New Core 2 Duo build complete - Need some help

[Ace_437]

So, picked up an Intel Core 2 Duo 6750, Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard, and 2 gigs of PC-6400 ram yesterday. Got everything installed, and it seems to be running fine. However, using the CPU-Z application it looks like the system isn't running as fast as it should. The CPU should be running at 2.66 ghz, and the RAM should be 800 mhz.

What's the deal here? I've looked around in the BIOS a bit but didn't see anything obviously wrong. Shouldn't this be running alot faster right out of the box? Anyone got any ideas on what to do to get it running the way it should?

I've tried changing the memory latency as it's stated to run at 4-4-4-12, but it didn't make a difference.

 

[Grimmy]

Why... why... why don't people use the search button??? :lol:

IT'S SPEEEEEED STePPPPPPPPPPpppPPPPPpPPPppppPPpPPppPP. (speed step)

Don't worry.. it fine, really. Now go play your games.

Edit:

holy crap... that search button is actually... worthless. :lol:. o O (couldn't find much)

 

[cfvh600]

Your ram is running at 800. It is in dual channel mode. 400 per channel for each stick of ram.you've got speedstep enabled in the BIOS which causes the system to automatically drop the CPU speed from 2.66 to 2 when the system is idle.Under load the speed will automatically increase.Try disabling it in the BIOS and check CPU-Z again.

 

[Grimmy]

His RAM is working like it should. 5:6 ratio. So that has nothing ta do with it.

C1E is the power management of speedstep (EIST). But basically speedstep changes the multiplier to its lowest setting (x6) idle. When the CPU is under a load, it should return it to x8. 8x333=2664mhz or 2.66ghz (C1E helps reduce the vcore at idle or stand by, I believe)

Disabling speedstep will give him more disadvantage to power savings as well as reduced heat.

 

[terror112]

The reason that your CPU shows that it is running at 2ghz instead of 2.66ghz is because of speedstep. This is a feature integrated into the Bios to slow down the speed of the processor and reduce power usage when running in idle. So when you run an application the core clock goes back up to 2.66ghz to improve performance. and for the memory as cfvh600 said, your ram is running at 800mhz.

 

[cfvh600]

I see in your CPU-Z screenshot your RAM is running at a command rate of 2T.Your RAM will perform better if you change the command rate from 2T to 1T.

 

[Ace_437]

Thanks guys, I didn't even think about Speedstep. I've always thought it was mainly used for laptop processors.

So it sounds like my ram is functioning as it should. I was just kind of wierded out when I noticed the 400 mhz listed, even though in the BIOS it's showing 800 mhz. I even took out one stick (2 x 1gb in this setup) thinking perhaps one was messed up.

What do the rest of you think about changing the command rate from 2T to 1T? Hopefully it's an option in my BIOS.

 

[Grimmy]

Well... Changing the command rate to 1T, will not offer any notable difference. Which I mean as far as opening programs and games. It can improve perhaps benchmark scores. It can also lead to system instabilities, if its actually too fast for the system to keep up. So it is best to use Memtest86+ when changing the timings and such to be sure things will be stable in windows.

 

[Ace_437]

Cool. What about the memory latency settings, or whatever they are? It's currently set to 5-5-5-16 I believe, and the RAM is rated for 4-4-4-12.

 

[Grimmy]

To set them, you need to go into the bios and look at menus that have the memory settings. Usually, once you change the setting from auto to manual, you will see the other timings. Again, it helps some performance that you really couldn't tell without benchmarks.

Also, like I mention above, you should throughly test it with Memtest. If you start the system without knowning if it will be stable, you do have a chance of corrupting startup files, and having another headache. :lol:

 

[d3f1]

lol ace i was in the same situation a week ago and posted almost the same stuff you did .

i decided to leave speed step on as i never turn the pc off and it'll help a little with temps and power consump in the long run ^^

 

[jsc]

When I first built my new box, I spent a while tinkering with it. Back when I had the AC Freezer Pro installed, I was running at 3.3 GHz (367 MHz X9, DDR2-733 mem speed). Standard default mem timing was 5-5-5-15-2T. I got it down to 3-3-3-6-1T, tested for stability with 24 hour Orthos run.

Memory benchmarks indicated a 6% improvement in mem i/o. Half of that was from going from -2T to -1T. Outside of benchmarks, was it noticeable? No.

For that matter ...
With the TR Ultra 120 Ext. HSF, I was able to reach 3.6 GHz. Is that noticeable? Probably not, but it helps ensure that the CPU is not bottlenecking the graphics card.