Why doesn'y my display reflect my actual processor speed?

How do I get Windows ME/Windows XP to recognize that I now have a 2.53ghz machine? It still only says that I have 1.90 ghz. The computer has a new motherboard, cpu and memory?

This question was answered on January 17, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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I must commend you Most people ignore this I have been ignoring it on my own PC for about six months - ever since I got it You have forced me to face the issue.

I see by your profile that you, like I, have a pretty new and screaming-fast PC Most computers like ours have processors which post-date the bios which came with the motherboards In my case, I believe this to be true, as my PC is so blindingly fast, I cannot believe it is running at anything less than full processor speed Therefore, I believe the issue to be cosmetic in nature This is also indicated by research into information provided by Intel.

To test the theory, I would have to download and install a bios upgrade for the motherboard This may, or may not change the readout regarding the speed of the processor Depending on the industrial fervor of the people who issue such updates, and the motherboard being no longer on the market, I doubt these people are chomping at the bit to keep bios revisions up to the minute.

Having more important issues to attend to, like keeping up on the cost of pizza, I have little incentive to locate and install PC files that are pretty much unnecessary The PC works great Better than great Besides, and I have always been told, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Some motherboards have jumpers for such settings Yours, probably being as close to state-of-the-art as it's frugal to consider, probably has no jumpers There may be a BIOS setting which can be changed by the user Check your manual However, my bet is, your PC is working at normal speed If you have reason to doubt this, and have no social life, curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the fascinating literature contained within the PC’s motherboard manual

You may possibly even have to plug in a formula in order to update that display However, your processor speed still may not change On the outside chance that the clock does run faster, the processor will also tend to run hotter This can cause problems However, it will probably take a stopwatch to determine any real difference in speed.

You may wish to download and install the latest bios file from your motherboard manufacturer's website Keep in mind, there will be an accompanying program to install the file Also, it is necessary to backup your current bios Keep in mind, it is pretty easy to do something wrong Such a mistake can make the computer unusable Such errors have been known to result in the necessity of having to ship the motherboard all the way to Asia to get fixed

However, your actual processor speed still will probably not change.

As for my own computer, I'm going to continue to ignore the issue.

RG

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Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on January 17, 2003

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