CPU Speed on D800

Its the front side bus that your processor is running on.  It has to do with the motherboard and memory.  Go to Intel and they can give you a more detailed explanation or go to tomshardware.com.  Its a great place to find out more details on computer tech.

The 2nd speed is not FSB speed, but the current speed of Pentium-M, because Pentium-M speed will vary depending on the system's usage.  You can force the CPU to run at full speed, by changing your Power Usage to "Always On".

 

I changed my system to "Always On" and the speed indicator increased to 599MHz.

Why didn't it go upto 1.4GHz if it is indicating running CPU speed?

Is my CPU working correctly?

Mine normally goes to 1.6 when I select "Always On", or anytime the cpu approaches 100%.

Go into the BIOS and set it to MAX power when connected to AC.

I found 2 settings in BIOS that seemed to have anything to do with CPU.

1 was to set the Boot Speed to 1.4GHz or "Compatible" - it was already at 1.4GHz

The other was to enable or disable SpeedStep.  It was enabled, so I disabled it - now the second MHz speed on my System Properties has gone down to 95MHz!!!!

What is going on!!!

The other thing I noticed in BIOS - on Page 1 of 7 - where it lists the hardware - it says Pentium M 1400MHz/600MHz (Current CPU Speed 600MHz).

Why is the current speed 600MHz!!

Message Edited by keithmdw on 05-18-2004 11:04 PM

Once you disable SpeedStep the CPU will run at it's lowest speed. Re-enable SpeedStep. Please read the right hand side of the BIOS screen before you change any settings. After something is highlighted on the left hand side a description of what it is and what will happen when the setting is changed will be displayed on the right hand side. Read ALL of it before you change anything.

You need to install SpeedSwitchXP and then set AC power to MAX in the options. This is a free app available from http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/ 

It's in english, don't worry about the .de. You can also install Intel's app, SpeedStep, but then you have to patch it for XP with a download from Dell..etc, etc.. I've found SpeedSwitchXP to be a superior app. Also, if you want to read up on this in the forums just do a search for SpeedSwitchXP. This has been covered several times. I don't know why Dell does not document this, sure would help people if they would just say something...Dell Moderator listening?!?

Thanks,

Thom

Well, something is definitely wrong because mine works perfectly, and I just reformatted it about 2 weeks ago. . .

You might want to double check your own. You will get different readings in different places. For example, My Computer Properties will tell you one speed, DXDIAG will tell you another. The best way to know for sure is to check with a 3rd party app like CPUID which also tells FSB speed, cache, AGP speed, etc..

I have a C840 w/ same setup as yours (no 7200rpm though) and had to use this to keep the speed above 1.2GHz. Oh, mine is P4 M 1.6GHz, could be the difference. I don't like the "Set PC to Always On" fix because it won't switch speeds going between battery & AC. With SpeedSwitchXP I can unplug/plug AC power & watch the speed change in front of my eyes.

Thom

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@tsharar wrote:

I have a C840 w/ same setup as yours (no 7200rpm though) and had to use this to keep the speed above 1.2GHz. Oh, mine is P4 M 1.6GHz, could be the difference. I don't like the "Set PC to Always On" fix because it won't switch speeds going between battery & AC. With SpeedSwitchXP I can unplug/plug AC power & watch the speed change in front of my eyes.

Thom

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On my i8200, same as your C840, it drops to the lower CPU speed when I unplug it and if I plug it back in it goes to the max CPU speed, 1.8, and I have it set to 'Always on". In fact all my Dell notebooks are set the same way and they all work as intended when on AC and on battery.

FYI

Should have said I was directing my post to Famous when stating my PC was the same setup as his.

As for Ed C, I should also mention that I like to use the Dynamic Switching setting when not gaming so I don't run at max all the time. I know the heat on these babies can lead to shorter CPU life if run at max speed 24x7. As a matter of fact, the ONLY time I use max is for gaming. I don't think anything else I do uses that much power (1.6GHz).

I don't know what the difference is then, I setup all laptops at work & have only noticed this problem recently. We buy nothing but Dell and when I started the new ones were C600 PIII-1GHz. I started seeing this with the Pentium M chips in the X200/300's and then started looking for the same in all other new ones. All D series are the same.

I guess my main point is this: If a laptop is set to Portable/Laptop in the power scheme and you have set the drives & monitor to go off at set times when on AC power & battery power then it should do so AND run the CPU at the appropriate speed. If I set power to Always On it's exactly that, always HDD on, always max CPU (which means fans), etc, etc.. I would like my laptop to last as long as possible and setting to always on won't help.

Thanks,

Thom

tsharar:

In December '02, SpeedStep issues got a lot of attention on these boards for I8200 and C840.  The earliest manual fix was to restore the corresponding registry entries to their pristine settings; apparently this was later done via the Microsoft/Dell SpeedStep patch, and also SpeedSwitchXP does the same (albeit with more flexible options).

When I got my C840 in July '02, I cloned the "Home/Office Desk" Power schemes settings with slightly different monitor and disk timeouts. Everything has been perfectly fine till now.

I don't think you should blame Dell; MS/Intel could be the culprits.

Finally, I wouldn't worry about power profiles' influence on the life-time of your boxes (my C840 is on 99% of the time). After all, the typical Latitude warranty of 3yr NBD on-site should alleviate your anxiety!