Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.overclocking.amd,alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (
More info?)
I think CPU-ID tells you what the default speed is - but if it doesn't, then
Crystal CPU (and I think, CPU Brain) does.
"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message
news:nospam-2608041651310001@192.168.1.177...
> In article <JFqXc.212864$M95.155661@pd7tw1no>, Rob Stow
> <rob.stow.nospam@shaw.ca> wrote:
>
> > David Simmons wrote:
> >
> > > Hey all,
> > >
> > > I had a new comp built for me by a local business and it's running
fine, but
> > > there's something nagging me. On both of the receipts I have the CPU
is
> > > listed as an AMD ATHOLN XP 2600 CPU which should be running at 2.13
Ghz.
> > > However, when I check the Properties tab under My Computer, the CPU
speed is
> > > listed as 1.53 Ghz, even though the CPU is stated to be a 2600+. I
posted
> > > to another newsgroup and someone said that the 1800+ is the one that
should
> > > be running at 1.53 Ghz. They recommend I check to make sure he didn't
sell
> > > me an overclocked processor. I looked through all the documentation
> > > provided me and nowhere could I find anything stating the actual model
of
> > > the processor and its speed. I then called a friend who suggested
that the
> > > CPU might be underclocked.
> > >
> > > I'm running:
> > >
> > > Windows XP Service Pack 1
> > > Asus A7V8X-X motherboard
> > >
> > > I would love to hear any suggestions about what detective work I can
try to
> > > solve this mystery!
> > >
> > > David Simmons
> > > xenobuzz@earthlink.net
> > >
> > >
> >
> > You have probably been ripped off.
> >
> > I would run a cpu id utility like WCPUID from
> > http://www.h-oda.com/. It will tell you what
> > cpu you have, as well as the actual clock speed,
> > multiplier, etc.
> >
> > People trying to fob off slower processors can
> > try to fool you by overclocking - which apparently
> > your system builder didn't even try to do - but
> > AFAIK they can't fake out the name, family, stepping,
> > and model ID stored in the processor and accessed
> > by programs like WCPUID.
> >
> > If you can confirm that your processor is not what
> > you paid for, I would take the computer back to
> > the vendor and insist on a full refund. Once someone
> > has tried to rip you off like that you can't trust
> > *anything* about your system, whoever made it,
> > or the vendor who sold it. Get your money back and
> > buy from someone else. If they won't refund your
> > money, there are many channels for reporting that kind
> > of fraud - which one is best will depend on your
> > country, province, state, etc.
>
> Rob, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the only thing the
> registers inside the chip will tell you, is it is a Barton
> Model 10 or a Thoroughbred Model 8. All the other important
> parameters multiplier, VID, mobile or desktop, 2 bit FSB
> encoding, etc. are all set by bridges. If the bridges have
> been skillfully modified and the label replaced on the top
> of the processor, then except for the inability to run stably
> at the new speed set by the bridge changes, there is no way
> to be absolutely certain.
>
> A utility like CPUID can only read back what the bridges
> say. If you change the multiplier or the FSB, CPUID can
> only read the new values, look in its lookup table of
> CPU models, and tell you what that equates to.
>
> Some Asus BIOS have a bad habit of defaulting to the
> wrong FSB, for which the solution is to set the CPU
> clock manually to the correct value.
>
>
http://www.qdi.nl/support/CPUQDISocketA.htm
>
> 2600+ in table:
> Model 10 (Barton) 2600+/166 at 1917MHz
> Model 8 (TBred) 2600+/166 at 2083MHz
> Model 8 (TBred) 2600+/133 at 2133MHz
>
> You can tell whether you've got a Model10 or Model8 with
> CPUZ. But the rest of the info about the processor cannot
> be trusted as absolutely identifying what the processor
> was when it left the factory. At least based on what I've
> read during the Mwave incident.
>
> There are several possibilities:
>
> 1) Wrong processor in socket. Like a real 1800+. Check the
> part number on the label. Run the part number through
> Google or your favorite web search engine.
> 2) Right processor in socket, CPU FSB clock incorrectly
> set. Get the real clock rate numbers from CPUZ and
> check to see whether the CPU has the correct
> default multiplier for that model of processor.
> I would trust CPUZ over anything Windows tells you.
> 3) Processor fraud. Bridges have been modified and label
> on processor swapped. This will require visual examination
> of the top of the processor, and remarkers are pretty skilled
> at doing the necessary mods. Typically, a user finds the
> processor won't run stable at the "stock" frequency. If the
> board is an older one, with a newer "unqualified" processor
> (not meant for the board) stuffed in the socket, then this
> can be user error, and perhaps the motherboard would never
> work with that model. So, not all failures to run stable are
> fraud. If the processor is unstable at stock settings, that
> is a reason to visually examine the product for attempts to
> modify it - if nothing is visually wrong, the paranoia stops
> there
>
> So, David, post back what CPUZ tells you. The info you gave so
> far doesn't make theory #2 above very likely, but maybe we can
> make sense of it with CPUZ.
>
> HTH,
> Paul
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