This document provides some frequently asked questions about Sandra. Please read the Help File as well!
Q: Some of the information in Mainboard Information is wrong!
A: Sandra asks the BIOS for most of the information shown. Many BIOSes (even those released in today) still contain many bugs in the DMI/SMBIOS core. While Sandra double-checks most of the displayed information, there is no way to check all internal information (e.g. card slots). The only fix is for you to upgrade your BIOS by obtaining a newer version (see Links) and flash it.
Even if you do have the latest version, the DMI/SMBIOS core needs to be configured correctly by the vendor. Only major vendors like Compaq, HP, etc. bother to do this, most OEMs do not. If you do spot incorrect information (double check with the board's DMICFG utility - should be on the CD that came with the board), contact the manufacturer and let them know.
Q: My CPU is not detected correctly!
A: Make sure you do the following:
Q: The FSB of my system is not detected correctly!
Q: The AGP/PCI/USB/1394/FireWire of my system is not detected correctly!
A: Go to Bus Detection for relevant topics.
Q: The multiplier of my P4 (Northwood)/P4 Xeon (Prestonia) Model 2+ system is wrong!
Q: The FSB, AGP, PCI, Memory bus speeds of my P4 (Northwood)/P4 Xeon (Prestonia) Model 2+ system are wrong!
A: You will need to upgrade to Sandra 8.70 or later for this to work. All Sandra versions (2002 and earlier) do not read the multiplier of the CPU correctly, thus all speeds will be wrong.
Q: My new P4 is detected (W225) as ES (Engineering Sample) by Sandra! Is this right?
A: You will need to update to Sandra 8.39 or later if you have a Model 1, 2 or later CPU. Earlier versions of Sandra know of Model 0 only and may issue this warning incorrectly for newer P4s. Always double-check with Intel's own FrequencyID utility from Intel Support to make sure.
Q: My new P4 Xeon is detected (W225) as ES (Engineering Sample) by Sandra! Is this right?
A:You will need to update to Sandra 8.73 or later if you have a Xeon 4 processor. Earlier versions do not support the PIROM of the P4 Xeon processor.
Q: Sandra shows incorrect number of processors on my n-way SMP/SMT Xeon system!
A: Update to Sandra 9.12 for 3-way and higher systems or 8.97 for 1/2-way systems.
Q: My AMD Athlon 4/XP/MP speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different from the Performance Rating (PR). Here are the Official ratings:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athlon XP/MP 3600+ | 2800=21x133 | 3600+ | Pentium 4 3.6GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 3400+ | 2667=20x133 | 3400+ | Pentium 4 3.4GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 3200+ | 2533=19x133 | 3200+ | Pentium 4 3.2GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 3000+ | 2400=18x133 | 3000+ | Pentium 4 3GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2800+ | 2250=13.5x167 | 2800+ | Pentium 4 2.8GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2700+ | 2167=13x167 | 2700+ | Pentium 4 2.8GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2600+ | 2133=16x133 | 2600+ | Pentium 4 2.6GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2400+ | 2000=15x133 | 2400+ | Pentium 4 2.4GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2200+ | 1800=13.5x133 | 2200+ | Pentium 4 2.2GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2100+ | 1733=13x133 | 2100+ | Pentium 4 2.2GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 2000+ | 1667=12.5x133 | 2000+ | Pentium 4 2GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1900+ | 1600=12x133 | 1900+ | Pentium 4 1.9GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1800+ | 1533=11.5x133 or 1500=15x100 |
1800+ | Pentium 4 1.8GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1700+ | 1467=11x133 | 1700+ | Pentium 4 1.7GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1600+ | 1400=10.5x133 | 1600+ | Pentium 4 1.6GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1500+ | 1333=10x133 or 1300=13x100 |
1500+ | Pentium 4 1.5GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1400+ | 1200=12x100 | 1400+ | Pentium 4 1.4GHz or Pentium III 1.4GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1300+ | 1100=11x100 | 1300+ | Pentium 4 1.3GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1200+ | 1000=10x100 | 1200+ | Pentium 4 1.2GHz or Pentium III 1.2GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1100+ | 950=9.5x100 | 1100+ | Pentium III 1.13GHz |
| Athlon XP/MP 1000+ | 900=9x100 | 1000+ | Pentium III 1GHz |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra 8.41 or later. Do note that using a bus speed or multiplier different from the stated will yield a different PR rating. Some combinations may result in a higher PR rating even if the internal core speed is lower.
Q: My Pentium 4 Xeon is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra 8.08 or later.
Q: My Pentium 4 is not detected correctly.
Q: Sandra does not detect the SSE2 instructions!
A: Update to Sandra 7.00 or later.
Q: Why does Sandra not report any 3DNow!/3DNow! Enh/etc. capabilities?
A: The presence or lack of is reported only on CPUs that support extended capabilities reporting, aka non-Intel.
Q: Why does Sandra say my Pentium 4 is class/family 7 and not 15 as Intel says?
Q: Why does Intel say my Pentium 4 is class 15 and not 7?
A: Legend has it that Pentium 4 was to be assigned class 8 as class 7 was assigned to Itanium. However, due to a bug in NT4/Setup that reads only 3 bits of family instead of 4, 8 would have been been read as class 0 (1000 binary -> 000) thus it would fail. Since, at that time NT4 was very widely used in business something had to be done.
Also, Intel assumes that Pentium 4 will be the last ia32 CPU thus there will be no more families of ia32 CPUs. ia64 is the way forward. Thus assigning it the very last possible family ID seems appropriate.
Q: My VIA Cyrix III/C3 is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra version 8.27 or later.
Q: My Pentium (Xeon) III/Celeron is not detected correctly.
Q: Sandra does not detect the SSE instructions!
A: Update to Sandra version 5.00 or later.
Q: My Pentium (Xeon) III/Celeron serial number is not displayed!
A: The serial number may be disabled by the BIOS. See the mainboard manual for information on how to enable it.
Q: How can I turn off the serial number of my Pentium (Xeon) III?
A: The serial number can be disabled by the BIOS in some cases. Check the mainboard manual for information on whether this feature is available. If not, Intel has introduced an utility that disables it.
Q: My AMD Duron/Thunderbird is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra version 6.40 or later.
Q: The BIOS/other programs say my CPU is an AMD Athlon, Sandra says it's a AMD Duron!
A: If the L2 cache size is less than 256kB, you have a Duron, otherwise it is an Athlon. Some AMD Duron CPUs report themselves incorrectly as AMD Athlon which causes this issue. Not all programs have the work-around to make sense of the data.
Q: My AMD Duron is detected as AMD Athlon!
A: As per CPU's errata list, this is a CPU bug: the market name may not correspond with the name reported by the CPU itself. Updating the BIOS should resolve this issue. Sandra 7.50 or later also have a work-around.
Q: I've changed the L2 Multiplier with a program but Sandra does not see it.
A: Sandra displays the hardware cache multiplier, not the current multiplier.
Q: My VIA C3 is shown to have 16MB or more L2 cache!
A: As per CPU's errata list, this is a CPU bug. Sandra 8.27 or later have a work-around and report the correct L2 cache size.
Q: My AMD Duron is shown to have 0kB L2 cache!
Q: My AMD Athlon (Thunderbird) is shown to 1kB L2 cache!
A: As per CPU's errata list, this is a CPU bug. Sandra 7.50 or later have a work-around and report the correct L2 cache size.
Q: My Pentium II(I) is detected as a Celeron!
A: Make sure the L2 cache is enabled (see CPU information). If it is not, go to BIOS Options and turn it on. If you have a PII 266 or faster, turn L2 ECC on as well. A PII with no cache is essentially a Celeron.
Q: My Pentium II(I) Xeon is detected as a PII(I)!
A: This may happen with old Xeon processors when the Sandra device driver is not working.
Q: My Pentium II(I) OverDrive for Pentium Pro is not detected correctly.
A: Upgrade to Sandra version 4.20 or later.
Q: Sandra does not detect my AMD K6-2+ / K6-III+ (mobile) correctly.
A: Upgrade to Sandra version 6.30 or later.
Q: My IDT WinChip 2/2-3D is not detected correctly.
Q: My Cyrix MediaGXm CPU & speed is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra version 4.20 or later.
Q: My Rise mP6-II CPU is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra 6.03 or later.
Q: Sandra does not detect the micro-code version of my CPU.
A: Check that the BIOS is the latest version and that you have installed the latest service pack for Windows 2000/XP. If you're using earlier versions, update to these versions.
Q: The micro-code versions of the CPUs in my SMP systems are different (but steppings the same)!
Q: There is no micro-code for my AP CPU(s) but there is for my BSP! Why?
A: Check for a newer BIOS (the BIOS may load microcode for the BSP only) and that you have installed the latest service pack for Windows 2000/XP. If the CPU steppings are different the microcodes will be different.
Q: My Rise mP6-II speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different from the Performance Rating (PR). Here are the Official ratings:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| mP6-II PR466 | 350=3.5x100 | 466 | Pentium II 450 or Celeron 466 or AMD K6-2 450 |
| mP6-II PR433 | 333=3.5x95 | 433 | Celeron 433 |
| mP6-II PR400 | 300=3x100 | 400 | Pentium II 400 or Celeron 400 or AMD K6-2 400 |
| mP6-II PR380 | 285=3x95 | 380 | AMD K6-2 380 |
| mP6-II PR366 | 250=2.5x100 | 366 | Pentium II 350 or Celeron 366 or AMD K6-2 366 |
| mP6-II PR333 | 238=2.5x95 | 333 | Pentium II 333 or Celeron 333 or AMD K6-2 333 |
| mP6-II PR266 | 200=2x100 | 266 | Pentium II 266 or Celeron 266 or AMD K6-2 266 |
| mP6-II PR233 | 190=2x95 | 233 | Pentium II 233 or AMD K6 233 |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra 6.03 or later. Do note that using a bus speed or multiplier different from the stated will yield a different PR rating. Some combinations may result in a higher PR rating even if the internal core speed is lower.
Q: My Rise mP6 CPU is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra version 5.10 or later.
Q: My Rise mP6 speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different from the Performance Rating (PR). Here are the Official ratings:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| mP6 PR466 | 350=3.5x100 | 466 | Pentium II 450 or Celeron 466 or AMD K6-2 450 |
| mP6 PR433 | 333=3.5x95 | 433 | Celeron 433 |
| mP6 PR400 | 300=3x100 | 400 | Pentium II 400 or Celeron 400 or AMD K6-2 400 |
| mP6 PR380 | 285=3x95 | 380 | AMD K6-2 380 |
| mP6 PR366 | 250=2.5x100 | 366 | Pentium II 350 or Celeron 366 or AMD K6-2 366 |
| mP6 PR333 | 238=2.5x95 | 333 | Pentium II 333 or Celeron 333 or AMD K6-2 333 |
| mP6 PR266 | 200=2x100 | 266 | Pentium II 266 or Celeron 266 or AMD K6-2 266 |
| mP6 PR233 | 190=2x95 | 233 | Pentium II 233 or AMD K6 233 |
| mP6 PR166 | 166=2x83 | 166 | Pentium MMX 166 or AMD K6 166 |
| mP6 PR150 | 150=2x75 | 150 | Pentium MMX 150 |
| mP6 PR133 | 133=2x66 | 133 | Pentium 133 |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra version 5.30 or later. Do note that using a bus speed or multiplier different from the stated will yield a different PR rating. Some combinations may result in a higher PR rating even if the internal core speed is lower.
Q: My Transmeta Crusoe CPU is not detected correctly.
A: Update to Sandra version 6.40 or later.
Q: My Cyrix MII CPU is detected as a 6x86MX!
A: Update to Sandra version 5.10 or later.
Q: My Cyrix 6x86MX/MII's speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different from the Performance Rating (PR). Here are the Official ratings:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6x86MII-PR450 | 400=4x100 | 450 | Pentium II 450 or Celeron 466 or AMD K6-3 450 |
| 6x86MII-PR400 | 380=4x95 or 360=4x90 or 350=3.5x100 or 333=3.5x95 or 333=4x83 |
400 | Pentium II 400 or Celeron 400 or AMD K6-3 400 or AMD K6-2 400 |
| 6x86MII-PR366 | 315=3.5x90 or 300=3x100 or 300=4x75 or 292=2.5x83 |
366 | Pentium II 350 or Celeron 366 or AMD K6-2 350 |
| 6x86MII-PR350 | 285=3x95 or 270=3x90 |
350 | Pentium II 350 or AMD K6-2 350 |
| 6x86MII-PR333 | 266=4x66 or 263=3.5x75 or 250=3x83 or 250=2.5x100 |
333 | Pentium II 333 or CeleronA 333 or AMD K6-2 333 |
| 6x86MII-PR300 | 240=4x60 or 237=2.5x95 or 233=3.5x66 or 225=2.5x90 or 225=3x75 |
300 | Pentium II 300 or AMD K6-2 300 |
| 6x86MX-PR266+ | 208=2.5x83 | 266 | Pentium II 266 or Celeron 266 or AMD K6 266 |
| 6x86MX-PR233+ | 200=3x66 or 188=2.5x75 or 166=2x83 |
233 | Pentium II 233 or AMD K6 233 |
| 6x86MX-PR200+ | 180=3x60 or 166=2.5x66 or 165=3x55 or 150=2x75 |
200 | Pentium MMX 200 or AMD K6 200 |
| 6x86MX-PR166+ | 150=2.5x60 or 150=3x50 or 138=2.5x55 or 133=2x66 |
166 | Pentium MMX 166 or AMD K6 166 |
| 6x86MX-PR150+ | 125=2.5x50 or 120=2x60 |
150 | Pentium MMX 150 |
| 6x86MX-PR133+ | 110=2x55 or 100=2x50 |
133 | Pentium 133 |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra version 1.20 or later. Do note that using a bus speed or multiplier different from the stated will yield a different PR rating. Some combinations may result in a higher PR rating even if the internal core speed is lower.
Q: Why was the PR-ating developed?
A: Clock frequency (MHz), while important, is no longer an accurate or consistent measure of CPU performance. Architectural differences between processor designs add another variable to the equation. With the PR-ating in place, a PC buyer can easily evaluate all personal computer processors for a given performance category - without scrutinizing the architectural merits of the different processors.
Q: How does the PR-ating work?
A: The PR-ating process uses a standardized system configuration and application-based benchmark tests to establish a performance, or 'PR', rating relative to a Pentium processor of a given frequency (MHz). This levels the playing field and allows the measurement of relative processor performance under real-world conditions, regardless of the processor's clock speed (MHz) or architecture.
Q: What benchmark test is used in the PR-ating?
A: Ziff-Davis WinStone is used because it is a real-world, application-based benchmark that contains the most popular software applications (based on market share) that run on a Pentium processor. WinStone also is the most widely used benchmark, and is freely distributed and available.
Q: My Cyrix 6x86's speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different
from the Performance Rating (PR). Here are the Official ratings:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6x86-PR200+ | 150=2x75 | 200 | Pentium 200 |
| 6x86-PR166+ | 133=2x66 | 166 | Pentium 166 |
| 6x86-PR150+ | 120=2x60 | 150 | Pentium 150 |
| 6x86-PR133+ | 110=2x55 | 133 | Pentium 133 |
| 6x86-PR120+ | 100=2x50 | 120 | Pentium 120 |
| 6x86-PR90+ | 80=2x40 | 90 | Pentium 90 |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra version 1.14 or later. The 6x86 supports only the 2x multiplier so for the PR200 you need to use a 75MHz bus speed which not all boards and chipsets support.
Q: Why is there a plus mark in each 6x86 processor name?
A: For the 6x86 processor, a P+ designation is used to indicate better performance. WinStone 6x86-Pxxx+ > WinStone Pentium-xxx -> xxx = P-rating or Pentium megahertz. For example, a 6x86 processor with a P-rating of "P166+" (regardless of processor name and clock speed) indicates performance faster than a 166 MHz Pentium processor. The plus mark indicates performance that consistently exceeds the same Pentium processor megahertz level.
Q: My AMD K5's speed is not detected correctly.
A: This is not a bug. The actual speed of the CPU is different from the Performance Rating (PR). Therefore:
| Processor | Actual Speed (MHz) | PR-ating | Competitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| K5-P200 | 133=2x66 | 200 | Pentium 200 |
| K5-P166 | 117=1.75x66 | 166 | Pentium 166 |
| K5-P150 | 105=1.75x60 | 150 | Pentium 150 |
| K5-P133 | 100=1.5x66 | 133 | Pentium 133 |
| K5-P120 | 90=1.5x60 | 120 | Pentium 120 |
| K5-P100 | 100=1.5x66 | 100 | Pentium 100 |
| K5-P90 | 90=1.5x60 | 90 | Pentium 90 |
| K5-P75 | 75=1.5x50 | 75 | Pentium 75 |
Also, you'll need to update to Sandra version 1.16 or later.
Q: My 6x86, 6x86MX is manufactured by IBM but shows up as a Cyrix chip.
A: The 6x86 family was designed by Cyrix and manufactured by Cyrix, IBM and SGS Thompson. It is still the same chip no matter who made it.
Q: My Intel/AMD/etc. CPU is detected as a Generic CPU.
A: It is not possible to reliably detect the manufacturer of old (earlier than 1994) processors. All those CPUs are classified as "generic". This generally applies to 486 and 386 chips.
Q: My IBM Blue Lighting DX3 CPU is detected as a Cyrix 486DX4 CPU.
A: The IBM Blue Lighting is a Cyrix 486DX4 CPU made by IBM.