why is my processor underclocking?

[Robobuster]

I have an hp pavilion ze4400 laptop that has an AMD 1.79 ghz processor and for some reason my computer has underclocked to a 518 mhz! I do play a lot of games on it so could it be that it's overheating or something? If that's not it I don't know what it is or how to fix it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[The Real Bingo]

When you first boot up you gotta go into the bios and correct it through Advanced Chipset Features, or something of the sort. Then you have to adjust the frontside bus accordingly.

You probably have to hit Del to get into the bios.

[teengeek88]

yeah the thing you might want to look for would be the multiplyer

[jman01pa]

How did you test it was underclocked?

[thekingofpain]

Running thru the bios checking settings then maybe selecting to load defaults might be a good idea being a laptop---before you noticed this did you make any minor and/or major changes to the system?

[Kuasimodem]

That's the AMD PowerNow technology. Under light loads, the processor automatically will clock down and lower core voltages to conserve battery life.

You can also download the PowerNow Dashboard to monitor everything from the above linked page.

[Robobuster]

Well, for some reason i'm pretty restricted in my bios. I can't mess with the processor speed and/or settings.

The funny thing with the processor is that when i check my system settings (by right-clicking on my computer/properties) every now and then it'll show that it's back at 1.79 ghz again. but if I recheck (doesn't matter how long I wait) it goes back to 518mhz. so somethings a little funny. It's supposed to be a 1.79 ghz all the time though.

King of pain : well, I reverted the entire computer back to an older setting. I was trying to do a system restore and ended up just getting the same settings I had 3 months ago. But the processor has been doing this before i reverted. that's why i tried the restore.

[Robobuster]

yes, i think you are right Kuasimodem, but i don't know how to change it's settings.

[Kuasimodem]

I don't think that there are any adjustments. My Athlon64 will clock down to 800Mhz from 1800Mhz, and drop the core voltage from 1.45V to 0.95V when the system is idle or I'm just typing like right now.

If you download the dashboard and run it, it will show you how fast the processor accelerates to top speed and bumps the core voltage up. And it's a really fast reaction