Inspiron 2650 CPU

Speedstep. 

 

Insider,

Both my father and I have purchased new 1.7 GHZ 2650's in the last month. I've asked Dell over and over, why my Control Panel (System icon, General tab), processor speed ranges from 837 MHZ to 1.69 MHZ. It usually sits at 1.19 MHZ, which obviously isn't what I've paid for.

I haven't received any answers from Dell. Their support is horrible, and seem proficient only in keeping the customer at bay.

What I have done, is run a number of benchmark tests on the two Inspirons, and the processors are all over the place. The tests have recognized speeds ranging from 1170 to 1510 MHZ. You may wish to download and run the PCMARK2002 benchmark test yourself. Check it out at  http://service.futuremark.com/ then compare your results with comparable 2650's, and other machines that clock at the same speed. You'll find that in almost all cases, your Inspiron will underperform its competitor.

My suggestion to you is...if your machine is new, and is suffering from performance problems, contact support immediately, and push them to run a full diagnostic test on your PC. Don't take no for an answer.

Good luck to you.

you guys have to go into power options, and select the "always on" scheme.

hey speedstep technology..

look for the pc to save the power.. intel designed mobile processors that run at the speed required to run ur application not at the full speed it has so it will reduce power consuming....

 

Your query about the range of cpu speed is actually part of the Pentium Mobile Chip which you probably have in your notebook(s).

I have seen my go from 1.3 to 1.8 on the Pentium M 4 1.8 CPU.

But, thank you for the advice, I will try that way you said to do.

 

Insider51

Control Panel -> Power Options -> Select either "Home Office" or "Always on" power scheme.  This should prevent the processor from stepping down to conserve power.  Keep in mind that this will down your batteries faster than a can of Schlitz through a funnel at some lame college party.

Matt

Would this setting also have anything to do with the fan coming on all the time? Both of the fans that turn on and off get on my nerves, but the CPU fan is the worst. The way it comes on for like 2 seconds then goes back off and that little whiney whirr it makes. Is there any way I can get that to stop? I've had it stop altogether, but I'm not sure how I did it. I had the thing on for a week and the fan didn't come on but after I restarted it, it had a hay day. The load I keep on the computer is like 2% alot of the time, yet it insists on coming on. Any ideas?

I've noticed that adjusting the power settings affects how often the CPU fan "turns on."  This applies to all laptops I've used from Compaq's, EMachines, and Dells.

From experience, the Always On, and Presentation modes tend to keep the CPU fans constantly running, thus draining your battery faster.  I have found that using Max Battery, or Portable/Laptop modes minimize the CPU fan spin up, maximizes battery life, and keeps the laptop relatively quiet.

Hope this info helps.

Download and install FanGUI at http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html.  Assuming that you have an Inspirion 2650, it looks like you should be able to control the fans.  However, it doesn't look like the temperature monitoring is supported, so be very careful if you decide to shut down the fans. 

I like this fan controlling program, just wish I could use the temperature control part. When the fans start getting on my nerves, I turn them both on full blast for a few minutes, then turn them both off and restore control to the BIOS. Anyways, I'm not sure what will be accomplished by setting my power settings to anything different. I want to be online 24/7, and I know that cant be accomplished by putting it into standby or hibernate. Will turning the drives off interupt my internet connection? That's another thing. This computer tends to have trouble coming out of hibernate and turning the monitor back on sometimes, especially when I put it into hibernate or turn the LCD off and then disconnect the AC power cord. Then I have to reboot to get it to do anything. Hope that isn't too much at once. Thanks for the responses so far.

See above. This post is just to "renew" the subject so to speak.

The variable CPU's "Reported" speed can be controlled using a utility called 'SpeedSwitchXP' You can get it from http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/indexd.html

For it, I set it to 'Max Battery' and it will clock my CPU down to 1.2 ghz. At this lower clock, it generates lass heat, and the fans rarely come on, and only for a short time. Another thing to do with it, is set is to 'Dynamic Switching.' That way, when you are say, browsing the net, it will be clocked down, keeping those fans off and saving battery. Then, you get an urge to do some heavy 3D gaming, you start up the game, and it will automatically throttle the CPU back up to 1.7ghz. That will kill you battery, and the fans will come on, but you'll still get your full performance.

I also use I8KFanGUI from http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html. I make my computer leave the second fan on high all the time, since it really isn't any more annoying than your typical desktop's fan.

Also, for those of you, who hate the bloody fans going On - Off - On - Off - On - Off 30 times a second, and it's making you want to hang yourself? Download the latest BIOS revision, it seems to keep the fans on Longer, and less often. (ALOT less annoying in my opinion.)

 

Hope I helped :)