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Processor Speed (Actual vs Reported)

crazzyeddie

crazzyeddie

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Dec 7, 2002
2,792
1
Florida, USA
On my Powerbook Titanium 1ghz, I have been running into one issue over and over. While System Profiler and other Apple system tools report my CPU as a 1ghz processor, the terminal command "sysctl hw.cpufrequency" shows it as running at 667mhz. Someone with an 800mhz TiBook also gets a return of 667mhz when he runs this command.

Do you think this could be an issue as to how other programs run on the computer? The Unix command SHOULD return the value that the computer is running at, more so than System Profiler, which is basically pre-programed by Apple.
 
Originally posted by Macpoops
possibly some sort of stepping? Maybe try it when it's plugged into the wall
Click to expand...

I agree. You may want to go into system prefs>energy saver and see if your performance is set to highest for battery power. If it is not, then it is set to reduced, which runs at a little bit about half proc power, for you that would be about 667MHz.
 
My iBook Reports the proper clock speed, but if i do sysctl hw.model it says i have a powerbook??
 
if i do sysctl hw.machine it says PowerMac. Either something is hosed, or the feature isnt used maybe? I got bored and went through the man pages for sysctl and started trying random things.
 
I think the machine type is Powermac for all Mac's, just sort of a universal machine type, not x86 but Powermac.

Has anyone else tried the cpu frequency on a powerbook?
 
Now this is odd, my PowerBook comes up at 1249999995 but the machine says it's a Power Macintosh. Why would two near-identical machines have such different answers for the same question?
 
Ah HA found the bugger! hw.machine gives Power Macintosh, while the probably more specific hw.model gives PowerBook5,2. As to the iBooks showing as PowerBooks, they technically are PowerBooks, as every Apple notebook has had that name, the exception being the iBook, which is basically a PowerBook from a few upgrades ago.
 
Originally posted by AdamR01
My iBook Reports the proper clock speed, but if i do sysctl hw.model it says i have a powerbook??
Click to expand...

Check your system profile. If I remember correctly, the entire line of Apple laptops are based on the "PowerBook" hardware model. You'll just have different numbers than those people with powerbooks.

Also, I am running a PB G4 800 and mine also reads 667Mhz, despite the energy saver settings on "Highest", and it is plugged in.
 
Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Now if only the system thought I had a dual G4 in my PowerBook and made everything faster...now that would be cool with me. :)
Click to expand...

just got to get sysctl hw.ncpu to report back with a 2 rather than a 1

:D
 
intriguing. . .

I get the PowerBook 4,3 when I check sysctl hw.model, and my CPU speed is correct. Perhaps it is scalable - running "faster" with more processes running? I'll stop folding and check again. . .
 
Maybe Apple throttles your processors back and slowly uncaps them with each OS X update to make you believe that OS X gets faster or that the G5s are faster than G4s for sure. ;)
 
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