I purchased some new parts today and assembled a computer. I thought I purchased an Athlon XP 2400+, and that's what it says on the CPU box. Windows thinks otherwise. If I right click on My Computer and go to Properties, it says it's an Athlon XP 1800+. I was a little suspicious when the box the processor came in looked like it had been tampered with (previously opened and repackaged, in a half-assed kind of way). My first thought was that someone had just returned it, so I went ahead and installed everything. But now that Windows is reporting that it's an 1800+, I'm a little worried. So... 1. Is there any chance Windows is mis-detecting it? 2. Is there another program I can run that will tell me what processor I'm using and give me a GHz estimate? Thanks, Russell
Personally, I'd just look for myself on the cpu. But here's what you can do: you could configure the motherboard to detect the cpu automatically, that way it will give you the native speed of the cpu. But on some boards, like mine, you have to set the FSB manually. Whether it is a 1800+ or a 2400+, the FSB should be at 133. But like I said, I'd just look for myself. In any case, if you feel that this cpu has already been used, you should ask for a brand new one. If that's what you asked for in the first place.
Thanks harrack, but what do you mean when you say you would "just look for yourself"? Do you mean look at the cpu? If so, how can you tell by looking at the cpu?
Usually the multiplier are locked when you buy the Athlons (they can be unlocked after you have bought it) Like Harrack said the fsb will be 133. Just put it in the motherboard, set the fsb to 133 then have a look in windows at the speed..... or just times the multiplier by 133. You should have a multiplier of 15 and a final cpu speed of 2ghz from the 2400. Either way, if the box does not match the cpu take it back! Its not a mistake that would be made by Athlon, just someone swindling an xp2400 for the price of an xp1800. If you wanna check the actual cpu....... Here is an example.
Windows could be misdetecting it. Before even cracking open the system, reboot the system and see what it says at the POST screen. If it moves too fast to check it, hit the Pause/Break key on the keyboard. You should see the speed and the FSB usually. You may have to shut the system down and boot it back up as some motherboards don't display everything upon reboot.
Initially I booted it up, and it said it was an 1800+ at the first screen. I went into the BIOS, changed the FSB speed from 100 to 133, and then the first screen reported 2400+, as did Windows, and it ran the same benchmarks that I ran last night 33% faster. Now I'm getting some errors though. IE keeps crashing, and I started getting some blue screens. I checked the CPU temperature and it's at 186F (185F is maximum for the 2400, 194F for the 1800). I don't know if this means I just need a better case with better air flow, or if it means I just overclocked an 1800.
As far as I can tell, all is well now. Running at 2GHz, around 109F when idle, up to 120F when running at 99% cpu usage for half an hour. No problems since I plugged in the cpu fan Thanks to everyone for your help!
