Windows 7 - CPU Frequency

Maybe it was like this before, but if so, I must not have used the right means of monitoring, because now using CoreTemp or AMD Overdrive, I've noticed that even though my Phenom II x6 1090T is rated at 3.1GHz, it varies between .8 - 3.2GHz, depending on it activity. Shouldn't a CPU's frequency remain constant regardless?

AMD's cool and quiet feature downclocks the CPU during idle/low usage...it can be turned off if so desired....

Intel calls it speed step. The buss speed remains the same (~100Mhz). The multiplier or ratio is varied to obtain the processor clock speed. The throttling is done to conserve power. No sense burning all that fuel if you're coasting. My Intel i7-2600 idles around 1.6Ghz. It will make jumps to 3.4 and short bursts to 3.8 as necessary.

Thanks, I aways thought that only involved the CPU's fan speed. Outside of energy conservation, as carwiz mentioned, it there any other reason to keep Cool And Quiet enabled?

EDIT: Now that I think about it, it seems all the more odd that CPU temperatures are running as high as they are at idle, since it is only going at .8GHz.

None I can think of...maybe running a little cooler...

What temps are you seeing?

You want to really leave Cool&Quiet turned on. It keeps it cooler, saves power, and keeps your fans running slower. The computer will instantly ramp up the CPU anytime anything is needed that requires power.

Perhaps you are right, but I'm more interested in other factors than the power savings. I noticed that a note in the BIOS said that using C & Q could cause system or RAM instability, and since RAM is a primary issue that I have been working on, I disabled it. Yes, the idle temps did rise ~ about 3 degrees, but since the clock speed wouldn't change when loaded, it shouldn't effect the maximum loaded temperature. I keep the CPU fan at maximum output at all times anyway, and since it is a Noctua, I can't hear it at all. The only fan that gets noisy at a load is the chipset fan, but I don't think that C & Q effects that one way or the other. Therefore, for the time being C & Q remains disabled.

I have read about Cool and Quiet causing instability issues when the chip is heavily overclocked. I haven't noted issues with the Intel variant (Speed Step) on work machines or home machines with small to medium overclocks. I have friends who are gamers who always turn this stuff off as they believe it interferes with their gaming performance. I have other friends who are gamers who leave it turned on. I don't think it will hurt either way.

I just like to keep my electricity bills as low as I can. While these are small things, they do add up over time for me. Friend of mine just got a new gigabyte Z68 mobo that can virtualize the onboard graphics and throttle back the discrete graphics card when it's not required. Your monitor stays plugged into the discrete card...it just on low power standby mode . I'm going to be very interested to run some tests on his box with a Kill-A-Watt power meter to see what impact that really has on things.

I used to have a server at my house that drew almost 220 watts of power when it ran. My new server draws just 62 watts and when it runs 24x7x365 it does make a difference over time.

Everybody to their own, but I really don't think that an extra 1/8 volt would make much difference in the electric bill, and since my rent is bills paid, it doesn't matter at all to me, except that I don't like to waste the landlord's money.