CPU speed wrong

badassjedi

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AMD 2400+ Athlon XP
Asus A7N8X(regular not deluxe) ver. 1002a BIOS
512MB DDR 3500 Kingston Hyper-X
Win2k

Just bought the CPU and Motherboard online.

When I run Sandra to test my system it says my cpu is a 1800+ AMD and only runs at 1.5Ghz. 1002a is the most current BIOS version for the Asus A7N8X board although I haven't flashed my system or anything. It also says my AGP port only supports up to 4x, wtf is going on? Also - when I benchmark my two 256mb sticks of 3500 Kingston (supposidly utilizing dual DDR mode) the results are horrible. I am completely stumped and hoping I didn't get ripped off by one of my online retailers.

-any help appreciated, thanks in advance..

badassjedi
 

TKH

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Are you sure your BIOS setting is correct? the CPU FSB, clock frequency everything? It seems like the multiplier error, but do your BIOS report the CPU correctly? And AGP 8x has to be enable in BIOS... What AGP card you are using anyway, if it's a 4X AGP card then it's normal. And for the RAM, Dual Channel DDR is only for PC2100/2700/3200, yours PC3500 is not supported. (Why you get PC3500? It just an overclocked PC3200) And in your case you'll get best performance boost if you use PC2100 which run in sync with CPU.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
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badassjedi

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My BIOS identifies my CPU as 1800+ at the boot up screen yes.

I'm using a GeForce Ti4200 64mb video card.

I didn't realize dual channel didn't support 3500 - [-peep-].

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Chro

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with amd the speed they quote (ie: 2400+) is not the actual speed they call the processor by the speeds that they benchmark as not the normal running speed but pentium have the number (ie: p3 500) as it's runing speed not benchmark speed

but you can overclock your cpu to run at that speed easy ... i know of someone with an amd athlon xp 2100 that he has running fine and with no problems at 2.2 ghz im unsure what his benchmark speed is and how he overclocked it though.
if you change your fsb speed in your bios it will alter your speed i have a athlon 2100 also that i have as normal running speed as 1.73 ghz as i set my front side bus speed to 133 in the bios i tried 166 but it wont boot so dont worry about fiddlying with the fsb as if it's wrong you will know when the operating system wont boot
 

a4amd

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what i think is, in the BIOS, u have to set the CPU speed. the BIOS gives u the option to specify the CPU speed. if i am not wrong, i think there r 4 options -
1. Manual (lets u do the overclocking)
2. this is the default value. here the CPU speed is set for 100MHz FSB
3. Choosing this sets the FSB at 133/33
4. Well, as u wud have guessed it, this is the FSB 166 setting.

Try setting the 3rd option, with FSB 133. then the Bios shud detect ur CPU correctly. i hope whatever i have posted helps.
 

TKH

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Go and set the proper value in the BIOS. You got them wrong, I think the FSB is set to 100MHz, which is the default value, first make sure you have set the FSB jumper to 133/166 then go to BIOS and make the changes. Your FSB is 133MHz, multiplier set to auto detect, and you don't need AGP 8x enabled. Then run your RAM frequency at 200MHz (run them at dual channel DDR400) but this would be async at 133/200 but nevermind, downgrading a PC3500 to PC2100 is a pain.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
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badassjedi

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Hey, I managed to figure it out on my own but reading your replies now you are right.

I set the speed to 133mhz, I guess I figured the automatic setting would detect the correct speed for my CPU - guess that's not always the case.

Windows wouldn't boot untill I finally changed the memory speed from auto to 200mhz and now it works fine - reads 2400+. Sandra confirms it as well.

Just another quick question, I'm using the stock CPU fan that came with my 2400+ for now, although I don't have a chassis fan because my case is poor. Cooling-wise as long as I don't overclock and leave the settings the way they are do you think thermal death will be a problem?

Thanks again, it's so nice having forums like these to help people figure their [-peep-] out.

badassjedi
 

TKH

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Stock HSF will be fine as long as you don't overclock. AMD won't want their customers got a toast on their mobo with thier stock HSF. But you might want to change your HSF for a silent one if you find the noise it makes drives you nut. Or you can also try mounting a chasis fan even you dont' have a fancy case just to make a better airflow, it won't hurt your wallet much.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
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