Performance Issues

The following is a suggested list of check points to follow to correct your problems. It will require opening your computer. If you do not feel qualified to do this, you may want to enlist the help of a professional at your own expense.

Is your turbo button in fast mode?

Most modern computers do not come with a turbo button.

If your machine has one, it will be on the front of the computer and labeled "turbo." Be sure it's in fast mode.

NO - Place the turbo switch in fast mode

YES - Proceed to next check point

Do you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard?

Typically, your motherboard manufacturer will supply you with the latest BIOS, but this is not always the case. Call the manufacturer and tell them the motherboard model number, that you're using the Cyrix 6x86 processor, and that you need to have the latest BIOS.

One way to help you determine if your BIOS is correct is to determine if the 6x86 processor is properly identified when the computer goes through POST (Power On Self Test). Shortly after initial boot up, you should see the processor ID. If it does not properly identify your processor by model and speed (i.e. Cyrix 6x86 - P166), then you may not have the latest BIOS for your system.

Fortunately, most BIOS's are programmable (referred to as FLASH) and come with a software utility file to load and code the BIOS.

There is potentially more information on Cyrix's Web site that could help you determine which BIOS revision you should have. Check the 6x86 motherboard compatibility list.

NO - Obtain the latest BIOS for your motherboard that supports the Cyrix 6x86

YES - Proceed to next check point

Is your BIOS properly configured?

There are several items to check in your BIOS setup. It is important to notice that there are differences between BIOS manufacturers, the way they present their "setup" information, and how you make changes to that data. AWARD and PHOENIX are the dominant manufacturers of BIOS's for computers today.

In order to get into your BIOS setup, turn on or reboot your computer. Shortly after booting, you should see a message similar to "Hit Delete (DEL) to enter setup." (Another key could be designated). Press this key and go into your BIOS setup opening screen.

You can choose the load setup defaults and load BIOS defaults to make sure that the default settings are correct.

You will then need to select advanced settings, potentially BIOS Features Setup, and make sure that both the internal and external cache is enabled. This option typically appears as a feature that can be either disabled or enabled. You may see a selection called "cache" and see "external", "internal", or "both" as your options to select. You need to Select "both." It's possible your setup may show one option for Internal(CPU) Cache and one for External Cache. In this case you would "enable" each one.

Typically in the BIOS, advanced features or BIOS feature setup, you have an option to Boot Up system speed. This should be set to "High" or "Fast" depending on which BIOS you use in your computer.

There potentially could be other performance options in your BIOS that need to be set correctly. Your motherboard or system manual could be of assistance here.

NO - Make the changes mentioned above

YES - Proceed to the next check point

Is your configuration substantially the same as the configuration used as a platform for the advertised benchmarks?

The particular "mix" of components that you are using can have substantial impacts on performance.

Memory speed and type can have a large impact on performance. Are you using as much as was used in the benchmark computer? Is it EDO or "Fast Page" DRAM?

Hard Drive access time can have a dramatic effect on benchmarks. Typical benchmarks today are run with EIDE or SCSI hard drives. Older drive technology will bottleneck your system and slow it down.

Accelerated or enhanced video adapters with ample memory will help with the performance of your computer.

A major factor to consider is the presence or absence of an external cache on the motherboard. Some "entry level" systems may have no cache or a very small cache. 256K or 512k are the dominant sizes.

NO - Use a similar configuration and run the benchmarks

YES - Proceed to the next check point

Are all drivers loaded correctly for all peripherals?

Every device will need a driver loaded in a MS windows operating system. For Windows 3.11, these drivers are, for the most part, manually loaded. For Windows 95, most of these drivers will load automatically for Plug and Play devices. If they are not Plug and Play, you'll need to assist Windows 95 in loading the drivers correctly.

A driver turns a device on and optimizes it for performance. Without a properly loaded driver, a device may not work or it can be forced to use a default driver that does not "optimize" the device for its greatest level of performance. The manufacturer of your devices and peripherals may have to help you with the latest drivers for your particular configuration.

If you are running Windows 95, a good place to look for verification on properly working devices is in "Device Manager." You get there by selecting the "System" Icon in the Control Panel windows which is opened by clicking on the "My Computer" Icon on your desktop. Once there you can "look" at each device in your computer and know that it is working properly. If there is a problem with a particular device, it will have a yellow exclamation point to the left of it indicating an improperly functioning device.

NO - Install appropriate drivers

YES - Proceed to the next check point

Is the system "jumpered" for the right speed?

Your owner's manual will identify the jumpers you need to set on your motherboard for the correct speed. Obviously, a motherboard jumpered too slowly will not perform as fast as one set correctly.

If you have a 6x86-P166 system, make sure that the board is set correctly. If it happens to be incorrectly set as a P150, then it is not going to give you the proper performance.

NO - Set speed (MHz) jumper correctly

YES - Proceed to the next check point

Is your system/motherboard jumpered for the correct cache size on the board.

There are jumpers on the motherboard that must be set for the size of the external cache on the motherboard. Check your owner's manual for these settings. In many cases the proper settings are "silk screened" on the motherboard itself in a table showing the correct settings.

If your motherboard is jumpered for a external cache module smaller than what is actually on the board, your system would benchmark a little slower than it should. On Winstone 32 there is about a 3% difference between two identical systems but one with a 256k cache and one with a 512k cache.

If your motherboard is jumpered for an external cache larger than what is actually on the board, the system will not even boot.

NO - Jumper for appropriate cache size

YES - Proceed to the next check point (Considerations)

Performance many times is a subjective assessment. I may not "feel" like the system is running as fast as it should. It doesn't "appear" to be faster or very fast. Benchmarks are the only way to tell as you compare them to published benchmarks. For benchmarks to be equal, platforms must equal or very close.
When a motherboard has a defective external cache, memory slots that are not working, or a BIOS that cannot be configured, it's a good indicators that the board is bad. Contact your dealer or manufacturer for a replacement.