[SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

close · 2012-08-25 23:27:06

I have a Athlon 64 X2 4200+ dual core processor im running Linux 3.4.7-1-Arch i686

this is the print out from cpuinfo

 processor       : 0
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 43
model name      : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+
stepping        : 1
microcode       : 0x4d
cpu MHz         : 1000.000
cache size      : 512 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt lm 3dnowext 3dnow pni lahf_lm cmp_legacy
bogomips        : 1990.53
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management: ts fid vid ttp

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : AuthenticAMD
cpu family      : 15
model           : 43
model name      : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+
stepping        : 1
microcode       : 0x4d
cpu MHz         : 1000.000
cache size      : 512 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 1
initial apicid  : 1
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 1
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt lm 3dnowext 3dnow pni lahf_lm cmp_legacy
bogomips        : 1990.53
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management: ts fid vid ttp

any ideas as to why it wouldn't be running at 2.2ghz it seems to me Im only using half of my processing power i'm reading about cpu freq scaling but I thought that was just for power saving not configuring your processor output so Im confused

Last edited by close (2012-08-26 00:43:15)

2ManyDogs · 2012-08-25 23:33:59

From the wiki topic on CPU Frequency Scaling:

Since kernel 3.4 the necessary modules are loaded automatically and the recommended ondemand governor is enabled by default. However, userspace applications like cpupower, acpid, laptop-mode-tools, or GUI tools provided for your desktop environment, may still be used for advanced configuration.

I also have an Athlon X2, and it is usually running at 1 GHz instead of its max speed. When necessary it can run at the highest speed, but it heats up quickly. If you're not doing much 1 Ghz is plenty. The ondemand governor is not just for power saving.

Here is the output from cpufreq-info for one of the cores in my X2 (you should install and use cpupower instead of cpufrequtils). Notice the last part, where it tells me how much time it's spent at each of the speeds. It spends the great majority of its time at 1 GHz, because most of the time I don't need any more than that. If I compile something or put any demand on it it will run at the faster speeds.

analyzing CPU 0:
  driver: powernow-k8
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0 1
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0 1
  maximum transition latency: 109 us.
  hardware limits: 1000 MHz - 2.50 GHz
  available frequency steps: 2.50 GHz, 2.40 GHz, 2.20 GHz, 2.00 GHz, 1.80 GHz, 1000 MHz
  available cpufreq governors: userspace, conservative, powersave, ondemand, performance
  current policy: frequency should be within 1000 MHz and 2.50 GHz.
                  The governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency is 1000 MHz.
  cpufreq stats: 2.50 GHz:0.93%, 2.40 GHz:0.03%, 2.20 GHz:0.04%, 2.00 GHz:0.04%, 1.80 GHz:0.22%, 1000 MHz:98.74%  (4177)

Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2012-08-25 23:44:06)

close · 2012-08-25 23:50:25

yeah I do a lot of rendering in blender so I do need it I just wasn't aware up until now that the processsor was by default at 1ghz. this helps a lot I was reading the cpu freq scaling wiki and figured it would be applicapable to my issue so thanks for the confermation i'll def give it a shot thanks.

2ManyDogs · 2012-08-25 23:56:30

It's not really at 1 GHz by default. It's running at 1 GHz because there's very little load on it. If it was always under high load it would always be at the max speed, and when you're using Blender it probably runs at top speed. The ondemand governor does exactly what it sounds like -- when there's high demand, the speed goes up.

You can monitor the cpu speed with conky if you want to keep a really close eye on it.

If you're satisifed with this answer please mark your thread [solved] (edit the title of your first post).

Last edited by 2ManyDogs (2012-08-25 23:57:41)

close · 2012-08-26 00:42:29

well I was using conky and I never saw the freq move it was always at 1 when using blender are you saying that it was in fact moving either way thanks for your input

the scaling did the trick now all is well

heres what i did in case someone ever needs this info

sudo pacman -S cpupower 

cpupower frequency-set -g ondemand 

sudo rc.d start cpupower 
# to test if working

then added cpupower to list of damons

also I went ahead and installed lm_sensors to monitor cpu temp just in case , https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Lm_sensors

thanks again and hope this helps somebody in the future later.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-08-25 23:27:06

[SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

#2 2012-08-25 23:33:59

Re: [SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

#3 2012-08-25 23:50:25

Re: [SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

#4 2012-08-25 23:56:30

Re: [SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

#5 2012-08-26 00:42:29

Re: [SOLVED] AMD at 1ghz should be at 2.2

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