• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

CPU at 2ghz instead of 2.8

Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Hey guys, I completed my build last monday. Had some dumb things such as my usb running at v1.1 instead of 1.1+2.0. Something that I am confused upon is that when I run cpuz and pcwizard08, it says that my cpu runs at a constant 2.0 ghz instead of the full potential of 2.8. I am running aQ9550 and the mult goes fomr 6 to 8 and just swaps back and forum on cpuz after looking at it for a min and the volt goes up and down constantly.

*Is is there a reason why my cpu runs at 2 instead of the stock clock it is supposed to run at? I may oc later but just want to run at 2.8 atm.

Thanks!
-Jeff


Q9550
DDR2 Corsair Dominator 1066 2x2
Thermalright Ultra 120E
Evga 780i <- yes I know that you can't push it that far.
GTX 295
Seagate 500gb 7200 32mb
Antec 1200
Corsair 1000W modular





 
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
3,638 (0.63/day)
Location
California
It's energy saving feature, it lower your CPU clock and voltage to save energy.

It will run at full speed when your computer enter heavy load mode (gaming).
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
5,105 (0.78/day)
Location
Sydney, Australia
System Name UltraPC
Processor E8500 Core 2 Duo, 1333Mhz FSB, 3.16Ghz @ 4.5GHz (got into Windows @ 4.75GHz)
Motherboard ASUS P5Q-e
Cooling CPU Cooler - TT V14 Pro, 2x120mm CM Blue LED fans, 1x90mm CM Blue LED fan
Memory G.Skill Pi 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel DDR2 PC8000 (1000MHz), 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD4850 512mb with ASUS EAH4850 BIOS
Storage 2x 500GB Seagate 7200.12 Raid 0
Display(s) Acer AL1912, 19" LCD screen
Case Thermaltake Soprano Black ATX case
Audio Device(s) Onboard 7.1, Speakers - 5 + Sub + Monitor speakers
Power Supply Thermaltake 850W Toughpower Cable Management - Quad (2x18A and 2x30A) 12V rails
Software Win 7 Pro x64, MSN, CS:Source, etc etc
^That basically sums it up ;)

If you want to turn it off, disable speedstep in BIOS.
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
It's energy saving feature, it lower your CPU clock and voltage to save energy.

It will run at full speed when your computer enter heavy load mode (gaming).

Thanks for the quick response. So if there is a way to disable it in the bios it would prob run at a costant 2.8ghz and eat up lots of power?
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
^That basically sums it up ;)

If you want to turn it off, disable speedstep in BIOS.

Thanks, I might disable maybe later on but it doesn't really affect my performance atm. However I was looking in the power options on vista in the control panel. Now it has a blanced and high performance and saving or w/e it is. Would putting it on high performance create any cons?
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
693 (0.11/day)
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Processor Intel 6700K
Motherboard Asus Maximus VIII Impact
Cooling Noctua NH-L9x65
Memory 2 x 16 GB G.Skill TridentZ @ 3200 MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini
Case Thermaltake Suppressor F1
Power Supply SilverStone 600w SFX
Thanks for the quick response. So if there is a way to disable it in the bios it would prob run at a costant 2.8ghz and eat up lots of power?



I wouldn't say lots of power. I think the power saving is marginal at best, but if you're into saving as much power as possible, leave it on. It also keeps temps lower when you're not using it. For a main rig, I always leave it on, a lot of the time, the lower heat output helps with fan noise too if you have the auto heat sensing fan business turned on too :)

Thanks, I might disable maybe later on but it doesn't really affect my performance atm. However I was looking in the power options on vista in the control panel. Now it has a blanced and high performance and saving or w/e it is. Would putting it on high performance create any cons?

Not really. If you're using a laptop, all that stuff is very useful for power saving and whatnot, but for a desktop, it's really whatever you want.
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
the difference between 2.8 and 2.0 at idle is minimal in power, the point is more that if it saves you 5 watts, imagine what it would save an office with 500 machines.

It hardly makes a difference for home users, and its reccomended to turn it off when OCing. EIST (Enhanced Intel Speed Step) and C1E are the two names to look for in the BIOS to disable the down-clocking.
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2006
Messages
2,573 (0.40/day)
Location
N.Ireland
Processor Core I5 4440 / 4430
Motherboard Asus z87-k / Gigabyte ga h97- d3h
Cooling Arctic freezer / Generic
Memory 8 gb Mushkin / Various
Video Card(s) Radeon 7850 cf / Gtx 690
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 250 gb / 2x1 terabyte hdds Wd 256 gb nvme
Display(s) Technika 32" / Asus 24` ips
Case Corsair
Audio Device(s) X-fi Titanium
Power Supply Corsair 850 w
Software Windows 10
Man , somebody asks this question every day ! Srsly they should have the answer right under "techpowerup" on the title screen !
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,851 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
the difference between 2.8 and 2.0 at idle is minimal in power, the point is more that if it saves you 5 watts, imagine what it would save an office with 500 machines.

It hardly makes a difference for home users, and its reccomended to turn it off when OCing. EIST (Enhanced Intel Speed Step) and C1E are the two names to look for in the BIOS to disable the down-clocking.

Saves me 10w :p. but drops power usage from idle 25w give or take to 7-8w
 

JC316

Knows what makes you tick
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
9,397 (1.42/day)
System Name Budget Gaming
Processor AMD FX6300
Motherboard Gigabyte 880GMA-USB3
Cooling Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Memory 8GB Ripjaws DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) HD7850 1GB
Storage 1TB Sata2
Display(s) Acer 24" LED
Case Generic black
Audio Device(s) Stock onboard
Power Supply FSP Aurum Gold 650W
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
I leave it on. It's all a personal preference, some people like it on, some like it off. Any power savings that I can get, I will take em.
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
the difference between 2.8 and 2.0 at idle is minimal in power, the point is more that if it saves you 5 watts, imagine what it would save an office with 500 machines.

It hardly makes a difference for home users, and its reccomended to turn it off when OCing. EIST (Enhanced Intel Speed Step) and C1E are the two names to look for in the BIOS to disable the down-clocking.

Thanks, I just looked in my bios before seeing this post and it showed "speed step" as disabled eventhough my cpu is holding back at 2ghz. maybe i should look for the c1e then?
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,250 (0.90/day)
Location
IRAQ-Baghdad
System Name MASTER
Processor Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory 4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s) 2X EVGA GTX680
Storage 2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s) Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s) Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores 3d mark 2011: testing
right this is power savings , there is too many option in your bios must disable it to turn off core drop , try disable voltage drop too , if it is not work too at last go to core voltage and set it at original voltage manually , but also don't forget to disable fan control too cuz you cpu will be run on max speed always
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
yeah go look for C1E as well.

How much power saving you get all depends on your CPU model, depending on your CPU it may drop a lot less than another (for example, a CPU that runs 266x9 dropping to 266x6 will have more saving than a 266x7 dropping to 266x6, with the same voltages)

The savings are pretty minimal - i prefer to just have a low power machine for net/media use, than trying to save power on a high end machine/
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,851 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
yeah go look for C1E as well.

How much power saving you get all depends on your CPU model, depending on your CPU it may drop a lot less than another (for example, a CPU that runs 266x9 dropping to 266x6 will have more saving than a 266x7 dropping to 266x6, with the same voltages)

The savings are pretty minimal - i prefer to just have a low power machine for net/media use, than trying to save power on a high end machine/

Yes it's the C1E that clocks it down to 2GHz
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
so i just disabled the C1E in my bios and im checking the clock speed. Should it be running at a 2.6 instead of 2.8? the stock speed is suppose to be 2.8 but pcwizard and cpuz is showing it at 2.6. Any other tips?
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
3,638 (0.63/day)
Location
California
There is Speed Step (EIST) too, disable that.

Just to be sure.
And go to Control Panel -> Power Options -> Advanced Setting -> You should see something like "Processor power management", change them to 100%.
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
Hmm, I have Speed step and C1E disabled in bios, i have the power management at high performance still at 2.6 for some reason..
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
4,876 (0.83/day)
Location
Joplin, Mo
System Name Ultrabeast GX2
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 4.0GHZ 24/7
Motherboard Gigabit P35-DS3L
Cooling Rosewill RX24, Dual Slot Vid, Fan control
Memory 2x1gb 1066mhz@850MHZ DDR2
Video Card(s) 9800GX2 @ 690/1040
Storage 750/250/250/200 all WD 7200
Display(s) 24" DCLCD 2ms 1200p
Case Apevia
Audio Device(s) 7.1 Digital on-board, 5.1 digital hooked up
Power Supply 700W RAIDMAXXX SLI
Software winXP Pro
Benchmark Scores 17749 3DM06
its all about power saving, put it under load and it will be normal.
we have a post like this every day it seems, we need a sticky that says "if your CPU is under stock, it is a power saving feature, please disregard."
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
139 (0.02/day)
Location
CA
Processor Intel Q9550
Motherboard EVGA 780i
Cooling Thermaltake Ultra 120E
Memory 4gb Corsair DDR2 8500 (2 x 2 GB)
Video Card(s) BFG GTX 295
Display(s) Samsung T240HD
Case Antec 1200
Power Supply Corsair 1000HX
Software Windows Vista Home Premium x64
thanks for your time and for your help =]
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10
Originally your multi shouldn't have been between 6 and 8....

With all power-saving features disabled the multi should be a flat x8.5

Go into the bios again and check what your FSB is.

For your Q9550 to run at its stock speed of 2.83Ghz your FSB should be 333.

Now there's another issue... and probably I think this is your problem. Certain motherboards (eg those 680i BIOS versions) will not work with a multiplier set at .5 variations so automatically your multi would be dropped to just x8 which means that your cpu would be restricted to run at 'stock' 333x8 =2.6Ghz ---- which is what you're getting isn't it?

Now maybe your 780i has this problem and might need a bios flash to correct it...
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
1,207 (0.20/day)
Location
Bitola, Macedonia
System Name Brutus
Processor AMD Ryzen 5600X PBO
Motherboard Asus Prime X570-P
Cooling EKWB AIO 240MM Push-Pull fans
Memory Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 4000 32GB (4x8) @4066 CL16, Custom Timings
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 1080Ti FE OC
Storage Kingston A2000 500GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Samsung 24" S24D300 + 2x LG LED 24"
Case Cooler Master H500
Audio Device(s) SB X-Fi Titanium Fatality Professional
Power Supply Sama Forza Modular 750W 80+ Gold
Mouse Cooler Master Master Keys Lite
Keyboard Cooler Master Master Keys Lite
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
Ehm, can you check if your multiplyer is actually set to 8.5, cos your CPU should run on 8 x 333 = 2830Mhz, and on some motherboards, those increasements of 0.5 should be done manually.


EDIT: Bah, got beat to it.
 
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,019 (1.47/day)
System Name Black Panther
Processor i9 9900k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s) Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s) 32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s) Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard Motospeed
Software Windows 10
Yup, you need to flash to this bios NF78_P08 in order to get your multiplier to be able to be in .5

Edit: to surely get the latest one go to Evga Support Site and select 'mainboards' then 'bios updates' and then '780i SLI'.
 
Last edited:

mikek75

New Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2006
Messages
1,370 (0.21/day)
Location
Chippenham, Wilts, United Kingdom
System Name As easy as falling off a lorry
Processor Core I5 2500K auto tuned to 4.2ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P
Cooling Corsair H80 sealed water cooler
Memory 16gb Gskill Ripjawz 1600mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6970 2GB
Storage Corsair 120GB Force 3 SSD, OCZ 60 GB Agility 3 SSD, Seagate 500GB, 2x80gb Maxtors
Display(s) DELL 2309w 23" Widescreen 1920x1080+ LG M2294D 22" 1680x1050 LCDtv/monitor
Case Zalman Z9 Plus
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro
Power Supply PC Power&Cooling 750w Silencer Quad PCIe
Software Windows 7 x64 Home Premium
Also, make sure that the CPU multiplier is set as high as it'll go. When I first put my chip in this motherboard the multiplier was set at 9 instead of 10...
 
Top