Cool 'n' Quite Does not seem to work

All about them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
pcbuff
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:17 pm

Cool 'n' Quite Does not seem to work

Post by pcbuff » Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:37 pm

I have A64 3000+ 754 CPU on AOpen AK89 Max mobo with 512 1 stick RAM in Slot 1. MY processor idles at almost 50 C, when ambient temp is about 30 C ( ie when I have CPU fan speed fixed at max 3180). So I tried to enable Cool 'n' Quite to keep my PC a bit cooler. After reading some posts an trying many different things, I think it is finally working, but I don't see the freq dropped to 800 MHz as many other people have.

I have taken the following steps. Can sb tell me if I am missing sth or doing sth the wrong way?

1. I downloaded and installed the latest CPU driver for Windows XP (ver 1.2.2.2) from location http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content ... amdcpu.exe

2. I enabled the Cool 'n' Quite feature in BIOS

3. Enabled the Minimal Power profile from Windows XP

However I only see my computer freq fall down to 1.8 GHz, that too only sometimes. even when computer is idling, most of the time, it stays at 2 GHz. Even core voltage does not seem to change to anything other than 1.5 and 1.49

This is my first post. Please let me know, if this is not the right thread for this question.

Thanks

jackylman
Posts: 784
Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 8:13 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Post by jackylman » Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:11 pm

Well, what's your CPU usage in task manager when at idle? I'm running symantec Anti-virus, xp sp2 (and all its wonderful garbage), and an audio driver program. My usage is about 1% at idle. If yours is high, start looking for spyware or unnecessary programs.

pcbuff
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:17 pm

Post by pcbuff » Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:18 pm

At idle, my cpu usage is about 2%, and it goes up to 4%, every time I open system properties to view cpu freq. It does not go above that, if I am not running anything else.

vertigo
Posts: 647
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2005 6:09 am
Location: UK

Post by vertigo » Thu Aug 18, 2005 4:03 pm

Try an older version of the cpu driver if you like. Mine is 1.1.0.0. I don't know what else to suggest.

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu Aug 18, 2005 5:32 pm

Hello,

If you hit Control-Alt-Delete once, and see what may be running that is taking even that much of your CPU cycles?

Maybe try using CPUID-Z to check for the speed drop?

pcbuff
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:17 pm

Post by pcbuff » Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:04 am

Its Working ...

It has been working. Just downloaded CPUID utility from AMD site and ran to confirm that cpu speed goes down to 40% @ idling. My clock speed is 2GHz, so 40% means 800 MHz. I changed the power profile from minimal to office, and then cpu speed stays at 100% and doesn't change at idling anymore. So it got to be working.

The problem earlier was, that I was using Windows XP system properties tab to look at the CPU frequency. As now I can see it, the cpu speed goes up to 90% or 100% (which is 1.8G or 2G) while it works to open the system tab, and that's what is reported. So it has been working all along. Thank you all for your help.

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:10 pm

Hello,
pcbuff wrote:Its Working ...
We all forgot to say: Welcome to SPCR! :)

pcbuff
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 12:17 pm

Thanks

Post by pcbuff » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:23 pm

Thanks Neil, for the warm welcome. I think I am going to be hooked. Also your idea of trying CPUID-Z was wonderful. I like this tool. 8)

I just noticed, that even though cool 'n' quite works now ( basically I see that the frequency drops to 800 MHz), however the CPU voltage may not be dropping to 1.3 Volts. The AMD Powernow dashboard shows voltage being dropped to 1.3 Volts, but CPUID-Z and Aopen's SilentTek both report that voltage stays between 1.47 and 1.5 Volts, even when idling. I have read something about p-states on SPCR forums, but have not played around with them.

On a different note. My SilentTek reports that my Vbat stays at 2.97 instead of 3.0. My board is just about 1 and half years old, so I would not think that the battery should be runnig low. :!:

Any ideas?

Post Reply