I have and amd Athlon Xp 1.5 Ghz. Before I installed version 9.0B directX, Dxdiag Read 1.5ghz. But now that i installed 9.0B the speed reads 1.2ghz. Also, when i start up my computer, it says Amd Athlon 1.2ghz before it used to say 1.5ghz... can u plz help me

I found this: "An AMD Athlon™ XP processor that is being recognized as a lower model by the system's BIOS is likely running at a slower frequency than it should be running at, due to the front side bus (FSB) setting of the motherboard. The FSB of an AMD Athlon XP processor typically runs at an effective frequency of 266, 333, or 400MHz (depending on model). The corresponding motherboard FSB physical frequency should be set to 133, 166, or 200MHz, respectively. Motherboards that support multiple FSB frequencies will typically have the FSB set at the lowest frequency by default (typically 100MHz) to protect lower FSB processors from accidentally being overclocked. Consequently, if a processor that requires a higher FSB frequency is installed on a motherboard that is set to a lower FSB frequency, the processor will be operating at a lower frequency than it is capable of, causing it to be recognized as a lower model processor. This is a result of the processor's multiplier. The function of the multiplier is to multiply the bus frequency to derive the processor’s operating frequency. For example, an AMD Athlon XP 3000+ processor (333MHz FSB) has an internal 13x clock multiplier and requires a 166MHz motherboard bus frequency. This results in a processor frequency of 2167MHz (“bus frequency” x “multiplier” = “processor frequency”). However, if the motherboard's bus frequency is set to 100MHz, the processor will only operate at 1300MHz (100MHz bus frequency x 13 multiplier = 1300MHz CPU speed). The FSB is usually configured by a setting in the BIOS or a hardware jumper on the motherboard. Please consult your motherboard manufacturer to determine how to correctly set the FSB for your motherboard. CAUTION: Setting the FSB higher than the processor's specification may result in permanent thermal damage to the processor. To determine your processor's specifications, please refer to the processor's OPN (Ordering Part Number) and the Processor datasheet on our website or search our Ask AMD Knowledgebase for XP Specs to find a table with complete specifications for our Athlon XP processors." HERE

I'm a little confused because i dont no that much about computers. Could someone plz explain the artical above, in their own words?

Well, in a nutshell it describes how to set your processor speed. I agree that IF this has been altered it could be your problem. From your post it seems that you have not taken the lid off and moved "jumpers" (links) about, nor have you "gone into BIOS", where you get a menu you use to setup your motherboard - main board inside your machine. If you have really only changed your DX version and none of the above, then I find it hard to see why these settings should have changed. Having said that, I can't think of any good reason why you have run into this problem. Let's hope someone can come up with a reason. Derek.W

Get free "CPU-Z" from HERE, and post its results.

If this is a laptop that uses SpeedStep then see this Langa article to better understand the problem. Otherwise I don't know, Bryan