Increasing FSB speed can cause Windows to operate at an accelerated pace.
Increasing FSB speed can cause Windows to operate at an accelerated pace.
I upgraded my LGA775 motherboard from the Q6600 to the Q9650 and explored performance tweaks. I discovered that setting the FSB overclock from the stock 333MHz to 400MHz works well initially, but I noticed some games ran unusually fast. After checking with a Windows stopwatch and my phone, it appeared the system clock was running about 20% ahead of the stock rate. I’m wondering if there’s a way to adjust the clock back after changing the FSB speed through software, or if I need to make BIOS changes. The CPU model is Q9650, with a base clock of 7502MHz and a MHz multiplier.
The gradual reduction of the FSB's effect lowers the time-altering impact, while a sudden shift back to normal occurs after a specific threshold. Approximately 20% improvement is observed once the rate drops below 1.2012.
The performance adjusts based on the FSB rate. At 350 MHz it operates 5% faster, while 400 MHz causes a 20% overspeed. It seems motherboards typically lock the clock speed to match the FSB at startup. Software changes the FSB, which in turn affects the clock speed. Ideally, there should be a method to reduce the clock with the same FSB adjustment or to adjust it again after changing the FSB.
Did you verify that performance enhances? We’re measuring real time felt by you, not just scores or frames per second, because those numbers would be distorted by your time travel experience.
Results show improved performance. At 333MHz the test runs smoothly with a score of 12800 in 70 seconds, while 400MHz yields a score of 12791 in just 54 seconds—about 16 seconds faster. This highlights how timing-sensitive applications might struggle on this hardware.
Review the documentation at https://sourceforge.net/p/lfsb/code/ci/master/tree/ for Linux instructions. Be aware that using this program may affect timing settings since the CPU includes the time source, which can cause performance issues after adjusting FSB. Check available clocksources in /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0. Unfortunately, I can't change the clock source on Windows, which is another benefit of Linux.
It seems the software clock setting can disrupt system performance. FSB adjusts all components through the main bus. LGA775 boards usually support a distinct clock for FSB speed, but many apps rely on FSB as a timing source. Normally this works because FSB clocks sync with boot speed. Changing FSB after Windows boots without recalibration leads to overclocking effects. This causes programs to run too fast (good for productivity, bad for games). The separate clock used by Windows for time and date explains why I haven’t seen drift issues, but I have noticed game timing problems. Updated June 17, 2023 by PigeondoG_IS_real