CPU-Z / Speed Step

[laliga]

For you Intel people, do you use speed step?

I got my new budget build up and running today. Everything is great. I checked CPU-Z on saw that my core speed was only at 1600mhz, x 16 multiplier. I remembered about Speed Step so I went into BIOS to disable it, just to make sure that is why it was running at 1600mhz. But even after disabling it, CPU-Z still reads the core speed at 1600mhz when at idle. It'll jump up to 2600mhz for literally a second and then go back down.

What gives? Should I be concerned?

 

[Puppies04]

What CPU? What mobo?

Are you sure you saved the changes in the bios because it doesn't look like you did.

 

[laliga]

I'll double check. Intel G620, MSI H61M-E33.

edit: yeah it's disabled. Found some other threads on the topic with the search function. I'll try those out.

edit 2: I got it. I was supposed to disable another thing in my BIOS. It's running at the 2600mhz.

I went back and enabled it though. Cheers. This build for $300 is pretty darn quick.

 

[BrightCandle]

Bare in mind the performance impact of using Speedstep is quite small, imperceptibly so. But on the other hand it can save considerable amounts of power allowing a lower voltage and frequency when your not pushing your computer hard.

If you overclock then you'll want to at first not use any of the power saving features until you've found the various limits, but after that you'll want to get speedstep back enabled so that your idle power consumption is more reasonable. Its not just about the leccy bill its also about not killing ourselves with pollution.