Hey there,

I noticed this a few days ago while I was checking my processer speed, For some odd reason, my processer (AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-50) Seems to be running at 794-800 MHz insted of 1.60 GHz, I've tried setting my processer speed but its already set to max, has anyone else had any similar problems?

ps, my laptop is an Acer Aspire 5100-5300

Thanks for the help

-Dan

3 common reasons for this include,

1. Heat - if the CPU is hot, it will toggle down in speed as a self preservation measure. Does it run slow when first powered up after a complete cool down?

2. Battery - to conserve battery power, the CPU will toggle down. Does it run slow when running off the power supply?

3. Motherboard bus speed. You said you have the CPU set to 100% - is that with Acer's power management utilities? You might want to run CPUz and see what it says under the Clocks section for speeds.

1. It boots up at half speed and stays that way. Yes.
2.It runs slow even on power supply
3. I bumped it up to max using Acer power management with no results
and i ran CPUz and it just jumps around from 790ish to 800 MHz.

Here's what I'm looking at for speeds

Core Speed - 790-800
Multiplier - x 4.0
Bus Speed - 199.5 Mhz
HT Link - Same as core

I don't know if this makes a difference, a couple weeks ago i was using my laptop on a cramped bus and while i was watching a moving it just turned off without warning, I'm sure it just over heated, would that have anything to do with it?

Okay, so this looks like a setting and not a heat issue. The incident on the bus should not have caused a permanent change, in my mind. Do note that in spite of being called laptops, they should not be used on your lap, but on some flat smooth surface to allow air flow underneath.

It seems to me your Bus Speed should be set to 400, or even 533 - so either your multiplier is off or your bus speed if off. Either way, this would be a BIOS setting, but sadly, I cannot find any references to your BIOS Setup Menu in your manual for those settings.

You may need to contact Acer Tech Support or perhaps someone else reading may have experience with the Acer line. Sorry. According to your manual, you press F2 during boot up to enter the BIOS setup menu. You might have a look around in there.

Thanks for the help Digerati i'll pop around my BOIS and see what i can find.

-Dan

I had a look at my BIOS and didn't see anything that might change it, although my BIOS does say that its 1600MHz

'puzzled'

Does it say it is running at 1600Mhz, or it has identified the CPU as a 1600Mhz CPU? Two different things.

In looking over the documentation found on the Acer site, I cannot find any specs for the motherboard. Even the official AcerSupport 5100 specifications page found here has a blank next to the System Bus Speed! So I can't tell if the multiplier and bus speed you noted are correct or not. If they are, then I would suspect this is a heat issue - or a setting in the BIOS to control CPU speed as a means to control heat, or a setting in the BIOS to control CPU speed as a means to reduce power consumption (although that should not affect when running off the power block - pointing again to cooling).

Again, unless someone reading has first hand knowledge with this system, I think you need to call Acer. Sorry.

Well, I sent an Email to Acer Tech support and this is what I got back:

"Thank you for contacting Acer America. The reported speed you are seeing is what the CPU is running at the time. This is the way XP reports the CPU usage at the time of boot; it does not mean you have the incorrect or faulty CPU in your notebook. Acer does not offer a means to have the CPU stay at the max speed but you might check AMD's site to see if they have any type of utility that will keep the CPU at the top speed. The BIOS will report the correct CPU speed. Please note that any downloads from third party sites are not guaranteed to function nor do we provide support for these type of downloads"

Some how that wasn't the answer I was looking for.


And to answer your question Its identified the CPU as 1600MHz, sorry about that.

Some how that wasn't the answer I was looking for.

I agree. And I don't buy that it has anything to do with the way XP is reporting it - XP reports what it sees.

These mobile CPUs will slow down to conserve power and stay cool, but I find it odd that it runs slow on the power supply when first powered up and not yet warmed up.

I just entered acer notebook cpu half speed in Google and see that you are not the only one. It seems some folks have had luck with Notebook Hardware Control, but as Acer warns, use at your own risk. And note that it requires you to have Microsoft's .NET Framework V2.0 or newer.

I gave NHC a try and again with no luck.

Could I have damaged my processor some how?

or could it have something to do with the Acer ePower management widget, problem is, if it is the ePower management tool, I wont be able to reinstall it, the acer home page doesn't have a download for my model.