Why would my processor "clock down"?

Question

When I click start,then right click My Computer,then click properties,which brings up System Properties.Under the General tab identifies System:., Registered to:.then Computer:.Well under Computer it reads:Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1700MHz 1.69GHz,640 MB of RAM. So at any time should the 1.69GHz change?My settings are at: best performance and I am always plugged in as opposed to battery power.Shouldn't the processor always be at 1.69GHz and not “clock down” at all,unless I was using battery power?Yesterday I noticed it at 892MHz,then after a re-boot it went to 592MHz and then I called Dell.Dell had me restart holding the Fn key and check the drivers for errors.Then they had me go to "run" and enter the following:“sfc /scannow"(without the quotations).They said that I should do a re-install because this is the best way to see if there are any issues.I'm wondering if the processor is faulty;does a processor do this before it quits completely?The computer seems to slow "under load".

Answer 1

Dell tech support frightens me, I mean it literally frightens me. What you have is called Intel Speedstep, it basically slows down the speed of the processor to save power. If it annoys you, it can be disabled in the BIOS, just go into the BIOS and look for an option that says Speedstep. If you need further help, email me or instant message me.

Answer 2

Many new processors have a "throttle down" ability. These throttle down due to heat issues. If your cpu is throttling itself down you might be overheating.

Check your cpu and case fans. Your thermal paste or pad might be going bad. Get a can of compressed air and clean the dust out of everything inside the case.