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Computer speed check tools are used for checking the clock speed of the CPU in your computer. You can download either the shareware or the freeware versions of the software and check various parameters concerning the speed of your computer system. You could also use one of several web-based computer speed check tools available on the Internet. There are two kinds of speed checks which are usually done on PCs; one which checks the CPU and other related speed elements in your computer, and the second one is the bandwidth speed of your ISP as related to your computer.

The speed of your computer CPU is measured by the actual performance of the CPU unit in your PC. The software utilized ideally indicates whether your CPU is over-clocked (which means if your CPU is running at a higher speed than that specified by the manufacturer), the CPU is running faster than it is rated for, or if your CPU is running in its specified speed range.

Normally, the rated CPU speed is available on any Pentium 4 or later CPUs. The CPU of your PC should be running at this speed or below the rated speed specified by the manufacturer. Computer speed check software provides detailed description of your Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 caches as supported by your CPU. Having larger cache sizes would mean a faster computer system. The memory speed is defined by how fast your CPU can access data in the memory. This indication is usually provided in megabytes per second. The software times this speed by executing large memory to memory transfer. Larger transfer rates would mean a faster PC.

Computer speed check utilities do more than just check the speed of your PC. They have the feature to check your entire computer system, including network speed and your Internet access speed. Sophisticated computer speed check software provides you with a main control panel. There could be a separate window with graphical display showing your CPU speed and other parameters. The control panel is typically used to vary the testing parameters, the results of which are reflected on the graph.

CPU and memory timings depend on the BIOS setting of your computer. There could be several reasons why you notice your PC getting slow; your CPU speed has somehow become low or there is something wrong with your memory timings. Computer speed check software measures the actual speed of your computer and provides you with other functioning details of your PC which are related to your computer speed. The report generated by the software could be utilized to find out if your CPU is running slow.

The type of CPU in your computer is automatically detected by the BIOS in your system. The BIOS also sets the clock speed of the CPU which can be adjusted by setting the multiplier factor in the BIOS. The overall functioning of your computer depends on the CPU clock speed, the multiplier factor, and the bus speed of your PC. The bus timings in your PC determine the speed at which data is transferred. If the rate at which the data is transported gets to be low, the performance of your computer degrades accordingly. Computer speed check utilities offer several features, and you can choose the one which is right for you. There are basic tools which just check the CPU speed, others provide detailed analysis of the speed related components in your PC.

The BIOS settings in your computer set the CPU speed. This is basically done by setting the multiplier factor in the BIOS which sets the clock speed of the CPU. For instance, a computer which has a processor of 550 MHz speed and a front side bus speed of 100 MHz, must be having a multiplier factor of 5.5 for the processor to work at 550 MHz. Before you change the settings in the BIOS, you should always find out the speed component that is affecting your PC performance. This can be done by using computer speed check software which provides you with detailed information regarding the speed related components in your PC.

Tags: Computers