new laptop much slower than advertised

I just bought a new laptop with an AMD Turion64 1.8gig processor. I thought it was running pretty slow. I checked the system properties and it only said 780mhz. Then I installed norton system works and ran a diagnostic test and it said the same thing. I called HP and they said that this particular processor runs slower. 1gig slower, BS. After spending several hours optimizing the system half the time when I run a test of the processor it says around 830mhz and the other half the time it says between 1500 and 1850. I can really tell when I'm doing something when it's running 800 and when its running like it should. I've never had this problem with other laptops or desktops and want to know what yall think.

 

So, this is a "mobile" processor, right? Is the difference when it's running on battery vs. AC power?

From AMD:

AMD PowerNow!™ technology extends battery life by dynamically switching the performance states (processor core voltage and operating frequency) based on processor performance requirements.

also see:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Power_Now2.pdf

 

Try turning off all power saving modes and turning off C&Q (Cool & Quiet)

It's probably just throttling down the cpu freq during low usage to save battery power.

You should be able to check the max freq by running something like cbid to monitor the freq at the same time as a heavy cpu program like Prime95.

I'll bet you see the freq jump right up to 1800+ when you get up to 100% cpu usage but it may take a short time for it to ramp up.