstep.