Downclocked CPU?

I have a dell studio 1535 with the c2d t8100 2.1 running windows 7 since last june. a few weeks ago, i experienced a slow down in overall system performance and especially in games. i thought it was because of the various software i installed and such. yesterday when trying a windows gadget i discovered that the CPU is actually under clocked to 1.2. i installed CPU-Z and it does indeed report the speed at 1.2..

I would rather it stay at 2.1 as i rarely use the laptop unplugged. any help would be really appreciated! thanks.

 

Most C2D will underclock when under light load and then ramp up to full speed under high load through the use of multipliers. For example, my T6500 runs at a 6.0x multiplier under regular use then goes to a 10x multiplier when I need it. This helps save energy and reduce heat.

Speaking of heat, another possibility is that your processor is running hot and is underclocking itself for those reasons. Check your temps to make sure they're under control.

 

This is called Intel SpeedStep, and it's perfectly normal. It underclocks the processor when it's not being used. It goes back up to full speed when you need it, though. Running the CPU at full speed all the time is a bad idea, not just because of power consumption, but because of heat output. For instance, my P8600 (2.4GHz) idles at 1.6GHz, and generally hovers around 35 to 40 degrees Celsius when idling. When it's at full speed, the temperature shoots up pretty quickly to the upper 50's Celsius and beyond.

 

thanks guys.