Underclocked CPU problem, please help

[Juncomatt]

Problem is somewhat complicated, but here goes...

A couple months ago I was experiencing hard drive corruption and after multiple formats I found that the computer would only work for a couple of weeks and then stop booting all together.

At the advice of this board, i replaced my hard drive. Supposedly this solved the data corruption problem, but I realized that the first time I booted the machine with the new drive (before installing windows), the post said my cpu was the correct one and my DRAM clock was correct. This was the first time it had read the CPU speed correctly in months...

this brings me to my problem. The CPU clock speed is significantly lower than it should be, but this only happened after I installed Windows. Here's my setup...

MSI K7n2g Nforce2 Motherboard
Athlon XP 2500+ Barton (1.8 Ghz)
Radeon 9700 Pro
2 X 512 Pc2700 Infineon dual channel ram at 333Mhz
WD 80 Gig HD
400W Antec power supply

Here are my voltages, temps etc...

CPU clock: 1166 Mhz (REALLY LOW)
FSB Clock: 166 Mhz
DRAM Clock: 166 Mhz
Fast Write: On
CPU Temp: 48* C/118 F
Vcore: 1.63 V
+3.3V : 3.24 V
+ 5V: 4.94V
+12V: 11.79V
-12V: -12.36V
- 5V: -5.09V
Battery: 2.91V
5VSB(V): 4.92V

If anyone can help me with this, or at least diagnose what's up, your help would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Rugger]

What's your multiplier at?

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<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[Juncomatt]

I just checked it in the bios and it tells me:

CPU Clock Ratio: By H/W

hope this helps

 

[Vapor]

1166/166 = 7....that's what his multiplier is at (7x). It should be set at 11x.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[Juncomatt]

thanks for the replys guys,

I'm kind of wary of setting the multiplier manually like that because my temps are already at 50C, even with the multiplier as low as it is. won't that just fry my cpu?

 

[Scout]

Shouldn't be a problem. The XP2500+ is built for that speed. Your 50C sounds a bit high for idle so you may want to check your heat-sink mounting. Are you using thermal grease?



Scout
700 Mflops in SETI!

 

[Juncomatt]

Im using that Arctic silver thermal grease, a big copper heat sink and 80mm case fan. Keeps things pretty cool considering how quiet it is. The stock AMD fans keep it around 50C i think.

 

[Scout]

As long as it's seated properly I wouldn't worry about the apparent high temps. You should be fine to run that chip at either stock speed or overclocked. Often these thermal sensors are way off the mark in their readings.

Scout
700 Mflops in SETI!

 

[Juncomatt]

room temp is about as nice as it gets, pretty stable 74F. I have two case fans as well, so air circulation is pretty good.

 

[endyen]

Case fans can be as much a problem as a help. Improper airflow can cause heat issues. Quick and easy check. Take the side panel off, and lay the case open side up. If your temps go way down, you have an airigation problem.
I just lowered the temps on a guys rig, by 10 degrees. He had a generic psu, with a back fan only. I tossed in an enermax dual fan unit, and presto.