Computer speed check

Posted on July 1, 2008
Filed Under Computers |

by Ethan Hunter

There are several computer speed check downloads available on the Internet. These tools are used for checking the speed of the CPU in your PC. You can either choose to download a freeware or shareware version of the tool to check the speed parameters governing the overall performance of your PC. You may also choose the web-based tools which you do not need to install in your computer. There are two types of speed checks that are generally done on PC’s, one which checks the speed of the different components in your PC, such as, the CPU clock speed, the data transfer speed, etc. and the other where the bandband speed of your Internet is checked vis-a-vis the speed of your PC.

Computer speed check software measures the real time speed of the CPU in your PC. The tools available offer various features. A typical software would provide you with information such as, whether the CPU in your PC is over-clocked, which would mean that the CPU clock is running much faster than what it is supposed to, the speed of your CPU is faster than what has been specified, or the CPU is performing well within its specified limits.

Normally, the rated CPU speed is available on any Pentium 4 or later CPUs. The CPU of your PC should be running at this speed or below the rated speed specified by the manufacturer. Computer speed check software provides detailed description of your Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 caches as supported by your CPU. Having larger cache sizes would mean a faster computer system. The memory speed is defined by how fast your CPU can access data in the memory. This indication is usually provided in megabytes per second. The software times this speed by executing large memory to memory transfer. Larger transfer rates would mean a faster PC.

The speed of your PC does not depend on the clock speed of the CPU in your computer. Computer speed check tools are used for measuring other speed related critical factors which go on to determine the overall speed of your system. They are also used for determining the speed of your network and your Internet access speed. Advanced computer speed check software provides you with a control panel and a separate graphical window in which the speed related parameters of your PC are displayed. The control panel lets you to change the parameter settings to view different test results under different conditions.

The CPU speed and memory timings in your computer are controlled by the settings in your BIOS. There could be several reasons for your PC to slow down. It could be lower CPU speed, or there might be something wrong with your memory timings. To find out the actual speed of the CPU in your PC, computer speed check utility provides the actual measured speed of the CPU. Depending on the features available, the tool also provides you with information regarding the other speed components in your PC. The analysis provided by the utility could be used to find out the reason your computer is running slow.

Most of the present BIOS found in PCs today can automatically detect the type of CPU being used, and it also sets the clock timings for the CPU in your computer. The overall functioning of your PC depends upon the CPU speed, front side bus speed, and the multiplier factor. The “bus” in a computer is all about data transport. If the speed in transporting data somehow gets low, the overall speed of your computer will get slow. There are several computer speed check downloads available on the Internet offering various features from simply checking the speed of your CPU to presentation of a comprehensive report on speed related functioning of the PC.

Appropriate changes in your BIOS settings can be made to set the multiplier factor in your PC which in turn reflects on the clock speed of the CPU. For example, a computer having a processor speed of 550 MHz, with a front side bus speed of 100 MHz, has its multiplier factor set at 5.5 for the CPU to work at 550 MHz. Before you make any adjustments to the CPU speed in your computer you should find out the various speed parameters which are governing overall performance of your computer. Computer speed check software has the feature to provide you with the entire information which you may utilize to diagnose the parameter affecting the performance of your PC.

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