Did they give me the wrong processors?

[Spankanator]

Ok so I just got a new Vaio laptop. It is supposed to have two T7200 2.0 GHz processors in it, and I am trying to verify that this is the case. Everywhere I can find (control panel/system) says that I have the T7200s; however, if I go to control panel/system and maintenance/device manager it tells me that the drivers are for T5600 1.83 GHz processors. I am wondering if Sony put the wrong processors in here? I want to make sure I got what I paid for.

Can different speed processors use the same driver? Is this perhaps what is going on in this case?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Spank

 

[Grimmy]

Core 2 duo is a single package CPU. It has 2 cores, so essentially its 2 CPUs or processors in one.

Try using CPU-Z to look at your CPU info.

edit:

The taskmanager should show 2 CPU graphs as well.

edit:

Forgot to mention speed step will effect your CPU speeds to lower the consumption of power, especially off the battery. So you might see lower speeds then what it was labeled to run at stock speed.

 

[kamel5547]

Can different speed processors use the same driver? Is this perhaps what is going on in this case?

Here's a better question... if processors needed a driver how would you boot?

 

[aBg_rOnGak]

I wouldn't care much about the driver, WinXP n Vista got it covered, but the info that shows it's T5600 and not not t7200 that worries me...I myself dunno. Like Grimmy said,try CPU-Z. If you're not satisfied, you can always ask the retailer/etailer from which you bought the laptop

 

[Guest]

speed step will lower the speed of processor but doesn't change the model name

 

[Grimmy]

speed step will lower the speed of processor but doesn't change the model name

Errr.. did I imply that it changes the model number? Sorry if it did, because that isn't what I meant.

 

[Spankanator]

As I'm sure you can all tell, I know very little about this stuff. Thanks for your help kamel.. not. To everyone else, your replies are greatly appreciated.

Yes I figured the processing speed would change because of various factors, but I didn't think the model name would change from T5600 to T7200, like you guys said.

I used CPU-Z and I tried to insert a picture of what it said in here, but I can't figure out how to do that. Under "Processor" and then "Specification" it says: "Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPE T7200 @ 2.00 GHz". So I assume this means I have the T7200? Why then would device manager list the T5600?

 

[Grimmy]

An easy way to share your specs with CPU-Z, when you open it:

1. ) click on the about tab
2.) click on validation button
3.)click on save validation file (place it anywhere.. desktop, documents)
4.) click on step #2 click on validation webpage.
5.) on the webpage just fill out the info, and a link will be set to you via email.

Once that is done (email should have the link), you can place that link on the forum for others to look at like this:

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=81870

Edit:

What SP is that running off of?

 

[Spankanator]

Thank you Grimmy! Those numbers on yours look pretty intimidating.. do you really have 4 processors running at 2.66 GHz? Crazy.. Anyway, here's a link to mine.

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=196542

What do you think?

 

[Grimmy]

. o O (that was just an example on how to share specs)

That is just a P4 northwood, single core. It was a really old OC on the CPU I had in my system.

Your CPU would blow mine out of the water. :lol:

 

[Spankanator]

Ah ok, haha. So according to that, I have the T7200 running at 2.0 GHz, correct? Any idea why device manager says T5600?

 

[Grimmy]

According to that validation, you have the correct CPU. And speed step is doing its job in running it under a 1ghz or 997mhz.

As far as the driver, you might have missed my edit, what XP service pack are you running? More then likely, it could just be MS driver that could be updated.

But I wouldn't be too worried about it, like the others mentioned.

 

[Spankanator]

What is speed step?

Well I am running Vista, not XP so..

I have tried to update the drivers, but it says they are already up to date.

 

[Grimmy]

Speed Step is basically changing a combination of FSB speed and voltage, to keep the system stable and prolong the life of a battery.

On desktops, it can help reduce heat, but the power consumption may not be too apparent.

Oh.. so your running vista.. I wouldn't be too worried about the driver part. You are indeed running the CPU you wanted.

 

[Spankanator]

Ok, great. Thanks so much for your help!

 

[BustedSony]

As I'm sure you can all tell, I know very little about this stuff. Thanks for your help kamel.. not. To everyone else, your replies are greatly appreciated.

Er, Kamel said "Here's a better question... if processors needed a driver how would you boot?" He is absolutely right, his was one of the most useful comments in this thread. CPUs do not need a driver. The basic structure exposed to the operating system defines whether it is a PC, or a Mac. How the processor handles code is in its firmware and hardware layout, with extra features such as Speedstep supported in Bios. All CPU housekeeping functions are in BIOS, with access to a very few of these functions via software. That's why you can install legacy XP onto a system running the latest Core2Duo. The MB chipset needs drivers for proper performance, yes, but the processor defines the fundamental system of computing. That's why the system will boot into Bios, or O/S install, long before any drivers could be loaded.

 

[Grimmy]

Err... I can somewhat agree that CPU's generally don't need drivers. An OS can or should be able to operate without installing drivers for a CPU whether its single or more cores. GPU's even have it's own bios, but its not something a reg user is going to need to access.

Now days, I wouldn't be surprised that a CPU driver for an OS to make it perform better would be implemented for dual or more cores on a system.

For the case of C2D's moble or desktop, I really haven't seen much as installing new driver (which I wouldn't worry about), but AMD's 939/AM2/perhaps AM3 do have external CPU drivers to enhance the performance on Windows XP.

So drivers to me are what makes devices (video cards, USB, MB chipset, ect), even the CPU for dual cores, to enhance improvement on performance. Its just not looked upon as really needing a driver for the CPU, the way I see it.

edit:

Even the device manager will supply a driver name, which is:

intelppm.sys

and it should be located at C:/windows/system32

The info it provides:

File version: 5.1.2600.2180
Description: Processor Device Driver

Which is a MS driver.