CPU only running at 1GHz

xcylent

Posts: 230   +17
I just finished building my new budget gaming system half an hour ago, and having since then installed CPU-Z, I notice my AMD FX-6100 black edition is running at 1.3GHz instead of the usual 3.3GHz.
I have no idea what's wrong with it since everything else is running perfectly.
also, under the 'Graphics' Tab, It says my 550Ti has a core clock of 50MHz, shaders 101MHz, and Memory 135MHz.
is it just me or is that insanely slow??

please help me fix this! I don't want a slow pc!

heres the parts list:

Case: Corsair Carbide 400r
CPU: AMD FX-6100 Black Edition
Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 EVO (running in push-pull config)
Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX550Ti
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM
Memory: 8GB Patriot Gamer2 1333MHz
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme 4
Optical Drive: LG DVDRW
Power Supply: Corsair HX-650

Thanks for any answers!
 
Most likely it's because you're looking at the numbers when your computer is idle. CPUs and GPUs downclock automatically when idle, it reduces your electricity bill and keeps your components cool.

Run a CPU/GPU intensive program in the background and check again.
 
it seems you were right. it took 6 CPU-Burn in's to max it out. now it's sitting aroun 3.3 GHZ.

but that doesnt explain why my system is still really slow? it takes forever to open programs and such.
also what's the deal with my GPU?
 
Not sure about software conflicts, but from the looks of it, there's some hardware bottle-neck or capping.
Some cards throttle down their cores when it's not really needed. Run a 3D benchmark, while monitoring the cores.
Let us know how it goes.

Regards,
Marnomancer
 
What OS are you running and is it a fresh install?

You can download MSI Afterburner to monitor your GPU clocks, temps etc.
 
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.
I just finished building a few hours ago, and install maybe 1 hour ago.
I used the mobo CD to update everything, and I installed the drivers for the 550Ti from the Gigabyte website.

it's strange, I have nice parts but the system is slower than my crappy acer laptop.
 
Perhaps it's because the FX-6100 is a slow processor. This link shows all high-end CPUs and their benchmarks for comparison - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
Spend the extra $100 and get an i5 3750K if you want real performance.. AMD processors are a joke among tech savvy builders. Sure, if you're building an email machine for your grandmother, by all means save the money and go with AMD, but for anyone into gaming, folding, video editing, etc. you will be disappointed. You get what you pay for!
 
What do you mean by too slow? If you're running CPU intensive programs then the FX processors aren't on Intel's level but for general computing use you wouldn't really notice the difference.
 
Perhaps it's because the FX-6100 is a slow processor. This link shows all high-end CPUs and their benchmarks for comparison - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
Spend the extra $100 and get an i5 3750K if you want real performance.. AMD processors are a joke among tech savvy builders. Sure, if you're building an email machine for your grandmother, by all means save the money and go with AMD, but for anyone into gaming, folding, video editing, etc. you will be disappointed. You get what you pay for!

Yes, while in benchmarks the FX series are slower than the i5/i7 series chips, that doesn't explain ANYTHING having to do with his windows desktop. I've seen you post this numerous times as any frame rate above 60 FPS will cause screen-tearing if you don't have a 120Hz monitor so anything above 60 while being nice is unnecessary.

OP, check your startup programs and install the most updates drivers from the Nvidia website.

How to check your startup programs press windows key+r and type "msconfig" into the run window and go into the "Startup" tab. That tab displays all of the program that start up with your computer, untick whichever ones you think are unnecessary.

EDIT: If you're comfortable with going into the motherboard BIOS you can turn off Cool'n'Quite that'll keep your CPU from throttling from 3.3-1.3GHz just keep in mind it's a power saving feature so your computer will consume more power and indeed generate more heat.
 
I have been running the PC overnight, installing updates for the GPU, BIOS, and windows. It seems much faster now.
although it takes a good 1-1.5 minutes to go from pressing the power button to the login screen.

also, whenever I turn it on, a screen appears where I have to select either 'Windows system rollback' or 'Windows 7'
If I don't press anything for a few seconds, It starts to re-install windows??
I'd like to know how to get rid of that so it just boots straight into my OS.

also, whenever I restart it , or just turn it on, the fans are always spinning at 100% and they seem locked that way until I get into Windows and use speedfan to slow them down.
is there any way to make them go at like an automatic speed or something? because all 7 fans running at 100% sounds like a jet engine.

apart from that, I've noticed the text on my screen isn't as sharp/clear as it could be. I have already tried NVIDIA drivers, or using cleartype text, it makes no difference.

thanks for the help!
 
No problem, and the 1-1.5 minute boot time is to be expected unless you're using an SSD, my computer takes about the same amount of time. As for the boot menu, I honestly have no clue. I have a boot menu on my computer because I'm dual-booting with Windows XP.

As for the fans, if they're connected directly to the motherboard, poke around in the BIOS to see if there's a fan speed options panel.

Try setting a higher resolution on your monitor? There also might be something in the Nvidia Control Panel that'll allow you to change the picture quality of your desktop.
 
No problem, and the 1-1.5 minute boot time is to be expected unless you're using an SSD, my computer takes about the same amount of time. As for the boot menu, I honestly have no clue. I have a boot menu on my computer because I'm dual-booting with Windows XP.

As for the fans, if they're connected directly to the motherboard, poke around in the BIOS to see if there's a fan speed options panel.

Try setting a higher resolution on your monitor? There also might be something in the Nvidia Control Panel that'll allow you to change the picture quality of your desktop.

ahhhhhhh thanks,l was getting worried about the long boot time.
As for the windows boot menu, I installed another 160GB to run as my OS drive, so I could use my 500GB as storage.
after re-installing windows onto the 160GB HDD, everything is working fine.

as for the fan speed, you were right, I fiddled around in the BIOS and now it's silent! :D

As for the graphics, I'll have to try that.
 
If your screen is fuzzy it usually means the resolution you have set to is not the same as the native resolution of the monitor. What's your monitor model?
 
LCDs never play pleasant with anything other than native res.

As for boot times, just having HDD or SSD isn't a deciding factor.
E.g.: My Backbox Linux boots up in 12~13 seconds, while Windows, dual boot, on the same HDD, in the theoretically faster zone, boots in 54 seconds.
Both have been tinkered and tweaked, but both are in mint performance, and Linux yet hasn't been tweaked to its full capacity.
 
I have a ViewSonic VA2238wm LED 22" monitor. It's 1920x1080, but for some reason the quality looks worse than my 1366x768 laptop display. It just doesn't seem as sharp/clear.
 
^DISREGARD

I fiddled around with my monitor's settings and now it's just the way I like it.
I hope you guys realise how awesome you are by helping me, and I really do appreciate it!
 
What do you mean by too slow? If you're running CPU intensive programs then the FX processors aren't on Intel's level but for general computing use you wouldn't really notice the difference.
Sorry about that - just my twisted sense of humor - shouldn't kid someone about their choice of procs....I know it's probably some program or malware causing it - but I do prefer Intel in general because their hardware and software is more stable (usually) and their website is fantastic, you can download very detailed info and drivers for every product they ever made. AMD's well known for buggy software and their CPUs run hot and use too much power even though they're slower. To me it's just common sense.
 
Just wanted to say that if it shows 1.3GHz and you are running Windows 7 then change/check the power settings (Control Panel -> Power Options -> High Performance -> Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings) so that the Processor power management / Minimum processor state is set to 100%. Then the CPU will always "run" at full speed.
For example, my CPU is clocked to 4GHz but when the comp idles it "goes down" to 800MHz.
 
Check the BIO for anything SpeedStep on Intel but AMD Cool bla, bla always disable that too. Some Extra Power savings under the bios too can be disabled to increase available RAM on 64-bit systems this works not on 32-bit. Also any memory shared out for Video can be lowered too if you don't plan on doing any fancy graphics like min is 128MB to 256MB.

Also under the OS:

select orb
select run (if not there type) select orb + r
type: msconfig
select boot
select advance options
select the number of processors you have
select the amount of ram you have
save
apply
reboot
 
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