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Pentium M 2.26 GHz shows Windows score of 0.8 ?!!

AnitaPeterson

AnitaPeterson

Diamond Member
Hi folks,

Here's a head scratcher for you... I have no idea how to explain or solve it.

I have a Dell Latitude D810, with a Pentium M @ 2.26 GHz and 1.5 GB RAM (the maximum the system can take is 2 GB).

I formatted the HDD and installed Win7 32-bit.

Then I ran the Windows Experience Index test, and when it finished, it didn't even display the proper score... Only when I went and clicked on "detailed performance and system information" did I see that the CPU was assigned a score of 0.8 (!)

Needless to say, I've never even seen such a low score. By my expectations, the CPU should have had at least a 2.6 (see here - http://computersclarified.blogspot.ca/p/softwareclarified.html )

What is going on here?
 
What does cpu-z say your CPU is running at. My WEI on my supposedly over clocked 3570k was 3.5 a couple days ago. I checked cpu-z and it said my cpu was running at 1500mhz. I fixed that reran it and got 7.7.

Check and see if something isn't set to limit your speed in its bios.
 
Is the power profile set to battery saver or something similar? If it is the CPU will only run at 800MHz during the test, hence the very low score.
 
OK, here's an update... more testing is necessary.

I switched the power plan to maximum performance (keeping the CPU at 100%), and re-ran the test. Same value, same result.

I didn't try to install and run CPU-Z, but that will follow.

Any other things I need to check?
 
AnitaPeterson said:
OK, here's an update... more testing is necessary.

I switched the power plan to maximum performance (keeping the CPU at 100%), and re-ran the test. Same value, same result.

I didn't try to install and run CPU-Z, but that will follow.

Any other things I need to check?
Click to expand...

Check your BIOS settings. Maybe do a reset to defaults.

Either you have a virus running and sucking up a lot of cycles or you're stuck at a lower CPU frequency.

Also check to make sure the fan works. You might be thermally throttling...
 
This is a brand-new Win7 installation, and WiFi wasn't enabled on the machine since the formatting. A virus infection is very unlikely under these circumstances.

BIOS reports the CPU is running at 2.27 GHz.
The fan seems to be working.
 
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How about an antivirus program running. McAfee about killed my old Pentium M laptop...
 
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Re-run the test again anyways. I had gaming performance show a 1 on a PC the other day and then I ran it again and it showed a 3.8. The WEI can be a little wacky sometimes. Also go under advanced power setting and make sure the max cpu state is 100%.
 
CPUZ has portable version it takes 10 sec. to download and another 20 sec. to run.

http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/cpu-z/1.67-en.zip

Page - http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

However if you want an evaluation that it is above meaningless download and run this portable.

It will show the performance of each Hardware component (CPU, Mem, HD and Video) in details.

[2013/11/04] CrystalMark 2004R3 (0.9.126.452c) Portable Edition (zip) [Vista/2003/XP/2000, x86, en/ja]

http://crystalmark.info/download/archive/CrystalMark/CrystalMark2004R3.zip

A good D 810 should yield a general score in the upper 20,000 or lower 30,000.


😎
 
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Cripes!

I ran the two proggies recommended in Post #11, and the CPU is running at 420 Hz!!!
No wonder it's slow as hell.

What do I do to prevent this throttling down?

----------------------

Mother Fletcher!

Here's what I discovered... It's a Dell hardware issue:

http://forums.legitreviews.com/about16490.html
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetrev...s-in-response-to-cpu-throttling-concerns/9847

If I connect the laptop to its docking station, the CPU goes all the way to 2.26 GHz, as it should.

This is not a laptop that I bought, by the way. It was someone else's discarded machine.

But these findings tell me I wouldn't ever consider buying a Dell, as long as they employ such practices. This self-serving hardware customization is something Apple is criticized for; to see other companies using it is disheartening, to say the least.
 
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Notebook Hardware Control is a great tool to override those old Dells having stuck multipliers. My Dell D810's PSU apparently had some sensor circuit or something crap out, so that means the battery couldn't be charged by plugging in the PSU. I had to get a third-part discrete charger to get extra life out of it. Newer Dells now have "rapid recharge", which apparently seems like a positive...until you realize you're battery is going to die faster and hence you'll need to buy a new one.

That said, I doubt any laptop manufacturer is 100% issue-free, in my experience, but the Dells I have are have very annoying ones.
 
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