Overclocked Internet CPU

I've been getting random system crashes and have not been able to pinpoint the problem. I'm running a 500 mhz AMD K6-2 on a motherboard that was made before the 500 came out. The board has support for the new processor though. I found that whenever I go online with a modem, my processor speed jumps up to 550. I use a program from AMD to check the clock speed. Has anyone ever heard of a processor increasing like this? It returns to normal speed when the connection is terminated. A last note, it crashes randomly whether or not I'm on the internet, and it doesn't seem to be an overheating problem.

sorry I have no idea why your k6 should up itself, but with regard to crashing, check all your cables are properly seated on the mobo and drives,reseat your memory. are you using the old 66mhz memory, if so this can cause crashes as it tries to cope as can cheap memory .i presume you are at 5 x 100. is your fan and heatsink keeping you cool. is your sound set up properly as this is one of the biggest causes with games etc. I had a problem with an intermitent fault on an Aopen59pro board which used to cause crashes, could not find the problem on the board so I replaced it with a Tyan 1598s and it runs great. sorry I cant be more specific it could be so many things

Sounds like to me that the fault would be in the testing software. Hardware and Software modems do not change the BIOS. At least, they are not supposed to. Either you modem is a WINmodem and it is making a write to the BIOS on a jumperless MB, or the software to detect the MHZ is mis reporting due to the action of the modem in use. What kind of modem do you have and is the MB a jumperless MB?

I'm using an HSP winmodem, so I guess it's possible that the software returns the wrong processor speed. There aren't any specific applications that lock the computer, it just randomly resets itself. And once again, it doesn't seem to be a cooling problem because I've checked every component right after a crash and nothing even seems warm. I run the computer with the case open and I've installed an additional system fan to keep air circulating. My guess is just the fact that I have a motherboard that just can't handle the new processor even though it is supported. I'm using pc100 ram, 128mb, though one of the DIMM's may be generic.

Winmodems are terrible. They require a great deal of support from the CPU for their functionality. I suspect that whatever you are using to measure CPU speed is being confused buy the modem processes that are running on the CPU.

Also get the latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers. They are now monolithic, supporting all VIA the chipsets. This should improve system stability. I would also look into a BIOS update. You might need a beefier power supply.