AMD PowerMonitor / Cool&Quiet

[UncasMS]

Athlon64 users might know about the cool & quiet feature:

Allows the system to automatically adjust the CPU speed, voltage and power combination that match the instantaneous user performance need. Download this Setup Installation program (EXE) to automatically update all the files necessary for installation. This package is recommended for users whom desire a graphical user interface for installation. This .EXE driver is a user friendly localized software installation of the driver designed for end-users.

using cool & quiet your cpu will run much cooler and consume much less power with no further user interaction

when more or less idling the cpu core frequency and core voltage will be reduced

i have it running all the time except when encoding or gaming

if you want to give it a try download the necessary processor driver for your OS and use powermonitor to check/set c&q easily


both can be found here:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html

direct links:

click the image


64bit Windows Processor Driver

32bit Windows Processor Driver

[uufta]

Thanks UncasMas:

I see these also work for the SEMPRON processor, which also have the cool & quiet feature,
thanks for the link,
HP says I can go all the way up to the "Clawhammer" with this motherboard, soon as I can afford it I probably will move up, but the Sempron seems to be handling all this Shrinking stuff O.K.
But it will be nice to know if I am pushing this processor to hard.

keep up the good work

gc

[Derree]

hmmmm I wonder....so is it easy to use? Is it easy to get rid of if not needed? and will the sytem shut down C&Q if it needs to?

[anonymez]

i have it running all the time except when encoding or gaming

why's that? won't degrade performance

[UncasMS]

you can install it without having to worry imho

when your system is not running full throttle activated c&q (you may have to ENABLE it in your bios!) will reduce the core speed and its voltage

within milliseconds it will go up to full speed if need be

if you want to play demanding games or run video encoding simply start the power monitor, rightclick it in the tray and switch between these power schemes:

- desktop (full throttle)
- minimum energy consumption

so there is absolutely nothing to worry about and hardly any work to use this feature


+++++++++

why's that? won't degrade performance

nope - it actually DOES degrade performance because the feature tries to reduce the core every couple of cycles

this can easily be measured with e.g. sandra/everest
with c&q on the benchmarks will be different and while gaming you might experience slight lags every once in a while

[uufta]

How do you set c&q on the "monitor" all mine does is monitor.
gc

never mind, I figured it out

[anonymez]

nope - it actually DOES degrade performance because the feature tries to reduce the core every couple of cycles

this can easily be measured with e.g. sandra/everest
with c&q on the benchmarks will be different and while gaming you might experience slight lags every once in a while

i had done some of my own benchmarks a while ago when i first got my 3200+. did 3Dmark 01 & 05 and sandra. difference was never more than 1%. just did the 3 cpu benches with everest; same results, again, if any difference, much under 1%. just did a 5-min xvid encode with vdubmod, same results.

as for actually playing games (where performance really matters to me-- i usually do encoding overnight), hadn't noticed anything with half-life 2/cs source/far cry/doom 3. farcry seemed to have an issue with cnq, but was resolved with a patch.

has to be at least 4-5% difference for me to be bothered switching it on/off before and after games/encoding . its a good idea to turn it off for overclocking and certain games that experience problems though.

[UncasMS]

never mind, I figured it out

so does c&q work for you now?

its a good idea to turn it off for overclocking and certain games that experience problems though.

guess that's just it - i always oc my pc when encoding or serious gaming takes place ^_~

[anonymez]

guess that's just it - i always oc my pc when encoding or serious gaming takes place ^_~

lol i see

curious, how much do you oc and how much of an improvement in encoding?

[Chewy]

I have found this approach, superior to amd's software in the cool and quiet department.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835106073

vastly superior!

[anonymez]

recently got a shiny new credit card, looking for something to use it on

[Chewy]

Pros: Amazing HSF! My X2 3800+ would run about 52c idle and 62c full load on stock cooler. With this it runs 36c idle and 42c full load. I had to open up my case just to make sure it was actually running, i...
t's that quiet!

I immediatly thought of you(anony) after reading this.

stock amd64 fans/heatsinks tend to accumulate

[anonymez]

i saw that too, immediately thought of myself

52c idle and 62c

he's got issues-- mine runs at 50-51c full load. forgot idle temp, gonna have to wait ~8 hours to check

[Chewy]

poorer case cooling and he might be north of you,

[BR7]

Thats just like speedfan for intel I shouln't say just like Kind of like is a better word for it