Confusing CPU/RAM speed issue and hard drive issue

I just noticed something really weird. According to two programs, Core Temp and Everest, my CPU multiplier keeps going from 10x, to 5x, to 9x, then the cycle repeats. I've not noticed any difference in the performance of games. Also, the RAM bus speed keeps alternating between 200.9, 302.1 and 334 MHz. Can anyone explain this please? I have literally just reinstalled Windows, and I haven't redownloaded either program - surely this can't cause an erroneous result?

Also, I've noticed that files are transferring far too slow off all the drives. From the old master, it's around 10-15, from the eldest drive, around 5-8 (!), and even the new master onto itself is only 15-25 mb/s! Can anyone shed any light on this? Note that bootup times are fine at the moment, though BIOS is taking forever to load. Is this a potential motherboard issue?

 

Just to clarify if necessary, the HDD issue was noticed (though only on the former master) before I reinstalled Windows, no I haven't reformatted any of the drives, and I've only just spotted the CPU/RAM issues.

 

Looking at your My System Windows BBS system information, you are probably putting a lot of stress on that 300W power supply (if you read the graphics card's requirements, it probably suggests somewhat higher), plus you have several HDDs. [ "Dell Inspiron 531 (Modified) ", what does modified mean?] Have you upgraded the CPU? You have filled all the RAM slots. Here is a calculator:
http://journeysystems.com/?power_supply_calculator

It might be a power supply problem rather than the motherboard.

Aside from those points, utilities like Everest rely on a good set of drivers installed. Can you get the correct (motherboard) drivers for Vista? Don't rely on the readouts from the utilities unless you have a good set of drivers installed. The system might run on the drivers Windows installs, but it probably won't run at optimal performance.

If you do modifications to the system you need to take any resultant burden on yourself. We can help in areas where the system is "mainly standard ".

Matt

 

CPU is standard, and the graphics card requirements ARE for a 300W PSU (I remember asking about it here as well).

That calculator confuses me, as I get a different set of results for that, compared to another calculator (that one says 402W, yet Antec's calculator says 289W).

The drivers came straight off a disc that came with the computer, and as far as I'm aware, installed perfectly.

That said, I think I will upgrade the PSU to a 400W when I upgrade the CPU (which causes an enormous bottleneck at the moment).

Note how that the graphics card is running fine, those speeds are not changing in the way that the CPU/RAM speeds are, and they are permanently at the correct values.

 

OK, how is this one, or is it not enough of a brand name?

Sweex 400W

EDIT: As far as I can understand, Vista has the CPU driver preloaded anyway, and the correct one.

 

I tried. There wasn't a Vista one, and the XP one refused to install.

 

If it were any other time of the year, I could go out and get one straight off. But by the time the cheques I have clear to get the money, it'll be next year - if I could even get to town. At least it isn't miles over the limit of the PSU, otherwise I would have an even bigger problem.

 

New PSU fixed the hard drive speed issue, but the CPU/RAM readings are still coming back in the same varying pattern.

 

I mentioned that you will need a good set of chipset drivers, but even then the utilities that read the information can have problems with an OEM (eg Dell) motherboard, because they don't have a standard BIOS compared to retail motherboards. The only utilities expect to work on an OEM motherboard are those supplied by them.

You said that programs, games, etc seem to work fine, so me, I would put it down to the utilities not being able to read the data correctly.

See if Dell supply any testing utilities. I looked at the AMD website, they mention a few testing utilities, try CPU-Z. If you are using the old, free version of Everest, it will be out-of-date for your motherboard.

Do you have Cool'n'Quiet? Try disabling that (check if it has a setting in the BIOS). I avoid using C'n'Q.

Matt

 

Everest is v5.01.17, so in no way should it be out of date. I do have Cool'nQuiet, and what good would disabling that do? Make it run louder and warmer, or is the name a misnomer? I'll look for this CPU-Z program.

EDIT: CPU-Z has the same issue.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool'n'Quiet

 

Ah, but my processor is not idle, nor is it ever. And I never noticed it doing anything before the reinstall!

 

No need to leave C'n'Q disabled if everything seems to be working correctly, just disable/uninstall it to see if it is causing the readings you are getting, then enable/reinstall it if you are happy with it. It gave me some problems, so I don't use it on my current computer. I will try it again on my next computer (I think it might need more refinement).

 

The HDD transfer speed has nosedived again, it starts off around 20 mb/s in a transfer, then drops as low as 5 mb/s at times, before going back up again. Any ideas?

EDIT: And on smaller files, it can be as low as 800 kb/s!

 

These are some areas I would investigate.

I would remake the connections for the drives (including the cable connections at the motherboard).

Run Error Checking (CHKDSK) on all of the partitions, with a disk surface check.

Get the testing utilities from the HDD manufacturer and run those.

Wonder if there might be some sort of scanning or drive utility program that may be causing it. I might try disabling the antimalware or maybe booting into Safe Mode and see how it runs there.

Investigate the IDE/SATA controller drivers.

Matt

 

Connections are not going to be the issue, they've been remade several times at both ends since I initially had the problem. Chkdsk is unlikely to make a difference as the issue still occurs on the hard drive that's just been reformatted about 5 times (that's a LONG story...), I can't see how all 3 drives can be faulty, I will, however, check the SATA controller drivers, though they too should be OK as they have also been recently reinstalled.

EDIT: Forgot to say, the hard drives themselves surely aren't faulty as I'm getting back 97% health (Samsung) and 94% (both Western Digital drives) through SMART data.