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View Full Version : Major computer slowdown...


JigPu
06-20-01, 04:01 PM
Stupid computer... Try posting and it delets my message... :grrr:

CPU: Pentium 90
Motherboard: ASUS VX97

OK, now back on topic..again... Here is my question... Is there any way that overclocking a CPU can cause it to run at 100% usage for no apparent reason?? How about overclocking the chipset? My computer is running slower than my sister's 486 and I can't see any reason why. Would a severe overclock cause this to happen even if it was only for about 10sec.?

I just overclocked my computer two days ago. I brought my Pentium 90 to 100 (66.6*1.5) and then tried 112.5 (75*1.5), thereby overclocking my chipset too. The computer would not boot at 112.5 so I increased my voltage as slowly as possible up to 3.2V where I didn't think the processor could survive.
It still wouldn't run so I reset the voltage, increased the multiplier to 2x, and brought the bus down to 50Mhz. It ran somewhat stable so I brought it to 110. It wouldn't run even with the voltage hikes. I set the bus speed to 75Mhz again for 150Mhz core speed. My thought was that at this speed I could raise the voltage up to the next Pentum voltage. Nope. No boot.
I had to settle with 100Mhz. I didn't bother to get a new heatsink or fan because the air of the heatsink was cool at 90 and this seems to be a very minor overclock. I downloaded Rain though just in case I needed a small amount of extra cooling.
The computer started to get worse over the day even though the air off the heatsink was only slightly warm. I took my window fan (it being the only thing available at the time) and set it down right next to the computer to blow some (quite a bit actually..) extra air onto the computer and processor. The errors started to dissapear so I didn't think anymore of it.
Having a window fan next to the computer constantly running does have it's drawbacks, so I reset everything back to the way it orignaly was. The next day, I noticed that everything on Winamp was "skipping" (even the MIDIs!). I went on to the DirectX tool and tried to figure out what was wrong with the sound.
The DirectX diagnostic tool took MUCH longer than normal to load and after finaly finishing its loading I went to the MIDI test and even it was skipping. I rebooted thinking it might be something that Windows was doing. Nothing changed. Same slow load time and same skipping MIDI. I rebooted again, this time into LiteStep. Still no change. However, I noticed that the CPU meter was pinned to the max. I closed Rain to see what the real usage was and it didn't change.
Annother reboot. Into Windows we go. I run my SVGA benchmark and discover that I am now getting 3.5fps (compared with my 38.5fps before the overclock only two days ago).
I can close everything (except Exporer and Systray) and it will still run extremely slowly. One last thing... I just noticed about 10min ago that the computer is accessing the hard drive a lot. I don't know if it has been doing this throughout the whole thing, but might this be a reason it is slow? If you have any suggestions, they are greatfully accepted! I really don't want to buy a new chip...but they are cheap if I have too.

Thanks in advance..
In need of serious help..
JigPu

Pinky
06-21-01, 01:57 PM
Dare I say it?.. upgrade?

I had one of these as a web server, ended up getting a 133 chip off eBay for $5.00 and that about maxxed it.

Kingslayer
06-21-01, 03:30 PM
At the risk of sounding facecious.....how do you tell when a Pentium 90 isn't running slow?

Pinky
06-21-01, 03:42 PM
Kingslayer (Jun 21, 2001 03:30 p.m.):
At the risk of sounding facecious.....how do you tell when a Pentium 90 isn't running slow?

LoL Solitaire freezes momentarily, of course!