[opensuse] CPU speed halved for no reason?
Hello, My computer is an AMD64 3200 MHz (real speed 2000 MHz) running OpenSUSE 10.2 x86_64. Everything is fine, but I noticed a strange detail, I don't know how to understand it. At first I had a KPowersave icon in the KDE systray. By default, it seemed to choose a "Dynamic" management of the CPU. Then, the result of the cpufreq-info told me that the processor's frequency was free to vary between 1 and 2 GHz, and that it was currently running at 1000 MHz. Since my computer is not a laptop, I don't care about autonomy, so I want it to run at 2000 MHz all the time. I selected "Performance" in KPowersave, and it worked as expected: the speed reported by cpufreq-info jumped to 2000 MHz. But after the next reboot, I was back to "Dynamic". I went to the appropriate YaST2 module, but everything was already set as I wanted: Performance in all cases. So I selected "Performance" in KPowersave again, and then quit KPowersave. In case KPowersave was responsible for the problem. To no avail. After the next reboot, no KPowersave, but I was still down to 1000 MHz. My final question is: how do I tell my stupid CPU that it's not running on a laptop, and that it should be at full speed all the time? Thanks for your attention, -- Thibaut Cousin http://www.thibaut-cousin.net
On Mon, 2006-12-18 at 02:07 +0100, Thibaut Cousin wrote:
Hello,
My computer is an AMD64 3200 MHz (real speed 2000 MHz) running OpenSUSE 10.2 x86_64. Everything is fine, but I noticed a strange detail, I don't know how to understand it.
At first I had a KPowersave icon in the KDE systray. By default, it seemed to choose a "Dynamic" management of the CPU. Then, the result of the cpufreq-info told me that the processor's frequency was free to vary between 1 and 2 GHz, and that it was currently running at 1000 MHz.
It's called "Cool 'n Quiet" and seems to be working like it should :-) Basically the CPU speed will drop if you need the full capacity, cutting down on power consumption, heat emission, and as a result the cpu fan can slow down or stop completely, so noice is reduced as well. If you want it to run at full speed, even at idle, you can set your cpu frequency policy to "Performance" in kpowersave. But you shouldn't need to. The CPU responds almost instantly to load demands (even though the monitoring tools don't), and for the times when you're just reading your e-mail, a 1000mhz Athlon64 is one heck of a powerfull chip. My notebook (1.8GHz Turion64) runs at 800mhz almost permanently, and really, the only time I really need it to scale up is when I'm capturing video from my VHS tapes and encoding on-the-fly to put it on DVD.
My final question is: how do I tell my stupid CPU that it's not running on a laptop, and that it should be at full speed all the time?
Maybe set "active scheme" to performance as well? Hans -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Monday 18 December 2006 23:16, Hans du Plooy wrote:
But you shouldn't need to. The CPU responds almost instantly to load demands (even though the monitoring tools don't), and for the times when you're just reading your e-mail, a 1000mhz Athlon64 is one heck of a powerfull chip.
Well, I have speedstep on my Core 2 Duo notebook and I can Definitly tell when its running in Performance mode (full speed) and when its not. There is ever so slight a lag, just enough to be irritating when its trying to save power. Since I can't hear the fans anyway on this notebook, I run in performance unless I'm not plugged in. Some of us do other stuff besides email. I know that's hard to believe. ;-) -- _____________________________________ John Andersen
On Mon, 2006-12-18 at 23:32 -0900, John Andersen wrote:
On Monday 18 December 2006 23:16, Hans du Plooy wrote:
But you shouldn't need to. The CPU responds almost instantly to load demands (even though the monitoring tools don't), and for the times when you're just reading your e-mail, a 1000mhz Athlon64 is one heck of a powerfull chip.
Well, I have speedstep on my Core 2 Duo notebook and I can Definitly tell when its running in Performance mode (full speed) and when its not.
There is ever so slight a lag, just enough to be irritating when its trying to save power.
I don't have any experience with linux on Core 2 Duo, but I would guess it's possible that the linux ACPI stuff for it may just not be as mature yet as it is for the AMD. Mine certainly doesn't feel as responsive running at 800MHz as it does at 1800MHz, but the difference is so minute and the response is so quick when it scales up, it really doesn't bother me. I suppose 2GB memory helps things along too, I imagine with 512MB the difference would be more pronounced.
Some of us do other stuff besides email. I know that's hard to believe. ;-) He he - I wasn't suggesting that I do only e-mail :-) Actually my chip runs at full speed most of the time because I usually have either VMware or mencoder running or something compiling - or all of the above.
The fans on my HP can be quite loud though, so I keep it in dynamic - keeps the temperature overall down, so the fans are either off or in their slowest mode. Hans -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Le mardi 19 décembre 2006 09:16, Hans du Plooy a écrit :
My final question is: how do I tell my stupid CPU that it's not running on a laptop, and that it should be at full speed all the time?
Maybe set "active scheme" to performance as well?
It doesn't work, as this choice is not remembered over logout/login. I checked "Performance" everywhere, in YaST2 and in KPowersave, to no avail. It works until logout or reboot only. Nevertheless, if it's normal and the CPU returns at full speed when needed, why not. I'll run cpufreq-info again, the next time my computer is under heavy load, just to check. If it's back to 2000 MHz, then I'll be happy. :-) Thank you for those explanations, I had never bothered to find out what Cool'n'Quiet was about. -- Thibaut Cousin http://www.thibaut-cousin.net
participants (3)
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Hans du Plooy
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John Andersen
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Thibaut Cousin