cpu not throttling up?

Just before I start my cpu is an athlon X2 3.1ghzI've suspected for a while that my cpu isnt quite running at the speed it was designed for, little things like certain programs and games exhibiting lag and performance hitches that they didnt display with the 2.1ghz X2 I had previously.As I understand it modern cpus ''throttle down'' to a slower speed to reduce power consumption when operating simple tasks and throttle back up to full speed when running something like a game such as empire total war. I decided to check if it was throttling back up when a game was running (in this case empire total war) using cpu-z (as I'm told it shows you accurate numbers for whats going on in your system) running it in the bck ground and empire in a window view so i could see the numbers cpu-z was reading.With nothing running it showed coreclock speed at just over 1ghz which i figured was normal. I expected that when total war was started and a campaign battle was in progress the cpu would throttle up to deal with the extra activity so i looked at cpu-z but it still said just over 1ghz :S The same thing happens with every other program I have tried it with.So I guess I'm saying does it look like my cpu isnt doing its thing properly and any idea why?Thanksps if I've got it all wrong any suggestions about how I should go about checking my system performance would be greatcpu not throttling up?
update: just tried running several vid players, and 3 games at the same time and not it hasnt budged by a single mhz :Sif thats not something that would prompt the cpu to throttle up I dont what wold ,,,cpu not throttling up?
[QUOTE=''penpusher'']Just before I start my cpu is an athlon X2 3.1ghzI've suspected for a while that my cpu isnt quite running at the speed it was designed for, little things like certain programs and games exhibiting lag and performance hitches that they didnt display with the 2.1ghz X2 I had previously.As I understand it modern cpus ''throttle down'' to a slower speed to reduce power consumption when operating simple tasks and throttle back up to full speed when running something like a game such as empire total war. I decided to check if it was throttling back up when a game was running (in this case empire total war) using cpu-z (as I'm told it shows you accurate numbers for whats going on in your system) running it in the bck ground and empire in a window view so i could see the numbers cpu-z was reading.With nothing running it showed coreclock speed at just over 1ghz which i figured was normal. I expected that when total war was started and a campaign battle was in progress the cpu would throttle up to deal with the extra activity so i looked at cpu-z but it still said just over 1ghz :S The same thing happens with every other program I have tried it with.So I guess I'm saying does it look like my cpu isnt doing its thing properly and any idea why?Thanksps if I've got it all wrong any suggestions about how I should go about checking my system performance would be great[/QUOTE]Let's start with the basics, what are you system specs? Include model for MB, RAM and such so we know exactly what parts you're using.
System specs: the aforementioned 3.1ghz X2, geforce 9600gt 512MB, 3GB RAM, 500watt psu, as for mainboard I aint sure as cpu-z cant get any model numbers from itSorry I didnt mention them in the initial post but I didnt see it as relavent since its the cpu that I reckon has the problem
Start with going into the BIOS and turn off cool and quiet if it's on, and anything that would lower the clocks. You can turn them all off in the BIOS.You can access the BIOS typically by pressing delete before the OS boots.
my bios isnt giving any option like that, it doesnt really have a lot of options I've previously seen on motherboards actually :S
any ideas?Could I disable the feature with jumpers on the mainboard itself by chance?
Check windows power management - make sure it is set for performance. Hos fast does CPUz say you are running?
dont think windows power manager has anything to do with cpu throttling, its not controlled by windows far as i knowAnd as i said several times in the initial post its constantly at 1ghz, like its locked it or somehting
You really need to post your motherboard details, because it sounds to me like it doesn't properly support your cpu. is the cpu make and model correctly listed in your windows system specs? if it isn't you may be able to solve it with a bios update.
[QUOTE=''penpusher'']System specs: the aforementioned 3.1ghz X2, geforce 9600gt 512MB, 3GB RAM, 500watt psu, as for mainboard I aint sure as cpu-z cant get any model numbers from itSorry I didnt mention them in the initial post but I didnt see it as relavent since its the cpu that I reckon has the problem[/QUOTE]If CPU-Z can't find the model number, try using PCWizardto find the model number.Now, is your computer from Dell or HP or something or is it one you built yourself?I'm guessing it's prebuilt, otherwise you'd probably know the make and/or model of the motherboard, but it never hurts to ask. If you're computer is prebuilt, most likely your BIOS is locked and your options are very limited in there, but if you got it prebuilt from ibuypower or some such you should be able to access the BIOS and all options with no problem (at least that was the case in my experience from 3 years back with my first true gaming computer - I build my own now).Also, try running something like Prime95 or Intelburntestwhile you have CPU-Z going and see if your CPU speed increases to it's stock speed levels. These programs will push your CPU and stress test it, even if Cool'n Quiet is enabled these CPU stressing programs should force your CPU to go to stock speeds.
actually the poster previous to my last post prompted me to take a look at certain features I never looked at in power management and i think I found the problem windows was indeed holding the cpu power down (50% to be precise)Seems simple now :SThanks for all your help everyone :)