Does a Mobo or CPU die SLOWLY?

[KGB1]

My second rig, its a Asus K7M (Hp modified) and a 550 Athlon. I just installed WinXP because in Win 2000 I used CPUID and I got 500mhz, system clock 90 mhz, Multiplier 5.5 WTH is going on here. Is my system TOO HOT that the motherboard "slows" down not to create so much heat? Yesterday it was at 25 MHZ. Today is better, but I don't know what is going on. If it were to die, so be it, I'll understand but CPUID is stating at times it is 200 MHZ, I press the "refresh" button I get 225MHZ, and so on and so forth.

This is really strange, to be honest all the CPU has is a heatsink and an overhead Vantec Stealth fan blowing Air into it. I don't know what to do. Is the the voltage that can be causing problems? I mean I use a PCI video card now (geforce 2 MX) I'm really stumped. I can't figure it out. Course it is out of warranty and its not a "regular" Asus K7M. Any body with experience in slowed down cpu and mobos.

The BIOS recognizes the 550MHZ and 256 RAM.

 

[Peter]

Nope ... those old Athlon mainboards sometimes had jumpers to limit the bus speed to less than the intended 100. Check that.

 

[KGB1]

Sorry, the Athlon is my FIRST RIG. I should have noticed that, anyway. I waited for the system to cool down (2 hours) Then I started it up again, and lo and behold same problem. CPUID sees it as a 225 MHZ Athlon. I am so angry now man. I can't think of a thing to do. Man this sucks. I'll see what I can do about it tomorrow.

 

[Supradude]

if you've "pushed" the system before, it's very possible for a setup to die over time... just a month ago my P3 700 and Abit SA6R running for a year at 1Gig+ then down to 933...you get the point finally died to the point where neither piece is useable anymore...

 

[KGB1]

Supradude, I really cannot "push" my system to the limit, since it is a HP BIOS and not a regular ASUS bios. I have very limited options in the BIOS. I really don't push it. Can heat be a factor in all of this. If any of you have seen HP Pavilion cases, they are quite small, and for an Athlon to be inside of it, is like a brick oven in there. Oh man, I'm going to try chaning my RAM (maybe my RAM is quitting on me, because the system clock does not even reach 50 MHZ now.) Well if this dies, anyone suggest a good Athlon replacement? Nforce 2, KT400A, 745/746 ?? I want a 746 Myself, but I dont know, is Dual Channel Overkill for Athlons?

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Ok, so CPUID says it is running slow..But does it really feel "slow"? Have you run any benchies that would prove that is running slow or varying in speed? Since it is not a "regular" BIOS, CPUID may be reading it screwy. If the BIOS reads the correct speed, then it "should" be what it is supposed to be. BTW, Athlons like yours cannot "throttle-down" speed because of heat, but you may want to check that the HSF is seated correctly and that you have some thermal transfer goop on there..