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As the thread states, I obviously have a question about SetCPU and processor settings.
Is it better to have the processor underclocked and almost always using 100% to use programs, or it better off to overclock and have more processing power without using 100% or close to that mark.
And what would be more beneficial for battery life.
Edit: And if mods could move this to Q&A. Clicked the wrong forum.
Thanks,
Cyanide
Cyanidex00 said:
As the thread states, I obviously have a question about SetCPU and processor settings.
Is it better to have the processor underclocked and almost always using 100% to use programs, or it better off to overclock and have more processing power without using 100% or close to that mark.
And what would be more beneficial for battery life.
Edit: And if mods could move this to Q&A. Clicked the wrong forum.
Thanks,
Cyanide
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Click to collapse
Actually we could use some hard evidence regarding this. Theories are theories, but actual experience is golden. Maybe you could try some various processor settings are report back?
Well, before I posted this I was using 245/886 underclocked with 245/245 screen off profile. At the end of the day I had an average about 75-80% percent battery life with pretty moderate to heavy usage.
I'm current using 245/1574 overclocked and will report back, with same screen off profile.
And yes, I did wipe battery stats before I started this.
Cyanidex00 said:
Well, before I posted this I was using 245/886 underclocked with 245/245 screen off profile. At the end of the day I had an average about 75-80% percent battery life with pretty moderate to heavy usage.
I'm current using 245/1574 overclocked and will report back, with same screen off profile.
And yes, I did wipe battery stats before I started this.
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Click to collapse
Cool, thanks for that info. Are you finding that forcing a 245 mhz screen off speed is impacting any apps running while your screen is off (e.g. music playing apps)? A couple of weeks ago I tried forcing the screen off at 122 mhz to see if that would help battery life, but I had big problems with music apps stuttering. I didn't play around with the speeds to see if raising the forced minimum to 245 would have fixed the problem. Some kernels advertise as a feature "Max speed - screen off 576MHz" or some other speed, but I don't know if it needs to be that high or not, for app stability.
I personally haven't tried any music or apps running while screen is off, I'll give it a whirl when I get home from work.
I know this obviously will vary from phone to phone, and how the user uses the phone. I'm pretty moderate to heavy usage daily. Hopefully maybe we can compile some data on what works for people.
I have my screen off profile set at 245 and have no problem streaming music from my SD card with the screen off. When streaming from the cloud, I sometimes get a very long pause between songs that isn't there with the screen on. I will try raising my screen off speed to see if that changes anything.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
henrybravo said:
Cool, thanks for that info. Are you finding that forcing a 245 mhz screen off speed is impacting any apps running while your screen is off (e.g. music playing apps)? A couple of weeks ago I tried forcing the screen off at 122 mhz to see if that would help battery life, but I had big problems with music apps stuttering. I didn't play around with the speeds to see if raising the forced minimum to 245 would have fixed the problem. Some kernels advertise as a feature "Max speed - screen off 576MHz" or some other speed, but I don't know if it needs to be that high or not, for app stability.
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Click to collapse
I noticed this yesterday. My screen off is also 245. My music stuttered, but only once (and it was fairly brief).
I raised the screen off speed to 368 and have not had any sputtering or long pauses between songs, even when streaming from the cloud.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side.
biglittlegato said:
I raised the screen off speed to 368 and have not had any sputtering or long pauses between songs, even when streaming from the cloud.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using the power of the dark side.
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Good to know, thanks!
Cyanidex00 said:
As the thread states, I obviously have a question about SetCPU and processor settings.
Is it better to have the processor underclocked and almost always using 100% to use programs, or it better off to overclock and have more processing power without using 100% or close to that mark.
And what would be more beneficial for battery life.
Edit: And if mods could move this to Q&A. Clicked the wrong forum.
Thanks,
Cyanide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use SetCPU at 460/1152 brazilianwax, screen off 122/537 conservative and have good battery life and no issues when playing music w/ screenoff....
Overclocking is almost guaranteed to worsen battery life compared to say if it was at stock 1 ghz or a little less.
With a governor like on demand, its gonna scale from the lowest to to highest allowed as soon as it gets some load on it, eg from 245mhz to whatever Max is (1017, 1075, or 1920 etc), without stopping in between.
Even conservative with fast scaling will probably scale close to Max clock speed pretty quickly under load, so theoretically this should be a /little/ better for battery than on demand, but will not seem as fast and could possibly make the phone seem more laggy. Smartass is very similiar to conservative as it scales depending on a preset % of CPU load. If its set to 70%, when CPU reaches 70% load, it scales to next frequency, when that frequently hits 70% load, its scales again. The version of the on demand governor most of us have in out kernels is the fastest scaling option, which goes from min CPU - straight to max
Hi y'all I have searched high and low to find something that tells me my CPU usage, I want to monitor it by seeing how long it stays at 245 or higher and when it jumps around and I want it to keep track of the history, is this to Mich or can someone point me in the right direction
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
Cpu spy will track the percentage of time your phone is at a certain frequency state.
Did you try searching for cpu in the market? There are a bunch of apps that will monitor your cpu usage.
Yeah, I have found ones that are useful, I want to know the time spent at a certain MHz or w.e. you call it, if that makes sense. I found plenty that tell me the percentage of CPU working but that is no good because my off screen profile is at 245max 245 min and so the percentage fluctuates more when it's off.. but the is not telling by looking At it, when I heavily use my phone and when the screen is off. I'm trying to calculate what kernel is working best for me.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
I saw. 3 kernel.
Slightly. Uv
Midle. Uv
Extremely. Uv
What are the differences. Between. Those. ????
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
Saw that too - exciting!
UV is undervolt, which means running the device with less voltage (electricity). Uses less juice, battery lasts longer, and doesn't run as hot.
Depending on what you do with the device and how it's implemented the results could range from awesome battery savings without a reduction in performance to brownouts and having the processor work harder to get the same job done.
If you do a lot of processor intensive stuff ( resource heavy games, for example ) undervolting becomes a harder thing to take advantage of because the processor has to work harder when it gets maxed out.
The fact that tbalden lifted the artificially low 1.2 clock speed and bumped it up to it's rated 1.5 offsets that somewhat.
For most people undervolting is a godsend, because they don't miss that top % of maxed out processor performance.
Also, the greater range of speeds allows you to regulate the speeds of the device using apps (setcpu maybe) which can't set speeds outside of the range the kernel allows.
Tbalden got into what I was trying to before my crazy work schedule hit, and he is doing a whole lot for this device - now I'll be following the trail he's blazing instead of the other way around - win for the MT4GS community when people have time to make fun stuff like this for us to play with.
Haven't had the chance to read up on what he's done with it other then seeing it was there, so this is some general info to get you started with, there's a lot more to be said and I'm sure others will swing by and add to this description.
Sent from my Bulletproof_Doubleshot using xda premium
Slight is slightly undervolted, meaning it saves less on battery
Middle is around 5% undervolted, meaning around 5% saving in battery drainage
Extremely is 8%
Depending on the quality of your cpu material, it can work on your CPU well, or if it is made of a silicium chip that is less clean then your CPU will say voltage is too low, and phone might reboot. So depending on your device it may or may not work out.
UVing the cpu means no performance decrease. You should find out which kernel is best for your device. Safe is to go from Slight to Middle and then to Extreme if the Middle works out well. If you have reboots, fall back this way: Extreme --> Middle --> Slight
Also, if you dont want to use the Overclock frequency range, use SetCPU or an alternative cpu tool to cap it to your like.
Thanks guy. Now I understad why my phone s batt last longer . I flashed the extremely kernel . And I'm using an anker batt. And adding profiles with set cpu
And I noticed. My battery. Last way longer then before . Even though. I set the main profile of the set cpu to 1.5 hz max. 1.0 hz min. Wich makes the phone run as. My loptop. . Thank u developers
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This is a question I've never seen asked, but it's an important one. What are you phones CPU Freqs? What Govs do they have, and what Profiles do you use?
Rom: PyroIce
Main: 192 Min, 918 Max. OnDemand.
Screen Off: 192 Min, 384 Max. PowerSave.
InCall: 192 Min, 540 Max. Interactive.
Time 11pm-7am: 192Min/Max Powersave.
Sent from my HTC myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk
that's cool, i might start using profiles again. from fiddling around i've noticed the difference between the ondemand and conservative governors- with ondemand, the processor seems to go from min. to all the way to max. and back down to min, and doesn't use the middle frequencies as much, while on conservative, the processor doesn't shoot up to max. as easily and seems to meander thru the middle frequencies a lot more. it makes sense too, because i've noticed that the phone seems snappier with ondemand.
i noticed you're using some of the others... i'll have to check them out as well.
ondemand
Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see "up threshold" in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed. - SetCPU website
conservative
Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery. - SetCPU website
performance
Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "max" set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting "max" and "min" to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for the CPU load. This governor is recommended for stable benchmarking. - SetCPU website
powersave
Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "min" set value at all times. - SetCPU website
userspace
A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor. - SetCPU website
Interactive
The 'interactive' governor has a different approach. Instead of sampling the cpu
at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming
out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire
within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer
fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
If the cpu was not 100% busy, then the governor evaluates the cpu load over the
last 'min_sample_rate' (default 50000 uS) to determine the cpu speed to ramp down
to
so, I bought set cpu about 3 phones ago, but I never really saw a differnence, can it be used with the stock kernel?
yellowjacket1981 said:
so, I bought set cpu about 3 phones ago, but I never really saw a differnence, can it be used with the stock kernel?
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Yeah Plus there's a huge difference with the Battery. I you use my CPU Settings, you should gain 3 hours Min on your phone. Also dropping the CPU in call is great, helps for longer calls and less overheating. If your S-Off you should use a custom kernel. UV Kernels are great.
AgentCherryColla said:
Yeah Plus there's a huge difference with the Battery. I you use my CPU Settings, you should gain 3 hours Min on your phone. Also dropping the CPU in call is great, helps for longer calls and less overheating. If your S-Off you should use a custom kernel. UV Kernels are great.
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Click to collapse
I actually just got an uv kernel, I am about to flash it, I will use your settings too, thanks.
yellowjacket1981 said:
I actually just got an uv kernel, I am about to flash it, I will use your settings too, thanks.
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If you run a Sense 3.6 Rom, boost the CPU to 1Ghz. 918Mhz Lags.
Sent from my HTC myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk
yellowjacket1981 said:
so, I bought set cpu about 3 phones ago, but I never really saw a differnence, can it be used with the stock kernel?
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Click to collapse
Yes.
You cannot use anything the kernel doesn't already serve as an option, though.
SetCPU doesn't create options - it allows you user-level access to the ones already existing.
Normally you have no control over your clock speed but with it you can...say... limit the maximum clock speed to only be two-thirds of the stock speed.
Since it doesn't ramp up all the way, it doesn't drain as much power.
If you are playing games and stuff that needs a lot of resources, then the slower clock speeds cost you battery since it takes more effort to get the same work done. But if you don't do much with your phone, and don't need a lot of high-end CPU ability, why let it run flat out?
You can also set it to be like that only sometimes, and maximize battery savings by telling your device to chill out when it doesn't have to be awesome.
Now, if you get into custom kernels where you or a dev has opened up more options, SetCPU will again give you user level control over them.
Especially once you get into overclocking beyond manufacturer(s) recommendations, not having some end-user level control over the processor like this is irresponsible.
If you think I run a 1.7 or 1.9 or 1.5+anything on the device flat-out balls-to-the-wall all the time, I would ask you if you drive your car with the gas pedal smashed to the floor all the time. (it's a fitting analogy)
No, again, that would be irresponsible abuse of the hardware for no good reason.
If not SetCPU, then there would be something else to use, but SetCPU is a great interface that not only works well but is maintaned within the XDA community by a member here.
I will always go for the XDA community member version of any app first - it's usually a problem solved from a perspective very near the way I am perceiving the issue, supports the community, and is always easier to find help on if necessary.
What's even cooler is SetCPU is given away free by the dev to XDA members.
I did go ahead and buy it anyway to support the dev. It is a fantastic tool at my disposal, and I have come to realize just how much time and energy goes into making this kind of stuff.
Beyond all that, though, there are a ton of crap apps and software out there slapped together by people who don't care or didn't put the right level of effort into their work. When I find something that actually works and works well after sifting through a sea of garbage, if there is a paid version of the app i'll usually buy it not only as a thank you but also to encourage that particular person to keep working. They - unlike many, many others (in my opinion) earned it.
I know i'm drifting off topic a bit, sorry for that - I just really appreciate quality work and SetCPU falls in with that crowd nicely.
Even without a custom kernel providing options beyond stock, there is still a lot of value this app can hold for anyone with root level access to their device.
Blue6IX said:
If you are playing games and stuff that needs a lot of resources, then the slower clock speeds cost you battery since it takes more effort to get the same work done.
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Click to collapse
Is this true? in my mind, I feel like it will take longer/not be as smooth, but wouldn't necessarily be worse for battery than a higher clock speed.
On a one-for-one comparison it leans more towards an even playing field, until you add that it's a dual-core processor and it very heavily skews the results towards less battery at higher clock speeds for complex operations.
Faster CPU speeds process the actions more quickly, and when you have to crunch a lot of numbers real quick like you do for most games the higher clock speed (especially on the dual core we are using) will complete the act with less power used. It is able to keep up with and/or outpace the flow of data being thrown at it.
If you are just using a notepad or browsing some forums maybe...sending a few texts? Then the higher clock speeds show a negative return on battery usage - you don't need it and it's wasteful.
But when the data has to stay buffered because the CPU is taking it's time working with it, not only is there more electricity consumed by keeping the processor alive longer but also the juice spent on keeping the data buffered.
The data computed is the same data computed at any speed (unless you lose data along the way...) but the power spent on completing that operation is not equal - not by a long shot.
On single core older processors where you are talking about a couple hundred megahertz one way or another the equation is much different, significantly diminshed returns on electricity invested, but with higher quality and multi-core processors especially they can cut through the data with significant ease when sufficiently powered.
But this is on processor intensive activities, and gaming is the first thing that comes to mind. For most other use of the device it's worth underclocking it and you will see battery gains.
Doesn't matter which ROM, which kernel (except stick, didn't stay on there long enough to notice), when everything are off or idling, CPU would still constantly kick up to 601mhz (unless i under clock of course), never really sleep/idle at 214 or whatever
Y?
Seems like this CPU can never sleep, or even idle, thus killing the battery
this phone (and alot of newer ones) are using an idea called Race to idle.
this means that the cpu will kick its cpu speed up higher than it needs to get things done faster, so it can get back to a low power idle state faster.
In reality your cpu is really going in and out of sleep states hundreds or thousands of times a second, the frequency is just kicked up so that it can spend less time computing, and more time sleeping.
for the hell of it try downloading an app that shows you cpu usage in %
that number is the amount of time that the cpu is in a fully awake state vs being in its first stage sleep state, LP1.
if nothing happens for a bit longer than it will go into an even lower power state called LP2. frequency can still be set to a higher number (like 600mhz or even 1ghz) but the cpu is actually not doing any calculations. its sleeping till something needs it.
also, changing cpu speed takes a long time (cpu wise), the cpu has to pause, change speed, then wake up. so the less it does this the less lag you have.
^The guy above is right, you can put it to 1.5 gHz and it wouldn't die sooner, what makes the difference is how much you use the phone. If you listen to music and text, you don't need it to go farther than 800 mHz, but the extra boost with make it faster but also use more energy.
What background apps are open?
Klathmon said:
this phone (and alot of newer ones) are using an idea called Race to idle.
this means that the cpu will kick its cpu speed up higher than it needs to get things done faster, so it can get back to a low power idle state faster.
In reality your cpu is really going in and out of sleep states hundreds or thousands of times a second, the frequency is just kicked up so that it can spend less time computing, and more time sleeping.
for the hell of it try downloading an app that shows you cpu usage in %
that number is the amount of time that the cpu is in a fully awake state vs being in its first stage sleep state, LP1.
if nothing happens for a bit longer than it will go into an even lower power state called LP2. frequency can still be set to a higher number (like 600mhz or even 1ghz) but the cpu is actually not doing any calculations. its sleeping till something needs it.
also, changing cpu speed takes a long time (cpu wise), the cpu has to pause, change speed, then wake up. so the less it does this the less lag you have.
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Thanks, and i know about the race to idle. 1. My previous phone was a galaxy s 4g. when in idle, it stays at 100mhz, lowest speed and stay there til the screen goes out. Great idle battery life. Cpu info and the likes shows large percent of time in sleep state based on reading the time in state file
2. I haven't found a single kernel that support the time in state file (various cm, faux, morfic, harsh, can't remember the rest, sorry devs - gb n ics). Without this file, we cannot determine time in sleep
Bonus, i use to have a viewsonic tab with same harmony tegra 2 board as the g2x and it can't get 3 days of standby compared to other tablets that can do over a week. Also due to sleep issue. And that don't even have cell data. Wifi off too
atb1183 said:
Thanks, and i know about the race to idle. 1. My previous phone was a galaxy s 4g. when in idle, it stays at 100mhz, lowest speed and stay there til the screen goes out. Great idle battery life. Cpu info and the likes shows large percent of time in sleep state based on reading the time in state file
2. I haven't found a single kernel that support the time in state file (various cm, faux, morfic, harsh, can't remember the rest, sorry devs - gb n ics). Without this file, we cannot determine time in sleep
Bonus, i use to have a viewsonic tab with same harmony tegra 2 board as the g2x and it can't get 3 days of standby compared to other tablets that can do over a week. Also due to sleep issue. And that don't even have cell data. Wifi off too
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Click to collapse
that's due to the 'unique' governor built into tegra. it likes to kick the speed up at the slightest need for power, and keep it there just in case you want to do something. its sure as hell an eager little bugger
on the galaxy s 4g you can change the governor to change its behavior, your probably using a fancy Linux governor that is tweaked to be damn near perfect, Nvidia tried to design its governor from scratch... the success they had is debatable, but its different from what your used to.
Nvidia seemed to prefer performance over battery life, and its definitely not the most standby friendly, but the good news is that custom kernels and roms allow you to change that
Thanks. That's a satisfactory and most likely to be true. Used on demand gov on the gs4g w plenty of tweaks. Hopefully we can do similar tweaks in here on the new kernels
Yeah for a light user like myself, I only use the phone for text/fb/twitter/email and music, so I usually keep my clock at 800mhz, and well.....when i need to play games i just clock it to 1.2kmhz, thats usually enough for me, havnt lag in any 3d games i played yet so far.
and sell, if you open the setcpu and watch it for like 20 seconds, you should notice it never going above 601 on idle, mine kinda bounce between 389 and 601 with 389 most of the time. Which kernel/rom you using anyways? Just wondering.