T20 CPU.. reporting wrong speed

Message

basscleff · #1 Post by **basscleff** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:35 pm

I have a T20 with P III 700 (verified with mine own eyes

but in Windows XP Home (SP2), it reports it as PIII 547 Mhz only.

I have heard of Windows misreporting CPU speeds with Win98 and older versions, but not with XP.

I tried setting BIOS to MAX Performance
Disabled all Intel Speed Step related settings
No difference.
Anyone have any advice on this problem?
thx

Website · #2 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:50 pm

It is the Speed Step Technology that causes it to report 150MHz less that the advertised 700MHz. It will run at 700MHz when it is needed.

There are several threads about this, for both the T2x and the A2x series.

basscleff · #3 Post by **basscleff** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:53 pm

thx for the info.
can I disable this, I installed the Intel drivers that installed the Speedstep software, but I believe it is hooked in the OS and the BIOS as well?

thx

Bgradid · #4 Post by **Bgradid** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:57 pm

Is it possible its designed for a 133 mhz front side bus?

Website · #5 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:03 pm

I think that there is a setting in the BIOS that will allow you to run it at ful speed. It is just meant to be an energy saving technique, especially under battery usage.

The FSB is only 100MHz, not 133MHz. The T23 was the first T2x to have 133MHz FSB.

xtrem · #6 Post by **xtrem** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:05 am

I have the same problem on Win2k.
Reported 550Mhz on my T20.
Nothing I do can get the CPU to report 700mhz. not evan att CPU 100%

#7 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:34 pm

xtrem wrote:I have the same problem on Win2k. Reported 550Mhz on my T20. Nothing I do can get the CPU to report 700mhz.
not evan att CPU 100%

Since you only say "nothing you do", without mentioning what it is you have tried, this will be a general response which may not have any bearing on your case. This issue has also been discussed before; search the T2x/T3x archives using "speedstep" as the only search term.

I believe that the main causes in cases like this (stuck in the lower SpeedStep-enabled clock rate) it due to operating with the battery only, or if you are using an AC adapter, plugging it into the laptop after it has been booted. Can you be a little more specific in what you have checked/tried and what you are using to measure the system clock speed?

xtrem · #8 Post by **xtrem** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:44 pm

uninstalled and reinstalled speedstep, and powerdrivers
changed settings in bios (maximum, auto, etc)

computer is always on AC.

in speedstep I can only choose "Battery Optimized". maximum performance is greyed out

using CPU-Z

djpharoah · #9 Post by **djpharoah** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:13 pm

What you need to go into is Power Settings/Options in Control Panel.

Then in there change your profile from laptop/portable to workstation/desktop. That will enable the full 700MHz when on AC and 550MHz on DC.

I had the same issue on my T20..

xtrem · #10 Post by **xtrem** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:37 pm

only have "Home/Office desk" that comes near that.
didn't help

djpharoah · #11 Post by **djpharoah** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:44 pm

Then check in your bios that on AC you have it setup for performance and not battery.

xtrem · #12 Post by **xtrem** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:53 pm

after some time at google. I found out that you have to have a battery in the T20 to get maximum speed.

any way to work around this?

ujav · #13 Post by **ujav** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:25 pm

xtrem wrote:after some time at google. I found out that you have to have a battery in the T20 to get maximum speed.

any way to work around this?

Very actual question. I have the same problem on my t30 - p4m 2.2 without battery works on 1.2Ghz - always..

Maybe, the reason is OS? I have XP SP2.

Is there any methods to reinstall speedstep driver in XP? - just to check it.

awdark · #14 Post by **awdark** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:47 am

Yeah, you need the battery to hit the full speed. Dunno why or if there is anyway around it but my 30 minute battery is good enough.

xtrem · #15 Post by **xtrem** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:24 am

yes, any battery will do. I bought the cheapest I could find on ebay.

ujav · #16 Post by **ujav** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 7:52 am

And we have to live with it? - is it bug or a feature?
Btw, my CPU isn't a "speedstep" anymore - with battery always 2.2Ghz, without always 1.2, no matter what is the power settings and system load.

The other problem is weight - I don't want to carry battery everywhere I need high performance.
Also, I prefer to store battery in the fridge with charge of 40% - when not using it for a long time.

Is there any workaround? I'm sure that's the software/driver bug.

agarza · #17 Post by **agarza** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:45 am

What happens if you install Notebook Hardware Control on a T20, T22, T30 laptop? Could it modify the CPU to run at full speed all the time?

Edit:
Check here
http://www.bay-wolf.com/speedstep.htm

ujav · #18 Post by **ujav** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:57 am

At least thanks for advice - now I know than WITH the battery mu CPU works the right way - from 1.2 to 2.2 depend on load.

but without..

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 236#205236

T20 CPU.. reporting wrong speed

T20 CPU.. reporting wrong speed

Who is online