Processor running at slower than rated speed

maybe set power profile to always on, like in laptops to disable low power mode? but it probably wont fix it.

(right click on desktop, properties, screen saver, power..., always on

To see what is happening, got here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_cpuz/
and download cpuz and tell us:

Name
Code name
core speed
multiplier
bus speed
specification

(sorry, no edit button)

where did you buy it, and how do you know that that is the speed it is supposed to run at (xxx tild me, box says so, bought from newegg <-- I hope the latter is true) some ebayers find it profitable to sell parts assuming people don't know the difference between 2 and 3 ghz.

Processor was bought from Newegg.  Intel Pentium 4 640 Prescott 3.2 Ghz.  Ran CPUz and got some interesting results.  Core Speed is 2.33Ghz, but rated FSB was only 533Mhz even though when I go to the Bios setup it is listed as 800Mhz, obviously I am loosing power somewhere.

Problem Solved, noticed in my BIOS power settings that the EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) was not enabled.  Once I enabled it the speed jumped up to 3.2 GHZ.  Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!!!!!!

may have spoken to soon, even though my windows system, and a little program I downloaded for my Vista sidebar now says I am running at 3.2 Ghz, when I run cpuz and cpuinfo (another program I downloaded), I still get a processor speed of 2.13 Ghz with a FSB of 533.  The specs on my motherboard says it will support a processor with a FSB speed of 533 or 800.  Is there something that I need to physically do to the motherboard, like change a jumper to got the 800Mhz?  Also I am not familiar with how the multiplier fits into this equation.  Mine is 16.

oh and the 533 is 133mhz fsb times 4

It looks like the FSB is running at 133 mhz, and 133* 16 = your 2.13Ghz.

CPUZ is an old program, so it may be wrong.

If windows vista say it is running at 3.2 ghz it probably is, but


also in the FAQ for cpu-z it says:
Q: CPU-Z reports my CPU speed below its stock frequency.
A: This is the effect of C1E (Enhanced Halt State) and/or EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology). Load your system and you will see the frequency increase to its nominal value.

download prime95, or run any program that will use all your cpu power, http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

then try again, the cpu will lower the speed to conserve energy when not in use.

download sisoft Sandra:

www.sisoftware.co.uk

its free and enables you to benchmark your CPU - run either the arithmetic or multimedia benchmarks and compare to Sandras list of pre-installed benchmarks. You should be able to find your processor in the list. If the performance is similar, then take it as red that CPUZ is reporting incorrectly. If performance is substantially below what it should be, then it points to a CMOS/BIOS issue

try running siw to check the cpu speed :
http://www.lemonfiles.com/details.php?progid=9016      

I am fairly confident that my processor is now running at the correct speed,  I acutally think it always was but was just a reporting problem with Vista.  Computer runs faster and my Vista rating went up once it was installed.

Good luck with vista, I have not switched yet myself, and enjoy the new operating system of the next 2-4 years.