System clock runs too fast depending on CPU charge

[Kevin Gagnon]

Here is my system configuration :

Asus motherboard P5W
Intel Core2Duo
2gig Ram
NVIDIA 8800GTS

Running Gutsy (7.10)

As you can see, this is fairly new and recent hardware.

The problem is when I ask some performance task to my system ( compiling, playing WoW or listening to music) the clock suddently go faster. It can take up to 20min in a few hours of gaming.

I checked the BIOS time to see that it is keeping it's time. When I reboot into Ubuntu, the clock is alright and back to the good time.

I tried to sync the clock via NTP but sometimes it just fails because there is too much difference between my clock and the time server.

Any ideas?

[Kevin Gagnon (gagnon-kevin)]

I did some research and someone suggested that I should change de CMOS Battery. This is a not a problem because the BIOS time is always accurate.

Someone also suggested to install 64-bits kernel. Just to be sure, I did a clean install and the problem is still present. The clock is running to fast.

[Samuel Fogh (gaffa)]

I confirm this bug. My clock is acting very strange.

[Samuel Fogh (gaffa)]

I just booted to try and debug the issue, but my clock appears to act normal.

[Kevin Gagnon (gagnon-kevin)]

I tried booting with "no_timer_check" and it seems to have fix the clock.

This can be a workaround but for some non-tech people this bug can be really annoying.

[Kevin Gagnon (gagnon-kevin)]

The above solution works for 64 bits kernel.

For ubuntu 32bits, i had to add "clock=pmtmr" on boot to get it under control.

Ubuntu 32bits -> Boot with "clock=pmtmr"

Ubuntu 64bits -> Boot with "no_timer_check"

Again, this is a workaround because it does not fix the "real" problem. Can be a killer issue for average joe user...