BIOS and CPU-Z inconsistencies

[khill03]

So I overclocked my i7 920 from 2.66GHz up to what my BIOS says is 3.06GHz. But then when I get into CPU-Z it says that I'm running at 3.2GHz. RealTemp also says I'm at 3.2GHz. Is there usually this big of a difference from the BIOS in these to programs? If not how do I make it so they are the same? I've seen people saying that these programs are reporting lower speeds than their BIOS but I've never seen anyone say they reported higher speeds. What's going on?

 

[flyin15sec]

More than likely you have Turbo on. Which will not reflect in BIOS but after your system boots.

Example: 153 x 20 = 3.06ghz, With turbo: 153 x 21 = 3.2ghz

 

[khill03]

My BIOS had something that it called "Performance Enhancement" which could be disabled, set to standard, turbo, or something that was one step higher. I have it set to standard. Is this what you are referring to?

 

[flyin15sec]

Turbo is a CPU feature, so you may want to check settings that are CPU related. It can only have 2 settings, on and off. Sometimes it is tied with speedstep.

 

[khill03]

Ok I just ran Prime95 and RealTemp again and it still goes up to a 21x multiplier just like you said it would with turbo on so obviously what I changed in the BIOS was not what you are talking about. Thank you, I just wanted to know why these programs were displaying different speeds than my BIOS, and now I know. For future reference do you have any idea where I would find this turbo setting in Windows Vista?

 

[flyin15sec]

Turbo option should be in your BIOS, likely under CPU features. Without knowing your board can't really tell you.

You can keep it on, it won't hurt your system at all. You just have to compensate for the extra speed with vcore usually.

 

[khill03]

My MOBO is a Gigabyte GA-EX85-UD5. Like I said, I did find something in the BIOS labeled "Performance Enhancer" which I switched from Turbo to Standard, but that doesn't seemed to have changed anything. Do you know where I should be looking?

 

[flyin15sec]

Go to the MIT section. Advanced CPU Features--> Intel Turbo Boost Tech.

The option is "Enabled" or "Disabled"

 

[khill03]

Ok thanks. Where would I need to go and what would I need to do to the vcore settings to compensate for the turbo?