CPU Upgrade not so hot

[Dokta]

I recently upgraded my CPU from an E8500 to a QX9770. The results I got from
this move are mixed at best. 3DMark reports an improvement from ~14000 to
~16000 but the frame rate in some instances has actually decreased, notably
PMDG B747-400 on FSX. Diagnostic software indicates that the CPU is running
at 2.4GHz in leiu of 3.2GHz with a multiplier of 6 instead of 8 (CPU-Z and
PCWizard). Also, hyperthreading is reported as being not available by more
than one utility. I have updated all drivers where applicable including the
motherboard BIOS. I tried upgrading the 'computer driver' but windows could
not locate a better driver than the one installed, being 'ACPI Multiprocessor
PC'. EzTune wich came with the motherboard reports 3.2GHz with a multiplier
of 8 as does the BIOS.

Curiously, 'My Computer/Properties/General' reports as follows:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme
CPU X9770 @ 3.20GHz
2.40GHz, 3.25 GB RAM

What is the 2.40GHz on the third line refer to?

Also, the L2 Cache is reported in the diagnostics as 6MB instead of 12MB.

Any advice will be appreciated.
Do I need to do a clean install of XP?
Do I need to upgrade to a 64Bit OS? (I know about the addressing of 4GB ram
with a 32 bit OS.)

My system is as follows:

Gigabyte GA X48T DQ6 Motherboard
QX9770 Processor
4GB Corsair 1600MHz RAM
nVidia GTX 260 Graphics Card

 

[Paul]

I recently upgraded my CPU from an E8500 to a QX9770. The results I got from
this move are mixed at best. 3DMark reports an improvement from ~14000 to
~16000 but the frame rate in some instances has actually decreased, notably
PMDG B747-400 on FSX. Diagnostic software indicates that the CPU is running
at 2.4GHz in leiu of 3.2GHz with a multiplier of 6 instead of 8 (CPU-Z and
PCWizard). Also, hyperthreading is reported as being not available by more
than one utility. I have updated all drivers where applicable including the
motherboard BIOS. I tried upgrading the 'computer driver' but windows could
not locate a better driver than the one installed, being 'ACPI Multiprocessor
PC'. EzTune wich came with the motherboard reports 3.2GHz with a multiplier
of 8 as does the BIOS.

Curiously, 'My Computer/Properties/General' reports as follows:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme
CPU X9770 @ 3.20GHz
2.40GHz, 3.25 GB RAM

What is the 2.40GHz on the third line refer to?

Also, the L2 Cache is reported in the diagnostics as 6MB instead of 12MB.

Any advice will be appreciated.
Do I need to do a clean install of XP?
Do I need to upgrade to a 64Bit OS? (I know about the addressing of 4GB ram
with a 32 bit OS.)

My system is as follows:

Gigabyte GA X48T DQ6 Motherboard
QX9770 Processor
4GB Corsair 1600MHz RAM
nVidia GTX 260 Graphics Card

There is no Hyperthreading listed for that processor. I don't see it here.

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLAWM

You can download the Intel utility and check your processor ID.

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/sb/CS-014921.htm

It appears the minimum F4 BIOS you were using for your E8500, should
also have been good for the QX9770. So it probably isn't the BIOS
at fault.

Intel EIST will cause the multiplier to drop dynamically, when the
processor is idle. Load up Prime95 and try your reporting utilities
again. This version is multithreaded, and a quad without HT will have
four threads of execution.

(Prime95)
http://majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html

You should be able to disable EIST in the BIOS, which should result
in constant 3.2GHz operation. Or, in Windows, you can use the Power
control panel, and select a power scheme like "Always ON". At least
one of the Windows power schemes, runs the processor at full
speed all the time.

Another aspect of your new processor, is "throttling".
The processor slows down its internal computing rate,
if the processor becomes too hot. You will need a utility
to detect when throttling is occurring. That is an
independent issue from EIST, and it can be resolved
with adequate cooling of the CPU.

Assuming that some part of the above resolves the clock rate
issue, the remaining issue would be "why does my performance suck" ?

I cannot give an immediate answer to that. One thing to
realize, is the Intel quad doesn't have perfect scaling.
An AMD quad core, when running a perfect scaling test
application, gets 4X speedup using 4 cores. An Intel
quad core (where two silicon dies inside the processor
package share data over the FSB), gets a speedup of
3.5X via its 4 cores. This is normally not an issue,
because the Intel processor is so much more performant
than the competition. That 3.5X factor tells you the
thing chokes a bit on the FSB design. Your quad looks
like this.

Core2 Core2
dual dual
| |
+------+-----+ <--- (snoop traffic)
|
LGA775
Interface
|
|
Northbridge

As for the core temperature you want to stay below,
the datasheet here says 55C is your max temp, before
throttling cuts in.

Page 77 shows 55.5C max. See table 5.1 on page 76 for more details.
Use a good cooler - it is a 136W processor, even without overclocking.

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/318726.pdf

To check for throttling, you can use the graphical display in
RMClock. It is in the fifth group down on this page.

http://cpu.rightmark.org/download.shtml

The RMClock display looks like this. Graphical insanity.
I wish they're redesign the graphical display. Still,
it is the only good utility I know of, to check for throttling.

http://www.notebookforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8955&stc=1&d=1143767059

Paul

 

[Ian D]

I recently upgraded my CPU from an E8500 to a QX9770. The results I got
from
this move are mixed at best. 3DMark reports an improvement from ~14000 to
~16000 but the frame rate in some instances has actually decreased,
notably
PMDG B747-400 on FSX. Diagnostic software indicates that the CPU is
running
at 2.4GHz in leiu of 3.2GHz with a multiplier of 6 instead of 8 (CPU-Z and
PCWizard). Also, hyperthreading is reported as being not available by
more
than one utility. I have updated all drivers where applicable including
the
motherboard BIOS. I tried upgrading the 'computer driver' but windows
could
not locate a better driver than the one installed, being 'ACPI
Multiprocessor
PC'. EzTune wich came with the motherboard reports 3.2GHz with a
multiplier
of 8 as does the BIOS.

Curiously, 'My Computer/Properties/General' reports as follows:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme
CPU X9770 @ 3.20GHz
2.40GHz, 3.25 GB RAM

What is the 2.40GHz on the third line refer to?

Also, the L2 Cache is reported in the diagnostics as 6MB instead of 12MB.

Any advice will be appreciated.
Do I need to do a clean install of XP?
Do I need to upgrade to a 64Bit OS? (I know about the addressing of 4GB
ram
with a 32 bit OS.)

My system is as follows:

Gigabyte GA X48T DQ6 Motherboard
QX9770 Processor
4GB Corsair 1600MHz RAM
nVidia GTX 260 Graphics Card

On my Asus P5B Dlx MB, disabling C1E support in BIOS
allows the CPU to constantly run at full rated speed. The
downside of that is that the CPU will be running hotter at
idle. Your CPU will switch to full speed when required. If
you watch it with CPU-Z, you will see that it has occasional
bursts at full speed when at idle.