A small OC issue

[Spikes]

Hi all,
In an 'attempt' to test out OCing for the first time, I took my system from 2.8ghz to 3.0 ghz. (Q9550) Don't want to go farther because the system is on stock HSF. But under CPUZ, Core Clock says my system is running anywhere from 2.0ghz to 3.0 (it once in a while 'jumps' to that. The Easytune 6 utility that came with the Gigabyte board says "Power On" speed is 3.0 (to what I set it to in bios) and "Target" speed is 2.0 or 2.1...now since I am new to clocking, does a computer normally have it's target lower than what you OC it to, for example it only maxes out it's clock when needed during games, or is there something wrong?

As another example, I just finished a build for my grandpa with a AMD Athlon proc at 2.9 ghz. I tried to up it to 3.0 ghz for kicks, and when I booted the comp up, CPUz said it was running at 3.0ghz, but when I reopened it, said it was running at 840mhz...maybe I am just confused and stupid here but...

Basically wondering if the comp is ALWAYS running at you OC'd speed...

[1701E]

In BIOS there is an option called Cool n' Quiet (For AMD) that will downclock the CPU when it's not being stressed, from what I've seen it's "The OCers nightmare".  I forget the name for Intel, but there is one that does the same thing somewhere.

Aside from that causing a Down-clock, it should stay at OC speeds 24/7.  I learned all this the hard way when I way OCing my AMD, kept going back to 1.5GHz after OC.

[Spikes]

Hmm...well I've gotta say I'm quite confused as to why it's happening on two computers with two different chipsets...I guess it is enabled on both in the bios...

[1701E]

The Cool n' Quiet comes Stock: On.
Intel's version EIST or SpeedStep (just looked) likely comes Stock: On.

I don't know of any AMD chipset that comes Stock: Off.  So, checking that would be a good idea.

[Fulmar]

Depends on the motherboard manufacturers.  Last two Intel boards from Asus I've had have has SpeedStep disabled as default.

[Spikes]

Checking that was a good idea!! Was on, flipped it off and the Core Speed is 3.030mhz now...I feel so stupid!  
Xcelsior, Thanks for the help! Just need to test it out on my Intel rig on Friday...question though, would it be smart to leave it on if the rig will be t 3.6 or 3.8 once I get my new cooler?

fulmar - Yeah, hope mine is on by default on my Intel board or else I have a problem on my hands.

[1701E]

Glad it worked, not often I'm right.

"would it be smart to leave it on if the rig will be [a]t 3.6 or 3.8 once I get my new cooler?"

That I know (TD and others would know better) Running it at 3.6-3.8GHz 24/7 is fine so long as the temps aren't getting extreme, and if they are, I don't think Speed Step would help.
May want to wait for better people's word on this though, I am not much of an OCer.


Fulmar, good to know, I've only ever messed with 1 Intel Set-up and I didn't OC it any....yet.

[AirFlyer]

Your not gonna wanna keep it on at all if your OCing, I prefer it off regardless as it promotes lag.

[guncrasher]

man you shouldda seen how many people slapped their forheads when I mentioned this to them a couple of hours ago.   

semp

[TilDeath]

Any BIOS throttling of the CPU will knock down your OC to a lesser clock speed.  If you read and get familiar with your BIOS it will tell you what you have for each setting.  Speed Step is one of the throttling options that should be always off OC or not.  The Easy Tune for Gigabyte motherboards is NOT a good utility to use since it does not really allow you to fine tune an OC.  It has three standard settings and they are all the same no matter the processor your using, in addition its settings are to the BIOS through Windows and this is not a good idea.  When in Windows you can push your CPU higher without the needed voltage being added therefore making your system unstable.

My Buc Two Fifty input

TD