CPU speedstep changes when a ac adapter is connected

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cmarti · #1 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:20 am

Maybe this is normal but i want to confirm.

On both my T40 and my 600X i have speedstep but it does not work the same in the two computers, example:

600X when i turn it on in battery it runs at 500mhz but when i connect it to a power adapter it stays in 500mhz, if i want it to change to 650mhz i have to restart the computer with the ac power adapter connected.

T40 when i turn it on on battery it runs at 600mhz but when i connect it to it's ac power supply it changes inmediately to 2.10ghz
no need to reboot to chage the cpu speed.

Is the 600x speedstep supposed to work that way?

I just notice this and intrigue me.

Any advice?

Thanks..

#2 Post by **pkiff** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:01 am

cmarti wrote:600X when i turn it on in battery it runs at 500mhz but when i connect it to a power adapter it stays in 500mhz, if i want it to change to 650mhz i have to restart the computer with the ac power adapter connected.

Is the 600x speedstep supposed to work that way?

No, it is not supposed to work that way. In XP SP2, the 600X is supposed to dynamically step-up or step-down the speed depending on the settings in Control Panel -> Power Options -> Power Schemes.

Many users find it difficult to determine whether or not SpeedStep is functioning correctly in XP because XP does not have a stand-alone SpeedStep applet and the XP system itself does not seem able to provide accurate, consistent feedback about the current CPU setting. See MS KB Article 316965: The Processor Speed May Be Reported Incorrectly in Windows XP.

It is possible, for instance, for some components of XP to report the CPU speed incorrectly after the speed has been dynamically changed. You need to install a third-party applet of some kind in order to get an accurate reading, and even then, the readings may not be reliable. Are you sure that your CPU is still running at 500MHz after you plug in the adapter? Where are you getting the CPU speed rating from?

There are a number of other things that can affect SpeedStep operations on the 600X under XP, including OEM battery vs. clone, original CPU or upgraded CPU, the processor "driver" version, and the use of additional 3rd-party speed applets. But first it would be good to determine if in fact the problem is just that XP is incorrectly reporting your speed.

Phil.

cmarti · #3 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:42 pm

Phil,

I am getting the cpu speed from nhc and moblimeter.

And yes it changes the speed but only if I start up the lappy with the ac adapter connected. After that if I remove the ac adapter it still runs at 650 and if I start the lappy with battery it runs at 500 and stays at the same speed after I connect the ac adapter so the issue here is that it is not making the dinamic change, applet I don't remember install one.

Can someone here can direct me to a link where I can download a recommended applet.

Thanks!

dsigma6 · #4 Post by **dsigma6** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:35 pm

did you check bios?

cmarti · #5 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:44 pm

The bios have been updated to the latest( I think the latest is dated 2001)

Are there any settings in the bios that need to be verified?

Thanks..

dsigma6 · #6 Post by **dsigma6** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:49 pm

yes there is a speed setting under cpu- may not be the problem, but its good to verify. try it out on each setting and see what happens.

cmarti · #7 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:27 pm

Did you mean f1 when boot on?

Where is the setting?

I am right now at disney's as soon as I get to the hotel I will check that.

Thanks..

#8 Post by **pkiff** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:35 pm

cmarti wrote:Are there any settings in the bios that need to be verified?

dsigma6 wrote:yes there is a speed setting under cpu....

Not in the 600X BIOS. I don't think there are any BIOS settings in Easy Setup that have any effect on SpeedStep. The only option under CPU is to enable/disable the CPU serial number tracker. Maybe you're thinking of another model?

cmarti wrote:I am getting the cpu speed from nhc and moblimeter.

nhc? I'm not very quick today. Wat's dat?

You shouldn't need to install any additional utilities, but I found that on my 600X's running Windows XP SP2, Christian Diefer's SpeedSwitch applet was an excellent addition to the built-in XP info. It gives you much greater control over your SpeedStep settings than XP can offer on its own, and I found that my CPU stepped correctly with this applet installed. [later correction: it turns out this is not true: my CPU is not SpeedStepping the way it should under this config -- see more details below]

You can try the Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility to help make sure that your SpeedStep is running correctly, as explained on Bay Wolf's SpeedStep FAQ.

Phil.

dsigma6 · #9 Post by **dsigma6** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:14 pm

nhc= notebook hardware control

i forgot about ezsetup. ive been using the r40 and 570 lately. shouldnt the 570 have the same F1 function as a 600e/x? maybe it's because i did a fresh install of xp that didnt involve any ibm software?

on the 570 at least, its at:
Config
Advanced
Power

There you can set the processor speed to fixed max/medium/slow or auto medium/slow. sorry if i took this off topic.

cmarti · #10 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:50 pm

Excelent!

Thanks for the help.
I will follow the suggestions you two have provided and will post the results.

#11 Post by **pkiff** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:01 pm

Mmmmm...it looks like I've got this wrong. I thought I had mostly sorted out all the strange behaviours associated with SpeedStep on my machine, but I just tested this carefully on my 600X with an upgraded PIII 850Mhz CPU, and I'm getting the same results as cmarti was originally. If I start off unplugged and I have my SpeedStep set to Max Battery, and then I plug in my AC, my CPU will not actually step up to 850MHz until I reboot, even if I have it set to Max Performance under AC. So now I'm not sure how to avoid this behaviour unless you actually set your machine to max performance on battery or you reboot each time you want to plug in or plug out.

I'll check on my other 600X to see if it's the same, but it looks like this may be a fault with the 600X under XP, as you suspected originally.

Anyone else have a different experience with this?

Phil.

cmarti · #12 Post by **cmarti** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:03 pm

Ohh.. So I am not alone.

Let's hear other users comments.

dsigma6 · #13 Post by **dsigma6** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:23 pm

i'm sure there are a few users with upgraded 600x's running w2k. with my limited knowledge of differences in xp and w2k, i'd still like to assume that something so essential could be halted because of a reset.

too bad i'm not one of the "other users."

cmarti · #14 Post by **cmarti** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:54 am

Update.

I have downloaded the SpeedStep applet installed run it restated the lappy on battery, then i connect the ac adapter and i can hear the notification sound when it is supposed to change the cpu spped from 500mhz to 650mhz and the applet states that it is running in maximum performance but when i check the speed with speedswitchXP and in the XP system tab both says the cpu is running at 500mhz. So there is no speed change and no speed step.

Any ideas? Still not got it working

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#15 Post by **pkiff** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:07 pm

I don't have any more ideas, but I will suggest that you uninstall the Intel SpeedStep applet from your machine if you are running XP SP2. There is no Intel SpeedStep applet designed for XP SP2. That is why there is this SpeedSwitch applet from Christian Diefer. I do not know what will happen if you use the Win2000 Intel SpeedStep applet under XP SP2, but I would recommend against it.

Phil.

#16 Post by **rkawakami** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:16 pm

Another data point which may or may not reveal more information...

cmarti wrote:600X when i turn it on in battery it runs at 500mhz but when i connect it to a power adapter it stays in 500mhz, if i want it to change to 650mhz i have to restart the computer with the ac power adapter connected.

This is exactly how my 650Mhz 600X works under Windows 2000 SP4 with no other SpeedStep program/utility running, as long as I select a power scheme other than "Max Battery". If that scheme is enabled, and I'm running battery only, the FSB drops from 100Mhz to 51Mhz, effectively lowering the system to 331Mhz. It will switch speeds whenever the AC adapter is connected/disconnected, but this seems to be a Windows 2000 issue and not SpeedStep. In fact, my other non-SpeedStep 600Xs running Win2K operate the same way: halving the FSB speed when set to "Max Battery". The only time I can get my 650Mhz 600X to run at the SpeedStep-enabled 500Mhz is if I power-up on battery only. And once running at that speed, like cmarti says, I need to restart with the AC adapter already connected to get the laptop to run at 650Mhz.

Oh, processor speeds measured by both MobileMeter and CPU-Z.

cmarti · #17 Post by **cmarti** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:39 pm

Ohh..

So it seems there is no way to get it working.

There must be a way. ( But i don't know where it is )

cmarti · #18 Post by **cmarti** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:20 pm

pkiff wrote:I don't have any more ideas, but I will suggest that you uninstall the Intel SpeedStep applet from your machine if you are running XP SP2. There is no Intel SpeedStep applet designed for XP SP2. That is why there is this SpeedSwitch applet from Christian Diefer. I do not know what will happen if you use the Win2000 Intel SpeedStep applet under XP SP2, but I would recommend against it.

Phil.

I uninstall the intel speedstep applet and leave only the speedswitch but it continues woking exctly the same, there is no dinamic switching in the cpu to change the speed i need to re-start the lappy. I can even hear the beep when it's supposed to change it but no it just stays at the same speed.

Anyone has his/her 600x with xp pro sp2 installed and the cpu is switching the speed correctly what do you do to in oirder to get it working?

I already ordered a 850mhz cpu and would like to get it working in the two speed modes.

Thanks..

#19 Post by **pkiff** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:04 pm

cmarti wrote:....there is no dinamic switching in the cpu to change the speed i need to re-start the lappy....Anyone has his/her 600x with xp pro sp2 installed and the cpu is switching the speed correctly what do you do to in oirder to get it working?

Just so we're clear, my PIII 850Mhz does dynamically change CPU speed depending on the load and according to the Power Scheme settings, so SpeedStep is otherwise working as it is supposed to. The only thing that is not working the way one would expect is stepping up the maximum speed to 850MHz when moving from battery to AC without first performing a power off/on cycle.

Phil.

cmarti · #20 Post by **cmarti** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:21 pm

[quote="pkiffThe only thing that is not working the way one would expect is stepping up the maximum speed to 850MHz when moving from battery to AC without first performing a power off/on cycle.

That is exaclty how my 650mhz is working no step up when ac is connected or when it is disconected.

Sorry Phil, i wasn't clear in my message.

I was meaning to ask is if anyone find a way to make his laptop doing this without power off/on cycle.

flybuddy · #21 Post by **flybuddy** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:30 am

Got a 600x with windows 2000--shows 642 mhz when started with AC adapter. Shows 521 mhz when started on battery.

cmarti · #22 Post by **cmarti** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:04 pm

flybuddy wrote:Got a 600x with windows 2000--shows 642 mhz when started with AC adapter. Shows 521 mhz when started on battery.

But when you start the pc on battery and then you connect the ac adapter does the cpu change the speed automaticaly?

Or do you have to reboot to change the speed?

flybuddy · #23 Post by **flybuddy** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:43 pm

You have to reboot to change the speed. Conversely, though, if you boot up with ac adapter in and unplug, it stays at the higher speed.

cmarti · #24 Post by **cmarti** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:07 am

I have upgraded the CPU to 850Mhz of the 600x and it is showing the same behaviour, maybe that is the way the 600x should work with XP.

Who knows

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