My computer is almost over the hill, but is it too much to expect it to maintain what it's initial spec was? Let me explain, periodically I check what the actual clock speed on my CPU is as reported by the OS or other 3rd party apps. It is supposed to be 2.8, but sometimes it comes in at 2.1 GHz. I have figured out that for some reason the BIOS set the bus speed to 100 MHz instead of 133(for memory and proc I think). It was easy enough to fix, but now periodically it changes back to the lower setting by itself somehow. can anyone give me a reason why it would revert to the lower value and a way to prevent this? or do I just have to fix it as i notice it? If I flash the Bios with an update could that help the cause?

When this happens do you think it sets my performance back a lot? It does seem to slow the performance of the CPU and the memory, why should there even be an option to make the system underperform. thats like telling the government you should pay more taxes.

btw the proc is a socket 478 P4 2.8 GHz bought with comp around Jan 2003. can you tell me how this compares to what is on the market today? I know that the clock ratings are relatively close, but there has to be something that really sets my old chip back besides the lack of HT. I don't think there is any value in upgrading since the system is built on a crappy mobo (PC CHips M935 Series, V7.0A) but I'd like to know how it stacks up to others.

Hi Gothmog.
Chances are the cmos battery is going south and causing your system to forget it's bios configuration.
2-3 years is an average life for one though I've seen them last up to 5. They're only a couple of bucks and replacement takes just minutes. (take note that you don't put the new one in upside down). I buy them in pairs as it's not impossible to get a dead one right off the shelf.



So that it can be setup for different cpu, memory, timing, etc, configs. They're all that way.



I agree. I built one of my systems 3 years ago with a P4 2.8 northwood\1gb rdram and still use it today.
It's not a high performance gaming rig but still gets the job done for what I use it for. I'll keep it until the cpu or mainboard fails.

I won't discount this possibility, but that is the only setting that gets lost. my user specified settings are all there and the clock is still correct. I was kind of wondering whether it had to do with a weak CPU, but that doesn't really make sense

Some motherboards auto-underclock the CPU in case the there is a problem with the CPU keeping the computer from starting.