Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Or some of it, maybe.

I just ran PC Wizard 2008 per the Hard Drive discussion in another thread. I've reported elsewhere that my 1.8 Ghz CPU was 'erroneously' being shown as running at 1.35. However, PCW confirms this. Given the phrasing--that 10%-100% throttling is being used, how can I crank it back up to its rated capacity?

A further look reveals that the FSB speed was 'initially' 133 Mhz, but now is 100. What is going on?

TIA,

R.

Last edited by Ryszard; 04/29/09 01:09 PM.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Think I would either clear and reconfigure the BIOS or if there is a new BIOS flash and reconfigure. I'd also look on the motherboard for any jumpers that may control FSB (or anything else for that matter) as a lot of old motherboards weren't as "automatic" as the new boards.

I'll offer my unsolicited opinion here as well. Save for a new computer. You will save yourself a world of grief if you simply got a barebones system and started fresh. Then you can enjoy making music. Just my opinion, don't take offense.


DTuna
Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Erm, none taken. But this IS a barebones system--just made of old parts, except a brand new WD main drive and fresh install of XP.

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Power Throttling (AMD calls it Powernow!) can indeed be detrimental when the goal is streaming audio. CPU can't ramp up to speed in time to handle the demand load.

There are ways to defeat the Power Throttleback.

AMD or Intel chip?

Off-Topic
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Quote:

Power Throttling (AMD calls it Powernow!) can indeed be detrimental when the goal is streaming audio. CPU can't ramp up to speed in time to handle the demand load.

There are ways to defeat the Power Throttleback.

AMD or Intel chip?




Yes I believe you posted about AMD's Powernow quite a while back. Sadly the search function on this board only goes back to last Tuesday! LOL

When will they upgrade their Forum Software!!!


DTuna
Off-Topic
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 235
Quote:

Erm, none taken. But this IS a barebones system--just made of old parts, except a brand new WD main drive and fresh install of XP.

R.




Erm, I have a 386 from 1990 in my closet with a new unopened case and powersupply of the same year sitting next to it. Don't know if I would consider it a barebones system. Right now the case works as a door stop!


DTuna
Off-Topic
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 177
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 177
Just checking in on what could be slowing things down from higher "discrete" component performance ratings: What type of Ram Memory chips are loaded? Even if they may be relatively new, if their timing is slower, or faster than the FSB speed, or some multiple of same, they may be out of synch with the timing of the Front side bus (FSB) which can reduce performance altogether. Data transfer between the memory chips and the FSB may require more than one separate clock cycle if there is a mismatch in timing characteristics, which will also slow the CPU performance as well, since there is a bottleneck in how the parts link up and transfer data. I could be all wet about this instance, but the tip about old parts thrown together made me wonder about how the parts may be possibly mismatched.

FWIW, NEWEGG has some ECS motherboards under a $100 with FSB rating of over 2500 MHZ or 5200 MT/Sec....


DrDuBose
"Gettin' a life."

music at
http://www.bandmix.com/drdubose
Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Mac,

AMD Athlon XP 2200+ 1.8 Ghz Pentium IV equivalent.

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Dr D.,

I'm aware of those considerations. I'm pretty sure the RAM is the correct type, and a matched pair. I'd have to open the puppy up to make sure. I'd rather not, but one does what one must.

All y'all,

RE: Getting new anything: Buying a new mobo means a new CPU, RAM, drives--in other words, the new PC I can't afford now. I'm open to donations anytime. Other than that, what you hear is what I got. *g* This thing should be doing what I'm asking it to. It's not like I'm trying to run a 48-track studio or anything. Two at a time is all.

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
32 or 64?

Whichever, websearch for how to turn off Powernow! for your specific mobo, chip and OS.

AMD site used to have a downloadable utility, I couldn't find it there just now but that is the site to trust...


--Mac

Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Thirty-two bit.

PowerNow seems to be mainly a notebook feature. It is disabled by default in XP (which I just installed) but may be enabled by a newer driver for the processor itself. I've tried to get every update I can less SP3, but don't recall anything for the CPU.

I found that making Power Settings in Control Panel as Desktop/Office or Always On--I usually select one or the other--also disables it.

But the really strange thing to me is that the system is reporting a completely different processor (AMD Athlon XP 1500+, where mine is the 2200+) as well as the lower clock speed. PC Wizard, OTOH, reports the correct initial speed, but also that it is running at 1.35 Ghz--two thirds of rated.

I'll see about doing the BIOS thing.

R.

Last edited by Ryszard; 04/29/09 07:05 PM.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,193
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,193
I would check the CMOS/BIOS settings. Since you're reporting a FSB of 100 instead of 133, I think that there is most likely an incorrect, or 'default' setting in the CMOS which needs to be corrected.

Some CMOS have an 'Optimal Settings' which is what I would use, instead of the default. Default is often used as a 'safe' setting, to get you back up and running if something bad happens.

I had a hard time finding the stuff for your motherboard, because it's listed as a PC Chips, not an ECS, even though they're the same company. You have an AMI BIOS chip. Enter the BIOS (press Del when told) and go to the CPU Setup Page. Change the CPU Frequency to 133, which will restore your computer to the speed it should be running at. Make sure the DRAM timing is set to Auto.

Gary

Last edited by Gary Curran; 04/29/09 08:26 PM.

I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
R
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
R
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
Gary nailed it here, I believe. I remember this would happen to an old ASUS MOBO I had with an Award BIOS. I could never figure out what would cause it to change, but once a year or so, I had to go into the BIOS and reset the bus speed.

-Scott

Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Gary DID nail it, yay! I went in and, sure enough, bus speed had been set back to 100 MHz. Kicked it up to 133 and CPU ID and speed are now correct as well. Can't thank you guys enough.

I've also corrected my sysinfo to reflect the 'PC Chips' mfg instead of ECS.

Okay, now how come on boot the BIOS reports the onboard video chip with 8 Mb VRAM about two thirds of the time, and the AGP board with 64 Mb only about one third of the time? Both are NVidia GeForce, but of different series. Can this be affecting performance as well? I did have an issue in RealBand which turned out to be video related and which was corrected by backing off hardware acceleration all the way. Again, this is in BIOS only. In Windows the system has always reported the correct card.

Through the fog,

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 177
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 177
Hard to tell if this is a bios setting issue or possibly a messy registry, but certainly any system running with a "slow" FSB that uses shared Ram for video ala Vram on board chips would be very sensitive to any real time video intensive display demands. I would check the video section of the bios, which by the way may be able to be updated, and in fact may need updating to handle the AGP video card. You might consider simply reinstalling the AGP card to reinitialize that component as the preferred video display driver component. With it reinitialized, which doesn't require any ugly reopening of your box, you should have a more stable and optimized system, that no longer draws off of RAM and some CPU cycling to boot.


DrDuBose
"Gettin' a life."

music at
http://www.bandmix.com/drdubose
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
R is an underclocker. (grin)

You hould disable the onboard video in the BIOS when running a separate vid card.

Otherwise the onboard vid will always grab a piece of your physical ram at bootup.

Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Dr D,

Doubt it's the registry; the Win install is only two weeks old.

By reinstalling the AGP, do you mean reinstalling OEM drivers, or 'uninstalling' via Device Manager and allowing it to find itself again? Or something else?

Mac,

I don't see an option in BIOS to disable video. What I was able to do was to deny allocation of an IRQ to PCI VGA, which may be the same thing. Also, there are only three options for memory allocation to video: 32, 64, and 128 Mb. I cut it to 32, but I'm not sure what I did really.

Re: Clock speed, what about overclocking? I can kick the FSB up to 166 from the nominal 133. Note that my CPU runs at 55 deg. C at idle, and that PC Wizard reports 14.07 VDC on my 12 V bus. Am I risking anything by going up? I have a case fan I can add.

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
I don't recommend overclocking that one for DAW work. The gain is rather slight and not worth the risk IMO.

Overclocking has other implications in the DAW world. For example, that Creative card, which may not like a higher bus speed...


--Mac

Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Ryszard Offline OP
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
The Creative card is out of the loop. It is physically in the system, but not in use. I have moved audio and MIDI I/O to the TASCAM US-224. Now, if I could just get it working as a control surface . . .

R.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,193
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,193
Rys,
First, leave the CPU Frequency where it is.

Secondly, if you have an AGP video card installed, under the Advanced setup, set the Shared Memory size to the smallest possible, and set the Video Window to 64 or Auto.

Under the PCI/PnP, make sure the primary graphics adapter is AGP. Unless you have some huge crash and burn conflict, I don't recommend disabling the PCI VGA IRQ.

Gary


I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins

Join the conversation on our forum.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.

Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!

Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.

Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano

Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!

Bonjour à tous,

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music

Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:

BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation

Voilà, enjoy!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!

Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:

https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025.exe
https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025RB.exe

Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!

Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.

Stay up to date—get the latest update now!

Forum Statistics
Forums58
Topics84,298
Posts777,441
Members39,614
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
weedindubai, Claudio Paolini, bjornen71, CATBELLOU, Banjopotamus
39,613 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 148
zedd 120
DC Ron 106
nonchai 104
WaoBand 102
rsdean 86
Today's Birthdays
timbalera, WineRider
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5