Dual-core CPU actual GHz speed

Question

I took out my old laptop from the store just to play around with it and see if it is usable anymore.

Overclocked the CPU to 2GHz and it seems to be running fine for a decade old piece of machinery.

What I'm wondering, however, is that when they sold this laptop to me, they claimed it has "1.6GHz dual-core processor." Looking at CPU-z info, it seems to be a different story. It's actually 700Mhz/core which they claimed to be "1.6GHz" at that time.

Can someone let me know about why this CPU is referred to be running at "1.6GHz" when it's essentially running two different cores at 700MHz which is not the same thing at all.

Answer 1

The TL-50 is a dual core CPU with a rated clock speed of 1.6GHz. To save power and reduce heat, the cores run at lower clock speeds when not under load.

Answer 2

It is working exactly as it should, when there is little load on the CPU.

The actual CPU speed changes all the time based on the load. If you don't have heavy programs running that would need the CPU power, the clock speed is lowered in order to reduce power consumption and heat generation.

This is especially important in laptops to make the battery last as long as possible, and to reduce heat. Reducing heat also allows to lower noise as you can run the fan at a lower speed.

In Windows, you can take a look at Power Management settings. There is specified the Minimum and Maximum CPU setting for each power plan.

Answer 3

I figured out what was the culprit of this conundrum.

I was going through the BIOS and stumbled upon a parameter called "PowerNow Control", a quick google search informed me that it is AMD's way of throttling your CPU. Sounds really good on paper, but in practicality this doesn't work for the end user as it should at all. Turned off the setting and now the CPU is not throttling at all.

Thanks to everyone that helped!