# CPU running at half speed



## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

I recently was looking into overclocking my cpu and i discovered that this is'nt not possible but i also discovered that my cpu is only running at 49.8%. this does not seem right. I bought it off ebay (mistake) for 200$. it is a dell optiplex gx260. any help on getting up to even 2.0ghz would be greatly appreciated. I searched everywhere on how to correct this and I the only thing i can find is to change the settings in the bios but i cant because all the settings are locked. Anyways here is all my computer specs. hoping some smart person on here can figure this out

Computer
Model : Dell Computer Corporation OptiPlex GX260
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : *****-********
User : *****

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.60GHz
Speed : 1.3GHz
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Integrated Data Cache : 8kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 4-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector

Computer
Mainboard : Dell
BIOS : Dell Computer Corporation A03 09/24/2002
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 1.5GB DDR

Chipset
Model : Dell Optiplex GX260
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 100MHz (400MHz)
Total Memory : 1.5GB DDR
Shared Memory : 1MB
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Hynix (Hyundai) HYMD264 646A8-H 512MB DDR PC2100U DDR-133 (2.5-3-3-6 2-9-0-0)
Memory Module : G.Skill 1GB DDR PC3200U DDR-200 (3-4-4-8 2-16-0-0)

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (PS2.0, VS2.0 297MHz, 256MB DDR 2x446MHz, PCI)

Storage Devices
ST3250823A (250GB, ATA100, 3.5", 8MB Cache) : 233GB (C (D
SONY DVD RW DRU-V204A (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 504MB (E

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C : 3GB (FAT32) @ ST3250823A (250GB, ATA100, 3.5", 8MB Cache)
Hard Disk (D : 230GB (NTFS) @ ST3250823A (250GB, ATA100, 3.5", 8MB Cache)
DJ_AIO_03_F4200_ (E : 295MB (CDFS) @ SONY DVD RW DRU-V204A (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Intel 82801DB/DBL (ICH4/ICH4-L) LPC Interface Bridge
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : SMSC EMC2700LPC
Audio Device : Dell 82801DB/DBL AC'97 Audio Controller (ICH4/ICH4-L A1)
Audio Codec : Analog Devices 0072h
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Dell Optiplex GX260
USB Controller 1 : Dell Optiplex GX260
USB Controller 2 : Dell Optiplex GX260
USB Controller 3 : Dell Optiplex GX260
USB Controller 4 : Dell Optiplex GX260
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Network Adapter : Compact Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with SpeedBooster ver.2 - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 24Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86


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## Dave121 (Sep 1, 2009)

My friend had a lap top that did that.I found out that it was doing it because of his battery life.I think it was an option in the control panel under power options,but that was for a lap top,not sure in your case.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Check in the Bios to see if the CPU is in the lower speed Compatibility Mode.
CPU Information



> * CPU Speed — Processor speed at which the computer boots
> 
> Press the left- or right-arrow key to toggle the CPU Speed option between the resident microprocessor's rated speed (the default) and a lower compatibility speed. A change to this option takes effect immediately (no restart is necessary).
> 
> ...


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

No its in normal...the only thing i can change in that menu is
CPU speed . . . . . . Normal / Compatible
when its in compatible mode it will not even boot....it just sits at the win xp screen and i have to shut it off and put it back in normal mode. I went ahead and got all the info off that page in bios though and here it is

Bus Speed . . . . . . . . . 400 MHZ
Processor 0 ID . . . . . . F29
Clock speed . . . . . . . . 1.30 GHZ
Cache Size . . . . . . . . . 512 KB

and like i said the only thing i can change is the CPU speed from normal to compatible...any other ideas?


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## digideath (Sep 20, 2007)

A stab in the dark...

You wouldn't be confusing this with speedstep would you? I mean intels cpu throttling that lowers the speed of the cpu when it's idle and raises it under load. 
Your cpu speed would show as a lower value when the system is idle or in low load. It would then step up gradualy to its rated speed when under a mid range or higher load.

Thats if pentium 4's do that mind you. I've always had amd cpu's. Only ever had one intel. A pentium 2 in an old compaq flat bed, years ago.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

I'm thinking the same as digideath. Use CPU-Z. Keep it open and run some apps and watch CPU-Z for any changes in CPU speed.


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

no im pretty sure it is running at 1.29 ghz all the time. I downloaded motherboard monitor and even playing wow and have IE open it always says 1294 MHZ it never changes...I even changed the priorty of wow to high to see if maybe it would use some more cpu but it never changes :upset: :sigh:


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

i downloaded the cpu-z and opened wow task manager and of course google chrome open the cpu usage went up to 90% and cpu-z just toggled between 1295.2 MHZ and 1295.3 MHZ never any higher or lower :/
but cpu-z says my bus speed is 99.3 mhz and my multiplier is 13
__________________________________________________________________
did'nt wanna make a bunch of posts so i just edited this one...I downloaded clockgen (overclocking utility) and selected a PLL that matched my cpu, fsb, and ram but when I overclock it slightly it does change on cpu-z. so far i have not been brave enough to take it past 1376 mhz but can i hurt anything by doing this since my chip is a 2.6 anyways?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

logikal1 said:


> No its in normal...the only thing i can change in that menu is
> CPU speed . . . . . . Normal / Compatible
> when its in compatible mode it will not even boot....it just sits at the win xp screen and i have to shut it off and put it back in normal mode. I went ahead and got all the info off that page in bios though and here it is
> 
> ...


Thats the rated clock speed of the CPU.
What dose CPUz tell you about the CPU?


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

name: intel pentuim 4
code name: northwood
brand id: 9
package: 478 mPGA
technology: 0.13 um
specification: Intel (R) pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.60ghz
family: F model: 2 stepping: 9
instructions: MMX, SSE, SSE2

now these setting are from overclocking normaly they would be at 1295mhz
Core Speed: 1368.7 L1 Data: 8 KBytes 4-Way
Multiplier: X13 trace: 12 kuopes 8-way
bus speedL 105.3 level 2: 512 Kbytes 8-way
rated fsb: 421.1

and again i am slightly overclocking with clockgen. lol it took me forever to type this information


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What Bios version is it are you running?
It will be on the bottom of the splash screen on start up A00 through A09 are the possibilities.


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> What Bios version is it are you running?
> It will be on the bottom of the splash screen on start up A00 through A09 are the possibilities.


I am running A03. I looked into doing a flash upgrade they have a updated bios on the dell site. But I was reading into it and people said that if it does'nt work it will turn your computer into a expensive doorstop lol. does'nt sound good


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Flash it to A08 using the Floppy method not the windows method.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=3&libid=1&fileid=113024


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> Flash it to A08 using the Floppy method not the windows method.
> http://support.dell.com/support/dow...-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=3&libid=1&fileid=113024


well i talked to dell just before i read this post and i updated my bios to version ao9. they actually have a program for it so you dont need to burn anything. it installs it inside windows...it upgraded fine but the fsb and multiplier are still locked...I even told the lady thats why i wanted to upgrade and she said i could if i updated but she was wrong....the bios looks exactly the same...just to make sure i am doing it right to enter bios you press F2 and it says entering setup right? and also should i downgrade to a08? and if so could i use a cd instead of a floppy disk...I dont have any of those and dont know where to buy them


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No A09 is fine, A08 was the last CPU microcode update 09 just added so ram compatibility fixes, the newer bios version will contain all the previous updates.

As far as the setup pages they will always look the same the bios updates are for code that tells the motherboard how to function.

F2 enters the Bios Setup Program.

On a OEM motherboard you will never have Overclocking adjustments.

I would check the CPU heat sink and fan to ensure it's not running hot, problem is on a Dell there are no sensors for reading temps so you have to do it with a inferred thermometer, over about 70c the cpu will throdle back to save it self from burning out,


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

so using clockgen to bring my cpu up to speed probably is'nt a good idea? it did help alot...the reason im trying to bring my cpu back up is cause in wow i get really bad fps and when i OC to 1600mhz they sky rocket to about 60 fps when in a cave or something (never seen 60 fps befor) so can i hurt anything putting my cpu past 1300 mhz?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Well actually if clockgen is increasing the speed it would not be overheating.
When the GX260's were on lease the standard fix for a issue like this was to change the motherboard, but I don't recall ever running into this exact problem.

I would probably still check the heat sink for tightness and give the fan and heat sink a good cleaning with compressed air.


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## logikal1 (Sep 4, 2009)

the only problem i have run into when overclocking (raising the fsb not really overclocking since im still underclocked) is my soundmax integrated digital audio stop working so i have no sound....is this because i am asking to much from my chip? this seems to happen around 1600 mhz


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The board was not meant to overclock clockgen is way around that but not in my opinion a good substitute for bios settings it's hard to know what it might effect Optiplex's are not meant to be performance Pc's they don't have the beefed up heat sinks and voltage control circuits that retail performance boards have they're just designed to run in the business environment on 24-36 month replacement cycles.


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## roast (Nov 2, 2006)

I noticed similar problems to this in the past, although sometimes it was the processor number that changed also. Its to do with a driver thread not installed correctly.

In device manager, uninstall the processor and restart. The device will reinstall automatically. 

-Mick.


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