Poor rating on good processor (WEI 3.7 on 3.2GHz quad)

[mogtm]

This has been bothering me since last summer, and I'm finally getting around to poking at it. Does anyone know why the Windows Experience Index of Windows 7 is rating my processor a 3.7 when I have a AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX that should be rated much higher?

With this score, it is by far the lowest-rated component of my computer but I feel confident it should not be. I believe there is some issue with the WEI, because I have not noticed my processor behaving badly in daily use.

Just to be sure of that last point, what good benchmarking freeware could I use to independently test that my processor is not mysteriously running far below where it should?

Here are the rest of my stats, just in case it matters:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Video Card: HIS Hightech H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1600LLKN

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM


Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit Enterprise

 

[anonymousdude]

Don't worry about it. WEI is not a benchmark of performance and fails to kick components out of their power saving modes so the scores are naturally lower. Something like 3dmark would reassure you of the processor.

 

[DeathAbyss]

It is not the processor's problem; I have a PhenomII x4 940, and my WEI score is 7.3, so in your case, it is definitely the Experience Index that has problems.

 

[lindley010]

yeah try 3dmark, get 3dmark 06 because you have a ati, its not freeware, but you can use most of it for free. 3dmark vantage is better for physx/dx10 cards apparently.

Is windows lowering the GHz of the processor? if so that would cause a lower mark than it should be.

For example, windows lowers my 2.4ghz q6600 to 1.6ghz, even though ive changed settings in the BIOS so it doesn't do that. but w/e. it doesnt matter much anyway since as soon as the cpu goes like over 10% or something it goes back to 2.4ghz.

Windows experience index is a poor benchmark anyway.

 

[megamanx00]

Could be cool and quiet downclocking it. Download CPU-Z to check the speed and download prime 95 to see if the CPU speed goes back up to 3.2GHz when you run prime.

 

[mogtm]

Ok, now I'm really worried. I ran 3dmark and got these results: http://service.futuremark.com/home.action;jsessionid=2A7E9C9AF83CD73BEE6343742F3B53AB

If I am reading that correctly, it seems to claim I have a 1.6 GHz processor rather than a 3.2. I will run CPU-Z and prime 95 as recommended, but I'm beginning to wonder if I have a problem with something other than WEI.

 

[lindley010]

Ok, now I'm really worried. I ran 3dmark and got these results: http://service.futuremark.com/home.action;jsessionid=2A7E9C9AF83CD73BEE6343742F3B53AB

If I am reading that correctly, it seems to claim I have a 1.6 GHz processor rather than a 3.2. I will run CPU-Z and prime 95 as recommended, but I'm beginning to wonder if I have a problem with something other than WEI.

Okay, first thing to do, is look around the BIOS, there might be a option called 'let windows manage my cpu' something similar to that, disable that.

Also check ur temps.

 

[mogtm]

Thanks for everyone's help -- after I was pointed in the direction of 3dmark I learned that there really was a problem with my CPU and not just with WIE.

A little more poking around the interwebs revealed that this was probably due to a BIOS problem. Flashing a BIOS update solved the issue.

My CPU is now running at full speed and my WIE score is 7.3. I feel a bit silly for using a computer for about 8 months without noticing that it's CPU was at about 1/3 power, but apparently I managed just that.