Check for overclocking
 

A friend of mine recently bought a customized pc from a site and i think that they might have overclocked the processor.

how can i check for this?


my suspicions came cuz the thing was operating at around 140 degrees (for a 2600 athlonxp).

anyway, how can i check to see if they overclocked the processor?

If it's an AMD, then find a site that will tell you what speed it should be running, then go to My Computer properties and see what speed it's showing. To do it quickly, just go to Googlegear because they list the speeds of all the CPUs.

that's the problem, i dont even know if it's a 2600 processsor in there.

When you initially boot up, the first screen should tell you what's in there. Just watch closely during the memory test.

you could just right click on my computer - the first properties page that pops up (general tab) shows the processor, clock speed and ram

duh, why didnt i think of that?

thanx

Download this program

http://www.teccentral.de/dls/download_106.html

Wincpuid.

And if your fsb is over 133 or 166 (depending on the core you have)

then you have a oc'ed pc.

the multiplier could be altered, not just the bus speed, since it's an athlon </pedant>

The only real way to check is to take the cpu cooler off and look at the cpu it self it will eaither be on the core or on a sticker on the cpu depending on what revision it tbred or what ever be careful no to damage the cpu when you do this

The Athlon XP 2600 comes in either a 266 or 333 version. If it's the 266FSB version, your total clock speed as reported by Windows will be 2.13GHz. The actual figures are 133x16. (not sure about the 333 version)

Here's the biggest thing of all. If you've run this processor for any amount of time at higher than 60°, you risk damaging the processor. The fact that you've been running at almost that is more than likely due to the fact that the computer builder used the heatsink that shipped with the processor, which is woefully inadequate for everyday usage. Go to Cooler Guys or Hardcore Cooling and get an AMD XP specific heatsink/fan combo. Also make sure that airflow within your PC is not restricted, and that the air coming off the proc fan is directed out of the PC as quickly as possible.

I burned out my first 2100+ because I didn't read up on this kind of stuff. Unfortunately what expertise I now have cost me around 300 bucks.