cpu speed jumping about

stevewah · 31 Jan 2011 at 18:55

When I look at CPUz my speed on the CPU jumps back and forth between 1596.4 and 3392.4 mhz

What is causing this? Some setting in my BIOS I assume

Cookeh · 31 Jan 2011 at 18:57

Speedstep.

It changes cpu frequency based on PC activity to save you electricity

stevewah · 31 Jan 2011 at 18:58

do i need it turned on

Cookeh · 31 Jan 2011 at 18:58

Only if you want it

It won't affect stability, or performance - just saves you electricity by reducing the volts it uses based on it's activity.

stevewah · 31 Jan 2011 at 19:01

so its a good thing lol

Cookeh · 31 Jan 2011 at 19:06

Mhmm, effectively!

stevewah · 31 Jan 2011 at 19:12

mhmm makes me feel like turning it of ......... lol how do i

Cookeh · 31 Jan 2011 at 19:21

Mhmm means yes.

I'm lazy and accustomed to saying Mhmm xD

It's a BIOS settings, but I'm not familiar with with P67 BIOS, sorry!

kristmace · 31 Jan 2011 at 20:04

Sounds like Turbo Boost gone mad!

Turn speedstep off for overclocking I would assume (can't remember whether mines on or off tbh!)

Orcvader · 31 Jan 2011 at 20:41

It's Intel's Speedstep. Underclocks and undervolts the CPU when you're idle. Only returns to full power when you're doing something, this can save you electricity. I would suggest leaving it on

.

But if you want to turn it off then you will need to look for Speedstep within your BIOS.

RJC · 31 Jan 2011 at 20:46

My thread below may be of some help:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17972811

ryu · 31 Jan 2011 at 20:47

i think you should make sure c-states and c1e support are enabled as well. i noticed if this was disabled, cpuz would report a constant 1600mhz whilst idle, but other programs like msi control centre and real temps the cpu speed was constantly jumping around even if the computer was idle.

PoliticallyCorrect · 31 Jan 2011 at 22:29

I read somewhere that Intel SpeedStep (and AMD PowerNow! ) can change the CPU frequency thousands of times a second. I have never had performance issues with it on, even when over-clocking. I would recommend leaving it on if you tend to leave your computer on between using it.

To turn it off in Windows XP just *don't* select "minimal power management" as the power scheme. Otherwise disable it in the EFI/BIOS.