With Linux more waste of resource as with Windows
Hi,
since last Friday I have my new PC. I installed Slackware as well as Windows (for some Games). Under Windows I have a program to regulate the perfomance, so if I do nothing or simple things that do not need the full power, my PC is quiet and uses less power (I can see it with Watt/Ampere meter...). I have currently around 155 Watt and the CPU fan is really loud -- compared to Windows. Is there any way to regulate this with Linux? My mainboard is an Asus M4N75TD and I have an AMD Phenom II X4 965 CPU. Thanks. |
You need to make sure CPU frequency scaling is turned on and set to "ondemand". Most Linux distributions do not set that up out of the box.
Run lsmod | grep powernow-k8 to confirm that your CPU frequency scaling module is loaded. If it isn't, execute modprobe powernow-k8 and add the command to rc.local. Then set your CPU frequency scaling governor to "ondemand": Code:
ls /sys/devices/system/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor | xargs -i echo ondemand > {} |
You will want to look into CPU frquency scaling which is availble in Slackware. There are a number of guides for this, but here is one:
DELETED THE LINK. dugan's info is all that you need. Bob |
Quote:
Your "change" in /sys has a little typo, it must be: Code:
ls /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor | xargs -i echo ondemand > {} _____________________________________________ While I was adding your two commands to rc.local I was considering to move modprobe powernow-k8 to rc.modules and then I found this: Code:
### Enable CPU frequency scaling if requested: ____ OK, some lines above this code I pasted is the declaration of $CPUFREQ. I set it to "on" and restartd and saw an output at start time: Quote:
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If you want to see the effect, you can look at the "cpuinfo_max_freq" and "cpuinfo_cur_freq" files in each cpufreq directory, to see what your CPU is capable of and what it's been throttled to.
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All I had to do was change "CPUFREQ=battery" to "CPUFREQ=on" in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules to get frequency scaling to work on a Athlon II 235e. After this frequency scaling should start automatically next time you re-boot.
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Also, those who really really want to reduce power consumption when idle can try turning off their cores:
Code:
echo 0 >> /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu1/online |
Multicore-CPUs should bring unused cores to the different sleep-states, so I think turning cores off will not bring a noticable saving.
It will bring more to get it from the other end. Choose your PSU according to your needs, no need for a 600W-PSU in an office-pc. Choose models with high efficiency, at least with 80Plus certificate (have a look here: 80 Plus PSU List). Also the graphicscard can be very power consuming. Choose your moddel according to your needs (again, no need for a gaming card in an office-pc) and read reviews on the Internet. I bought my graphicscard and recognized to late that my modell ha no powersaving options, because it is overclocked by the manufacturer. |
For office computers on-board graphic cards are OK, I think. They do their job and they probably need less power.
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