P4 660 3.6 Question

[M1A]

I have a P4 660 3.6 Clock unlocked chip I had as a backup and just put it in again. It is showing in cpuid as being 2800 to 3600MHZ with a mult 14-18 and the voltage seems to be changing between 1.2 and 1.4V??? I have a Abit NI8 board and its set to Auto in the bios. I do not remenber it doing this last time I ran it. Could it be changing under load? Maybe cpuid is not working correctly with this chip. It is an engineering sample and is unlocked. In cpuid it says its 3.6 and muntiplier is 18.
Any hepl guys? Hope someone is still running a single core yet?
Thanks

 

[Quiksilver]

Does the ES support EIST? Which will lower the multiplier and voltage at idle and crank it up under load in effort to save power. Cause that what it sounds like too me.

 

[Denithor]

That would be my guess as well, that's exactly what most newer processors do to conserve energy/prolong lifespan...they clock down when not under heavy use and the voltage is decreased also to generate less heat.

 

[M1A]

I thought of that but have not heard it was done. Guess I will have to look more. Anyone else have thoughts?

 

[M1A]

Ideas?

 

[o1die]

Running speedstep? That would explain the variable speeds.

 

[n7]

Yeah, it's lowering multiplier & vcore via Speedstep to conserver power, which is a good thing

Run CPU-Z & watch it jump from 14x200 to 18x200 when being utilized.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

You could go into the power setting and choose "always on." I believe that stops speedstep from changing the multiplier- then it should be locked in on 18x

 

[Quiksilver]

You would need to disable EIST (speed step) from the BIOS.

 

[M1A]

Thanks to all! Yes thats it. I have a slight lag in the system sometimes maybe that is the reason. I will do a bit of investigating. Do the new dual and quads do the same thing? I had this chip in a setup before and never seen that. Again thanks to all for your expert advise. If the multiplier is not locked I will have to play with them and see what is best.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yes, the new C2D and later processors do the same thing. If you had all your BIOS settings with the P4 set to default, the features other posters have mentioned would be enabled. So, yeah, it seems like everything is copacetic.

 

[M1A]

Ok got it.