How to optimize my processor speed?

Question

I want to play neverwinter nights 2 and the minimum processor speed is 2 ghz.. I have a intel pentium 4 2.4 ghz and 512 mb ram but when i run the system test it says my com is running at 1.8 ghz.. how do i optimize it until 2.4 ghz and will i be able to play the game with my current speed? assuming that i meet all other requirement

Answer 1

My first thought is to stop all running programs, especially security software that may tend to take a lot of resources sometimes.

You may also want to ensure there is no over heating around your CPU or in the fan on the back panel of your tower.

The air coming out could be a couple degrees warmer than room temperature but not more. If it is warmer you should improve ventilation, either by replacing a fan or adding a new one.

You can take a look in your BIOS menu to see the temperature on most models nowadays. You should see the prompt for it on the first screen when you turn on your computer. The most common keys are DEL, F1 and F2. Once in, look for power options and there will probably be an option like hardware monitor.

On some models you can even speed up the fan (mine does, this is cool).

Answer 2

For a game like NWN 2, never do the "Required" system. The game rarely behaves well at the "Required" level. Always use the "Recommended" when you can. Especially with RAM.

You have two options for the CPU. First is to see if you can step it in the BIOS. If the CPU is supposed to run at 2 GHz (you should make sure you use the correct symbols: GHz, not ghz), see if you can set your BIOS controls individually. If not, there is an option that allows you to get the Best Performance as you need. Choose the option you need.

The second is to Overclock the CPU. Take care with Overclocking. Especially with Intel Chips. They don't overclock well. You will need to make sure you keep your CPU really cool for overclocking. Leave the side off and use a Household 10" or 12" fan blowing at the CPU.

Next, get the Maximum RAM you can put in your system. 512 MB is too low. XP uses most of that just to run the OS.

As mentioned by the other person, turn off every component and application you don't need running when playing the game... Especially anti-virus programs.

You don't mention if you have an onboard Graphics array, or a Graphics Card. If you have a Graphics Card, upgrade the card to a better one. You want to Graphics card to have about 512 MB RAM on the card itself. If that is too pricey, get a card with the most RAM you can afford. But, make sure it is twice the amount "required." Onboard Graphics are never enough for a game. They are usually 128 MB or less.

The RAM and Graphics upgrade will help more than overclocking the CPU.

Answer 3

I think your Front Side Bus Speed setting is incorrect.
Most motherboards have a switch to switch between various bus speeds. If it is set below the default setting , Actual processor speed is not shown, Sometimes this settings can be done via BIOS setup.
Refer your motherboard manual and set the FSB value to the default value.

Adding RAM will increase the speed of the pc. But the displayed CPU speed is not going to change.
Over clocking will damage your pc unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Answer 4

what motherboard do you have?