Running: Asus Transformer TF101 (with Tegra 2 chip)
OS: EOS Custom ROM 78 (Jelly Bean) -- And THANKS to 'em!
Short Question: What the heck are those minimum/maximum MHz settings' optimal numbers?
Long Question: My TF101 w/ EOS Nightly #78 has an overclocking feature in it. Very cool. There are not one, but TWO, separate settings for the chip -- a minimum MHz (starting at 200MHz or something) and a maximum MHz (all the way up to 1600MHz). But after I messed some with it (and like a dunce did not write down the original values) I experienced some random reboots, usually after I closed the lid a while and then reopened it.
So, my question's long version (which is actually a number of questions), follows...
* What are the original values of the Tegra 2 chip in one of these babies? I mean, 1000MHz (1Ghz) is probably the maximum default setting, since that's the chip's official rating. But what's the minimum setting supposed to be at?
* Can I do something as crazy as to tell it to run minimum of 1200MHz and maximum of 1600MHz? In fact, I'm trying that right now and it seems to be working.... but I doubt I'll leave it that way even if it does (makes me nervous about messing up the hardware).
* What optimal settings have others tried with this chip in this (TF101) unit.... or even in other Tegra 2 based tablets?
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to comments.
shonkin said:
Running: Asus Transformer TF101 (with Tegra 2 chip)
OS: EOS Custom ROM 78 (Jelly Bean) -- And THANKS to 'em!
Short Question: What the heck are those minimum/maximum MHz settings' optimal numbers?
Long Question: My TF101 w/ EOS Nightly #78 has an overclocking feature in it. Very cool. There are not one, but TWO, separate settings for the chip -- a maximum MHz (starting at 200MHz or something) and a maximum MHz (all the way up to 1600MHz). But after I messed some with it (and like a dunce did not write down the original values) I experienced some random reboots, usually after I closed the lid a while and then reopened it.
So, my question's long version (which is actually a number of questions), follows...
* What are the original values of the Tegra 2 chip in one of these babies? I mean, 1000MHz (1Ghz) is probably the maximum default setting, since that's the chip's official rating. But what's the minimum setting supposed to be at?
* Can I do something as crazy as to tell it to run minimum of 1200MHz and maximum of 1600MHz? In fact, I'm trying that right now and it seems to be working.... but I doubt I'll leave it that way even if it does (makes me nervous about messing up the hardware).
* What optimal settings have others tried with this chip in this (TF101) unit.... or even in other Tegra 2 based tablets?
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally its all up to your specific chip and how much it can handle as all hardware isn't created equal especially Tegra soc's... the stock speed is 1GHz for the TF but could easily run higher... i would only run your min so high if doing benchmarking not everyday use.. it will kill your battery faster, it would tho benefit benchmarking Because it would run at the highest speed and not have a chance to jump to a lower speed... wont do any damage to the chip since it has built in thermal throttling anyways... my suggestion would be setting your min to the lowest and With the max speed start at 1.2GHz with some stability tests, or heavy use at different OC speeds to find your chips sweet spot with both stability, Battery life and performance.. and have fun
DJLamontagneIII said:
Generally its all up to your specific chip and how much it can handle as all hardware isn't created equal especially Tegra soc's... the stock speed is 1GHz for the TF but could easily run higher... i would only run your min so high if doing benchmarking not everyday use.. it will kill your battery faster, it would tho benefit benchmarking Because it would run at the highest speed and not have a chance to jump to a lower speed... wont do any damage to the chip since it has built in thermal throttling anyways... my suggestion would be setting your min to the lowest and With the max speed start at 1.2GHz with some stability tests, or heavy use at different OC speeds to find your chips sweet spot with both stability, Battery life and performance.. and have fun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure where the "thanks" button is yet here, but will try to figure it out. Wait.... I just did.
Tonight I backed the minimum down to the 800 vicinity (whatever that number is) and left the top number at 1600. My recent test has been to run Angry Bird, which is not the most stable program. It runs just fine at this setting. The battery is draining fast, though.
So you are suggesting that taking it all the way to the basement minimum-wise will still give me fairly stable top end? I keep wondering if there's any relationship at all between the two numbers, if at some point they don't affect one another adversely if too far apart? This idea is based on no knowledge whatever.
So any furhter thoughts welcome.
shonkin said:
I'm not sure where the "thanks" button is yet here, but will try to figure it out. Wait.... I just did.
Tonight I backed the minimum down to the 800 vicinity (whatever that number is) and left the top number at 1600. My recent test has been to run Angry Bird, which is not the most stable program. It runs just fine at this setting. The battery is draining fast, though.
So you are suggesting that taking it all the way to the basement minimum-wise will still give me fairly stable top end? I keep wondering if there's any relationship at all between the two numbers, if at some point they don't affect one another adversely if too far apart? This idea is based on no knowledge whatever.
So any furhter thoughts welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is best to leave the min freq as per default and push only the max freq. Then, you can set application profiles whereby you will allow an oc if you play a specific app(this feature requires an app that is called setcpu). This is to allow you to gain the best battery life(what you did is okay as well, but you'll have less battery life as the proc is running at 800mhz at min)
Otherwise, you can do it manually by setting the governor. For example, when you want to play games, set the governor to performance and oc your proc. When you don't want to play games anymore, then set it back to interactive or ondemand(or any other suggested governor for your device) to allow battery saving
wcypierre said:
It is best to leave the min freq as per default and push only the max freq. Then, you can set application profiles whereby you will allow an oc if you play a specific app(this feature requires an app that is called setcpu). This is to allow you to gain the best battery life(what you did is okay as well, but you'll have less battery life as the proc is running at 800mhz at min)
Otherwise, you can do it manually by setting the governor. For example, when you want to play games, set the governor to performance and oc your proc. When you don't want to play games anymore, then set it back to interactive or ondemand(or any other suggested governor for your device) to allow battery saving
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have setcpu but after mucking about with it managed to end up with an unstable system (spontaneous reboots, esp. after closing then opening lid and "waking up" the TF101). Currently I'm just using the EOS Rom's own system settings and having low end all the way to minimum (200 something) and top end at 1500+. The 1600 mhz setting is apparently a problem for this machine (the spontaneous resets again). But at 1500 whatever it seems just fine
One other issue, very important to all of us (harhar), is that Angry Birds seems unstable since I updated to this custom EOS rom. I noted elsewhere that someone said simply turning off wireless would disable ads and stablize the game. I've not tried that yet. Losing angry birds for me would not be a major blow.
Related
Mini Overclocking Guide
NOTE: The Steps Below were Tested on Froyo Roms. I have found different and perhaps better ways to test stability with CM7 Roms so I added a section for that too.
You can still use Stability Test but I don't use it too often anymore for CM7.
Programs Required for testing:
#1 Stability Test
#2 Neocore (please note that some kernels are not FPS unlocked meaning that the frame rate will not go over 56fps so make sure to compare apples to apples when testing different kernels).
For overclocking/undervolting you can use either Pimp My CPU or Voltage Control
Intro:
I posted this Guide in ROM thread but decided it might help someone trying to get a head start overclocking...just a reference not a bible.
First of all, please realize that no two CPUs are created equal. Just like with PC Overclocking, there is the luck of the draw involved here so just because one person can do 1.4Ghz it does not mean you will be able to do so nor it means that my UV settings will work for you.
Achieving 1.2Ghz should be feasible for almost all users since most of the code for it was already done by Samsung themselves. After that point though, it is a matter of luck. Many users can do 1.3Ghz but getting into 1.4Ghz the chances of stability drop dramatically.
Please note that with CM7 Roms it seems a LOT more people is able to hit 1.4Ghz and even 1.5Ghz fully stable. 1.6Ghz is also working although not as common. It is easier to use it if you select 1.6Ghz as the ONLY frequency but of course battery life will be affected.
So, start at 1.2Ghz and try to achieve stability with the lowest possible UV settings you can get to improve your battery life then when fully stable, go for a bit more speed if you like until you find your limit.
Process:
The following is the process I use to get 100% stability. Of course, you can use your own or tweak as you like as this is hardly the ONLY TRUTH of overclocking…I just hope it gives you a good idea on how to achieve stability.
I normally use these settings for 1200Mhz:
1200Mhz @ -100
1120Mhz @ -100
1000Mhz @ -100
900Mhz @ -100
800Mhz @ -100
400Mhz @ -100
200Mhz @ -100
100Mhz @ -100
After setting those up , click the Apply Now button but do not save to the Boot settings until you are sure they are stable for you.
To check stability I first run the Stability Test program and let it loop about 30 times or at least 20 of the CORE (not the RAM).
If it fails give it another shot if it fails again then it is time to adjust the voltages for 1200Mhz.
My experience has been that Stability Test crashes to the home screen when it needs more voltage so if it crashes for you change the UV to -75 and test again.
When you are able to pass that test , you can go to Neocore and try looping Neocore and let it running for about 5 to 10 minutes.
If Neocore freezes, at least for my phone, it means that voltage is too high so I need to drop the UV.
Right there is where the whole trick is. Trying to find what UV voltage is enough for Stability Test to pass but still low enough so that Neocore does not freeze.
This takes a lot of trial and error specially when going for 1.4Ghz!
Another thing is that the UV setting for the frequency below the one you are going for, like 1120 and 1000 for example, do have an effect on the stability you are trying to achieve on 1200Mhz because the phone does not seem to like big voltage jumps .
Some times changing the voltage for the frequency below the one you are adjusting is a good way of achieving stability.
This becomes more important when for example you find out that changing 1.2Ghz to -50 gives you stability for Stability Test but then you need -75 in order to pass Neocore test. What do you do then? What I have done with relative success is , use -75 but then increase the voltage to the frequencies below 1200.
For example if I had
1200Mhz @ -75
1120Mhz @ -100
1000Mhz @ -100
I would change it to:
1200Mhz @ -75
1120Mhz @ -75
1000Mhz @ -75
then test Stability Test to see if those changes help you pass it without having to increase the voltage for 1.2Ghz directly thus avoiding the Neocore freezing issue.
Another process some users are doing is just run Neocore for about 30 minutes and it seems to be a good alternative for some. Guess it all depends on your particular phone.
So, as you can image, this means a LOT of trial and error and restarts of your phone. For 1.2Ghz it should be painless but if you want to go higher, prepare to do a lot of the steps above.
Another thing to consider is that some phones seem to work better with kernels that only have one top speed after 1Ghz as opposed to kernels that offer multiple speed options so this is yet another variable to work with.
Also, remember that to restart your phone, there is no need to pull out the battery. Just press and hold the Volume Up and Power button and it will restart.
I am sure this guide can be done a lot better and will be glad to add or edit with any recommendations you can offer.
I hope this helps some of you trying to push your phones to the limits and have fun!
UPDATE for CM7 Users
With CM7 what we considered THE holly grail of speeds, 1.4Ghz with Froyo Roms suddenly became a VERY common thing.
I have no explanation as to why but a LOT of users are able to get 1.4Ghz and even 1.5Ghz perfectly stable on CM7 and the phones just fly at those speeds. Some are also able to get 1.6Ghz stable but that is harder.
Setting only one speed like 1.6Ghz dramatically increased the stability as well. Just a hint for you guys wanting to do some benchmarks.
You can use a program like Pimp My CPU or Voltage Control to set the voltages and the Maximum and Minimum speed.
Now while the Steps at the beginning of the guide (for Froyo roms) should be fine for CM7 as well ...I have noticed, at least with my phone , that a video player called Moboplayer is VERY good for stability testing CM7. In fact, I do not even use Stability Test any more since I moved to CM7.
When the voltage is a bit low on my screen it creates some artifacts, usually green spots that come up and go in random areas until it freezes.
My actual favorite player for CM7 is Dice Player because for me it plays 720p files better but I like moboplayer a lot as well specially because of the artifacts it shows when I am not stable so it is a quick way to tell the settings are not going to work.
Another thing I love to use if the Riptide Game (tegra 2 game) with Chainfire 3D plugin to make it work on our phones. That game will just close without warning when my speed is unstable. So I just let it running the demo on its own for about 10 minutes.
So basically, I use Moboplayer and Riptide to test my stability and with those tests my system is ready to go and takes less time than the steps I used to do.
Of course you can come up with your own preferred tools since our phones are quite unique and seem to have their own personalities.
It seems some users are having luck with my settings so here are my settings for 1.6Ghz This is for GLITCH kernel (V10C VC). Remember that each kernel has different voltages so instead of giving you a minus value like -100 I will give you the actual voltage I am using for each speed.
1.6Ghz - 1425mV
1.5Ghz - 1400
1.44 - 1325
1.4Ghz - 1325
1.3Ghz - 1275
1.2Ghz - 1275
1.0Ghz - 1200
800Mhz - 1100
400Mhz - 950
200Mhz - 850
100Mhz - 850
For Governor I normally just have Smartass and the Scheduler is NOOP.
Not that while for 1.6Ghz my current setting is either -50 or -75, if I were to select only 1.6Ghz as my max and minimum speed, I am then able to lower the voltage to -100 perfectly stable. Just an interesting thing for you to play with.
Important Note for CM7 users getting many FCs like google service or android service.
CM7 has a much smaller data space for application installs and every time I get to that limit my phone gets crazy with FCs. You can check that by going to your applications and launching the TERMINAL application then type df (in lower case) and pressing Enter.
Look at the top table listed for /datadata and make sure you have some available space.
As long as I keep that from filling up (in fact I prefer to keep it around 60% max to give me some room) my phone works like a charm.
You can use an app like APP2SD to move application data to the SD card to free up space.
Have fun and enjoy your pumped up phone!
UPDATE 12/30/2011
CyanogenMod 9 (ICS) users with Glitch kernel using LiveOC you can use my settings as a starting point.
This is what I use for 1603Mhz
Voltages:
ARM voltage
from 1500 to 1200 = 1.5V ; 1000 = 1.375V ; 800 = 1.250V ; 400=1.100V ; 200=950mV ; 100=900mV
Int from 1400 to 1200 = 1.2V ; 1000 = 1.15V ; 800 = 1.125V ; 400=1.100V ; 200=1.100V ; 100=1.000V
Then 123% LiveOC using 1300MHz step (giving you 1.6GHz)
Governor I am still testing but usually Smartass V2
You can of course use it as a starting point for lower speeds if you like.
Nice man. Saves alot of frustration with this.
Awesome! Thank you!
You are the OC master, Shaolin.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
I wish I was a master indeed but I just have a lot of patience I guess to test ..and test...and crash..an test some more
I think I saw a post that said that any temperature below 56 degrees Celcius is fine for the captivate. I still start to worry though if it reaches 50 during a stability test, what's your opinion?
I noticed that mine when it its 50C or so for any reason (battery temp IIRC) it stops charging so that is where I normally draw the line. If I cannot keep it under that I dont feel comfortable.
That 50 is pretty high, at least for me. Even with stability test going for an hour or so at 1400, I only hit 46. Haven't seen anything higher
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Depends on ambient temp of course...you cannot compared devices temps without knowing the ambient temp. In any case, I saw that when I was using the first Trident kernel. That one even made my screen feel very hot...kinda scary lol
Right now, the only app I have that makes my phone stop charging, even when temp is low, is the Justin TV viewing app....weird. I even ran the phone at 600Mhz only to make sure.
AReynante said:
That 50 is pretty high, at least for me. Even with stability test going for an hour or so at 1400, I only hit 46. Haven't seen anything higher
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was testing out 1500 1400 is fine for me with -100 for each value. 1500 is a different story since I haven't managed to find a stable combination yet (that doesn't reach 50 degrees Celcius).
Sweet. Are you getting to 50C with a specific app? I only get there with some streaming apps but I really only use 1.5 for fpse emulator for example.
I don't have an app that tells me the temperature so the only time I know is if I do a stability test. I'm not sure if I really have a need for 1500MHz since I don't use emulators much but it's more of a "yea my phone can do it" kind of accomplishment - unless I'm missing out on some other benefits of 1500Mhz over 1400Mhz besides possibly more smoothness.
zuN! said:
I don't have an app that tells me the temperature so the only time I know is if I do a stability test. I'm not sure if I really have a need for 1500GHz since I don't use emulators much but it's more of a "yea my phone can do it" kind of accomplishment - unless I'm missing out on some other benefits of 1500Ghz over 1400Ghz besides possibly more smoothness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol 1.5 terahertz I want that phone!
studacris said:
Lol 1.5 terahertz I want that phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow didnt notice that....thats Fing awesome!
Stability Test question
Hey Shaolin,
Just a quick question here, when you mention running stability test through 30/50 runs, are you referencing the RAM runs or the core runs? Just checking, since the RAM runs complete within a few minutes whereas the core runs take closer to half an hour, etc.
Thanks for posting the guide, much appreciated!!!
Since the new version I am only doing 30 of the core runs since it seems to take longer than before.
You are welcome amigo
shaolin95 said:
Since the new version I am only doing 30 of the core runs since it seems to take longer than before.
You are welcome amigo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, maybe you can add this to your guide as I thought before that stability test and several runs of new core, nenamark, etc...that after passing those tests you're probably stable but what I found out that I can pass those tests without problems and just recently those test are not enough for you to be sure if you are really stable what I have found is to run or record in your phone video cam in its highest resolution about 720p for 200mb worth of data if your phone won't freeze then it's pretty stable you can delete those files afterwards.
Indeed each phone and user can find specific things that work for them, for example with my phone I can just use mobo player and play some videos and I get artifacts when voltage is low or I had a game that with low voltage will always freeze at the same spot yet some user do not have the same effect.
I guess I can add a small list of other possible quick tests like that video one you mentioned as alternatives
I found out another way to test stability which is to do a batch operation of backing up apps with TiBu. I'm not sure what it implies if it crashes though
Hi shaolin95, can I link this post in my VoltageControl thread? (with credits ofc)
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
So I have a few apps... Voltage Control, SetCPU, No-Frills CPU... but I've honestly been a bit weary to use them. I want the best battery life since I'm a heavy user, but I also don't want to overclock/set voltage to a point where I'll screw up my phone. I'll admit that I'm a novice user when it comes to voltage/overclocking, but not when it comes to ROMs, kernels, bootloaders, etc. I work with those all the time, but really trying to get the most out of the battery and CPU.
There's this thread I found that has someone's settings on it, but don't know if its good or how much this guy knows(no offense to him):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1356211
Anyone got any insight or perhaps screenies of their optimally tested settings? VERY VERY appreciated to anyone that can help.
jgruberman said:
So I have a few apps... Voltage Control, SetCPU, No-Frills CPU... but I've honestly been a bit weary to use them. I want the best battery life since I'm a heavy user, but I also don't want to overclock/set voltage to a point where I'll screw up my phone. I'll admit that I'm a novice user when it comes to voltage/overclocking, but not when it comes to ROMs, kernels, bootloaders, etc. I work with those all the time, but really trying to get the most out of the battery and CPU.
There's this thread I found that has someone's settings on it, but don't know if its good or how much this guy knows(no offense to him):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1356211
Anyone got any insight or perhaps screenies of their optimally tested settings? VERY VERY appreciated to anyone that can help.
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there is no rule. every cpu is different. very different. my captivate took a lot of effort to get a meer 1300 mhz but my infuses get 1600 no problem at all. some infuses wont go to 1600 but more will go to 1500 than galaxy s's. they probably held out the best testing cpu's for the higher clocked phone.
for battery life try clocking @ 800 mhz and dont use screen off profiles just because it looks like a good idea to slow the cpu when you arent really using it(causes problems if the max freq is too low with some kernels) and test stability with your uv settings, go down a little at a time, for max frequency uv from the top down, for battery life go from the bottom up and disable the upper freqs if they become unstable. this is because rapid voltage changes can contribute to instability. too much differential will cause crashes if the uv is extreme or the oc is extreme.
at some point though the cpu settings will have a limited effect. the radios use battery as well. manage your screen brightness and try edge only with the screen off using any number of apps that manage the radio. try one of entropys kernels to avoid a feature of the wifi chip (or was it bt) from sucking power when in proximity of another device with the same chip. turn off sync if you dont need push emails from gmail or real time facebook updates and if you really need battery life get in the habit of togging wifi and bt and gps on and off depending on need. i do none on this because i always found the battery life adequate on samsung phones but on my aria, well it was a must and prolly why people hate android. htc and battery life dont go together unless you manually manage the phone functions.
That's a great bunch of information. I currently keep my Brightness at 0%, GPS off, Wifi only ON when I'm at work when the charger is plugged in.
I guess I'm more concerned with the undervolting than the overclocking. I'd rather preserve the battery life with undervolting... the overclocking isnt a HUGE concern, but it'd be nice to see. Regardless, if you have any "ideal" UV settings, or ones that have worked for YOUR Infuse(assuming you have one), then I'd love to see them.
at one point i had -200mv on every freq from 100-1600mhz and no crashes. i started manually editing the uv script (voltage control is only able to write -200 into the script unless you have the pay version) and forgot what i ended up with. but my first infuse was exceptional in that area. some infuses freeze above 1400 mhz no matter what voltage settings are used. about -50 seems to be safe 99% of the time with minor or no overclock across the board but you could probably go -50 down low and -100 from 400mhz up to 1200 and -50 or -75 on overclock freqs. with underclock or atleast no overclock it's probably safe to go -100 to -150. it may be safe to go much more than that as well but on a small number of phones that might be too far as it is. cpus are made on such a small scale that microns of inconsistency make large percentages of difference. many dont pass testing and qc. some are borderline for the application, some are exceptional. the smaller the architecture gets the more potential the design has for speed but the larger the variance in performance is given a manufacturing technique. obviously the manufacturing gets better and better combating this so that they can make smaller architectures they also have redundancy built in, but sometimes they just disable features of a chipset and market it as an economy version if they have a low pass rate. ever see a 3 core cpu for a pc? most are manufactured as 4 cores and on many motherboards the bios can unlock the 4th core with somewhat unpredictable results.
Again, some really great info for the technical guys such as myself. What is the best way to test the UV settings? The built in tools and stuff in SetCPU? Or is there another way that would be more effective and/or would get more realistic results?
It seems like every phone can handle a different clock speed, is there is a tried and true way to find the optimal clock speed for your phone?
No as u say every phone acts on hes own so i dont think there is any software for this ( optimal overclock) but there is software for ocing it easy like setcpu or nstools... you can oc your cpu by raising it, and using it with multitasking and if it doesnt reboot in hour or two of heavy usage then go step higher. When it reboots try with step or two higher voltages and so on until you get highest cpu with moded voltages (not more than 2 steps) stable with no reboots. Ofc i wouldnt recommend this as you are not getting anything special from it and you risk your phone... btw optimal cpu speed is its own stock speed that is just pure logic xd
Though there is no agreed upon definition, to me the optimal cpu speed is not the stock speed, the stock speed is the standard safe speed. When a CPU is manufactured it invariably has defects, the number of defects dictates the speed at which it can run. For example, when they manufacture the i5 and the i7 they probably just take defective i7 chips and turn off two cores and call it an i5. (I don't know if they actually do this with the i5 and i7 but it's been common practice with just about every processor in the past.)
I guess I should use a different term like, maximum safe speed.
Trial and error is the best way to my knowledge, haven't heard of any phone apps adjusting clocks on the fly based on temp, inaccuracies, etc, like on a computer. You can feel the temp of the phone and it'll reboot at the smallest sign of instability, just don't set test profiles to set on boot.
And what you say is correct. Processes with similar imperfections are grouped, tested and sold under a given name with the benchmark being stock frequency and voltages. Common practice and very often you get some chips you can over clock til it expands out of its bracket and others which fail at everything but stock.
about time for me to change roms again. i know there are many with this option, but have never chose to pursue that option due to lack of understanding benefits. always seemed to get satisfactory battery life out of phone, but could it be better? i have noticed different speeds on my phone with different roms but is this something that can speed up and keep the smooooth in my phone?
just thought i would get some feedback of the advantages and disadvantages of overclocking and undervolting.
will it harm my infuse?
what are good settings?
what exactly would the OC or UV each do?
if i run a search on this, i know i am going to get the phone book and just figured i would get a more specific answer directly as opposed to piecing little bits together and still not being confident in what my interpretation would be.
everyone in the infuse community always seems to have the answers and dont steer the dullards such as myself in the wrong direction.
you guys are the MAN, and well, you women.....your the woman i reckon
captemo said:
will it harm my infuse?
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No, so significant damage can be done with overclocking. Alhought if you set your ghz too high your phone might become unresponsive, overheat and/or auto reboot your device. This is normal if your on GB and some ICS roms. Don't see it much on JB becuase the some kernels dont support it. Just be sure to play with your settings and MAKE SURE SET ON BOOT IS DISABLED or else your phone will be stuck in a bootloop when overclocked beyond stable settings.
captemo said:
what are good settings?
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I usually stick with 1400 ghz because 1600 ghz[max] drains battery too quickly for not much of performance boost and 1600 is considered unstable on most GB and ICS roms. As for CPU governor Id stick with ONDEMAND.
captemo said:
what exactly would the OC or UV each do?
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OC is over clocking your processor to a higher ghz for better perofmance and under volting is drawing less energy
Is there like a guide saying what each CPU governor does? Because some of them are pretty confusing with their terminology, like smartassv2
Garen21 said:
Is there like a guide saying what each CPU governor does? Because some of them are pretty confusing with their terminology, like smartassv2
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420742
I used to under volt a lot to get better battery life. But it seemed to make a couple apps hang now and then.
I am now on Scotts PA JellyBean ROM. Battery life is very good for me stock with this. So I have left under volt to stock settings.
Normally I'll run on smartassV2 governer. With NOOP i/o. And 100mhz - 1400mhz.. just for a little extra boost.
When I know I'll be playing a game or multitasking, I'll boost it to 1600mhz.
Overall stock settings run amazing, both battery life and performance, on Scott's PA JB and CM10.
After doing some reading, I believe I can get better results from using the above settings. It all depends on what your personal goal is.
The biggest concern you should have when overclocking is mentioned above. Boot loop, just make sure you test it for a while with set on boot un checked.
Undervolting you can go to low and also boot loop, so same applies here... leave set on boot un checked. All phones are different on what settings they run best at. Just gotta play around and see what works for you.
A good rule of thumb for under voting... go down 25mv at a time and test it out... keep going down 25mv until you get a problem or boot loop and then go back.. then you'll know your max.
You can safely under volt more on the lower frequencies than you can the higher ones. Personally I never undervolted more than 100mv across the board. And when I did, I usually kept it around -50mv.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app
not for infuse but a good reference for ocuv. explains what they do
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1827635
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
This is the best guide I've found covering kernel and system tuning - CPU parameters, governors, schedulers, init.d, loadable modules, etc. It's for the SGS2 (i9000) and some of the governors/schedulers are not available on the Infuse, but much of this is applicable to our phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1369817
As for OC/UV, as long as you stay away from the "Performance" governor (this runs the phone at max freq all the time), and undervolting below -75 to -100 you generally will be safe. As phones are different, it is important to test in gradual steps to ensure your phone will be reliable. Use a good CPU manager, like SetCPU, Antutu, or Voltage Control. Make sure you enable the "revert to stock" feature so that you can boot recovery and turn off any bad OC/UV. As noted above, do not check the enable on boot setting until you are certain you have a good config.
The decision to OC should take into account how you use the phone. If your phone is asleep more than 80% of the time on average, you can probably run an OC config and still have overall good battery life (i.e. lasting an entire day with nightly recharges). If you use your phone for music playback or something else that prevents it from sleeping, OC may not be for you. If you run CPU intensive games, it is better to disable UV settings while OCed.
Use CPU Spy to keep an eye on your time at each freq state (and sleep). Use the default battery stats and graph to monitor which apps are consuming the most battery. Use apps like Better Battery Stats, Android Assistant and Watchdog for more detailed monitoring of what is keeping the phone awake and which apps/processes are top cpu resource consumers. With this information you can identify problem apps and decide whether you should remove them from your phone.
From the "unintended functionality" side of the house, there are certain tweaks that will cause your phone to run at max freq ... mucking around with phone properties in build.prop can lead to runaway rild process problems (usually shows up as unusually high "Dialer" in the standard battery stats list and a phone that is warm or hot to the touch). Some of the tweak scripts in adrenaline and tbolt can cause similar problems. There is a known bug in the infuse network drivers that shows up as much higher than normal Android OS battery usage. This can usually be corrected (short term fix) by toggling Flight/Airplane mode off/on. Running the stock UCLB3 GB kernel also seems to minimize this issue (assuming you are running a GB ROM), but flash with caution as you will need to disable voodoo lagfix first. (You will also lose CWM recovery, OC/UV capability, and be on the slower stock file system setup).
I have done a fair amount of experimenting including lots of time on conservative governor with Fmax=1600 and never had any problem that I attributed to OC'ing.
In contrast I did find a limit on UVing. I just updated my thread with my experience on uv here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32552571#post32552571
The bottom line is that for MY phone, the following works fine:
100 Mhz: 950mv max – 50mv = 900 millivolts
200 Mhz: 950mv max – 25= 925 millivolts
400 Mhz: 1050mv max – 50mv = 1000 millivolts
800 Mhz: 1200mv max – 75 mv = 1125 millivolts
1200 Mhz: 1275mv max – 50mv = 1225 millivolts
1600 Mhz: 1400mv max – 75mv = 1325 millivolts
Some other links with others' experience suggestions about UV'ing for Infuse:
Hozw low is your undervolt?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1693689&highlight=kernel
[Q] Recommended SetCPU settings?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1292836&highlight=setcpu
You’ll note the last thread has comments from Entropy’s settings.
Also Zen and qkster gave advice in the first thread (my thread).
All three guys very well respected and worth listening to.
Entropy mentioned you can uv the higher frequencies more than the lower (different than what was posted earlier in this thread). I don’t know for sure but I’d lean toward Entropy’s advice on that matter.
I think all in all somewhere between 50 and 100 is the max you can expect to undervolt.
What can be achieved varies with phone as stated by many.
You are welcome to experiment with slowly decreasing. That's what I did.
But in the benefit of hindsight, the process of slowly decreasing is tedious. And going beyond the limit was a little scarey for me. Could've been worse if the phone crapped out at a critical time during "experimenting". Like almost everything related to battery life, the results (how much benefit) seem y subjective (difficult to measure quantitatively). Most people say they don’t notice a dramatic difference with UV. If you want to get the low hanging fruit without a lot effort, you might just try 50 down. That's what I'd do if I had to do it all over again.
By the way, setcpu can be set up to provide a failsafe escape route even if you go overboard. There is a zip file that will toggle the setcpu settings off when launched from CWM. You just have to put the zip file on your sd card before you start tweaking. See "safe mode" in the setcpu documentation.
started to wonder at first whether i would get any responses after 218 views and nothing, but i knew the community would come through as they always do. all the regulars as usual regulars ( Zen, Quickster and others) are always eager to help. i think you have all provided me with the valuable info i requested.
thank you much party people