how do I find out what CPU I have

[christhedonstar]

In the past I underclocked my CPU. Now I can't figure out what CPU I actually have and what bus speed and multiplier I should actually be using.

Diagnostic tool called hwinfo just tells me what I've set it at. How do I find out exactly what my chip is?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[paparazi]

Well usually you would catch a glimpse of the CPU number/designation displayed right at the beginning of the machine starting. If this doesn't happen then I suggest pulling the plug and removing the heatsink/fan and cleaning off the paste. (re-applying new of course)
Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[BionicJohn]

Try CPU-Z from CPU-ID at

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

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[goombawaho]

Both will work, but CPUZ will tell you more including chipset and memory in your computer so you have all the information you ever wanted in terms of identification of components.

 

[TheDukeofNothing]

There are several free utilities that will ID your CPU and much much more. The first one that comes to mind is Belarc Advisor. You can do a Google search and turn up its link easily.

This one will ID almost everything in your computer system.

Cec Britton

 

[cdogg]

Usually you can get basic model information by:

1) Go to Start -> Run
2) Typing dxdiag and clicking OK


However as the others mentioned, CPU-Z is one of the best free downloads for getting more detailed information. Belarc Advisor is OK too.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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[paparazi]

Software is useless if the motherboard isn't recognising the CPU's microcode.
Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[cdogg]

Martin,
Are you saying that if you underclock the CPU, software such as CPU-Z won't properly recognize it? I'm not sure where the "microcode" is coming into play here unless I missed something.


~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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[paparazi]

I conceed, as usual I'm going off the point.....I put my hands up lol
I was just making the point that software isn't always the way and for a tech it can take less than a minute to whip the side of the case and heatsink off to get 100% accurate information.
Spose this just points out the differences between a hands on builder tech like me and a software type tech.
Personally I've never trusted software to gather information when it comes to settings that could potentially damage hardware, much easier just to use my eyes to read specifications off chipsets/memory modules and CPU's.
Martn

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[boulder38]

I agree with paparazi on this one that the software will only tell you what the BIOS is reading the chip at.

if it is underclocked for example from a 2700 to a 2400 then thats what the BIOS will read and tell windows and everything else, so surely the only way is to take it off and look at the actual chip?

 

[ifix1]

just set it auto in the bios, then i would use software aida32 free download,not to bad for a quick peek under the hood

hope this helps

 

[boulder38]

and yeh auto in the BIOS should work but then that should of happened when you reset the BIOS unless it has manual jumpers on the board.


Which board do you have??

 

[cdogg]

if it is underclocked for example from a 2700 to a 2400 then thats what the BIOS will read

I'm not sure I follow. The BIOS is where you would underclock it. The action of doing so would be to force the BIOS to use a custom setting that is different from the stock setting. That doesn't mean the BIOS doesn't still retain the detailed information on the CPU's make/model.

If I have an underclocked or overclocked CPU, I will still be able to see what the model number is of that CPU using a program like CPU-Z. And depending on the BIOS, chances are I can see the correct information in there too. It doesn't matter what speed it's running at. I'm talking about model numbers such as the Core 2 E8400.


I understand where Martin is coming from. He's a hands-on kind of guy like most of us here in the hardware forums. Even though I like getting under the hood, I won't hesitate to use a program like CPU-Z before I would go through the trouble of taking off the heatsink. Cleaning the CPU and applying a new layer of thermal grease can get tedious!!

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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