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OverClocking 101

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So i know lower voltages help to conserve battery life..do voltages change temperatures of battery and cpu? For example, would a MV kernel running at 1.1GHz have a different cpu temp than a LV kernel running at 1.1GHz?


That is a very good question. The answer is a resounding yes. But what your question didn't ask is "Which voltage will make my phone run cooler". And the answer can be rather shocking.

You can have two phones made at the same time that have opposite results using the same exact Low Voltage Kernel and Standard Voltage Kernel. On one phone the LV Kernel produces less heat and on the other the SV Kernel produces less heat. About know you are probably saying "Have you lost your mind, that shouldn't be possible".

The short answer is, in a perfect world where every OMAP3430 is exactly the same, I would agree the LV Kernel should always run cooler. But every OMAP3430 is different. On some, the LV Kernel simply doesn't have enough voltage to power the OMAP3430 properly. The result is usually seen in the form of sluggish behavior and extra heat. Where do those two side effects come from? The on board memory of the OMAP3430. It has a built in ECC (Error Correction Codes). This ECC sees that memory isn't being written to or read from properly and corrects itself when ever possible. So as you teeter on the edge of the proper voltage for the OMAP3430, it has to spend time correcting errors. Those corrections take power and CPU time. Which as stated earlier, are seen as sluggish behavior and a hotter phone.
 
So i know lower voltages help to conserve battery life..do voltages change temperatures of battery and cpu? For example, would a MV kernel running at 1.1GHz have a different cpu temp than a LV kernel running at 1.1GHz?


That is a very good question. The answer is a resounding yes. But what your question didn't ask is "Which voltage will make my phone run cooler". And the answer can be rather shocking.

You can have two phones made at the same time that have opposite results using the same exact Low Voltage Kernel and Standard Voltage Kernel. On one phone the LV Kernel produces less heat and on the other the SV Kernel produces less heat. About know you are probably saying "Have you lost your mind, that shouldn't be possible".

The short answer is, in a perfect world where every OMAP3430 is exactly the same, I would agree the LV Kernel should always run cooler. But every OMAP3430 is different. On some, the LV Kernel simply doesn't have enough voltage to power the OMAP3430 properly. The result is usually seen in the form of sluggish behavior and extra heat. Where do those two side effects come from? The on board memory of the OMAP3430. It has a built in ECC (Error Correction Codes). This ECC sees that memory isn't being written to or read from properly and corrects itself when ever possible. So as you teeter on the edge of the proper voltage for the OMAP3430, it has to spend time correcting errors. Those corrections take power and CPU time. Which as stated earlier, are seen as sluggish behavior and a hotter phone.

This really helped me out, thanks (again!)

I was remembering a statement you made:
"interactive isn't quite ready" or something to that effect.

I downloaded slayher's 1.2 LV kernel and I was able to run the
stress test without any errors for about an hour.

I still don't know which scaling preference to use?
I had thought performance was best, then I read interactive was good,
then ondemand.

I remember reading that the sample setting needn't be higher than
250 000 however I cannot keep this setting to stick no matter
which preference setting I choose.

I have the latest Superuser, and SetCPU.
I cannot even change the bias and subsequent settings that follow
on SetCPU's menu for these values.

Something weird I noticed (could be placebo)
Running wifi and flash, no additional heat was generated.
Running 3G and flash, and/or using the stock browser (or even Dolphin)
the temps got to about 45 C > the browser would self close, not force close, but just close.

Could this mean I should try the Standard voltage, or reduce CPU frequency?
 
Last edited:
This really helped me out, thanks (again!)

I was remembering a statement you made:
"interactive isn't quite ready" or something to that effect.

I downloaded slayher's 1.2 LV kernel and I was able to run the
stress test without any errors for about an hour.

I still don't know which scaling preference to use?
I had thought performance was best, then I read interactive was good,
then ondemand.

I remember reading that the sample setting needn't be higher than
250 000 however I cannot keep this setting to stick no matter
which preference setting I choose.

I have the latest Superuser, and SetCPU.
I cannot even change the bias and subsequent settings that follow
on SetCPU's menu for these values.

Something weird I noticed (could be placebo)
Running wifi and flash, no additional heat was generated.
Running 3G and flash, and/or using the stock browser (or even Dolphin)
the temps got to about 45 C > the browser would self close, not force close, but just close.

Could this mean I should try the Standard voltage, or reduce CPU frequency?

Yes, a Low Voltage kernel will handle the Interactive Governor far better than a Standard or Increased Voltage kernel. No doubt about it.

I use OnDemand because it ramps up the CPU which means it spends more time in the lower end of the voltage and frequency ranges, which can help with battery life.

SetCPU 2.0.2 has issues with switching governors because the Advanced settings aren't kept separate. So if you switch between Conservative and OnDemand they will corrupt each others settings. I hope the Developer of SetCPU will fix this issue soon.

What you are seeing is legit with WiFi vs 3G. If you have a very strong WiFi signal and the weak 3G signal the power draw difference will be huge. Basically as you get above -86 dBm you will really start to draw a lot of power on 3g. On WiFi you will start drawing a lot of power at 35% signal.
 
This really helped me out, thanks (again!)

I was remembering a statement you made:
"interactive isn't quite ready" or something to that effect.

I downloaded slayher's 1.2 LV kernel and I was able to run the
stress test without any errors for about an hour.

I still don't know which scaling preference to use?
I had thought performance was best, then I read interactive was good,
then ondemand.

I remember reading that the sample setting needn't be higher than
250 000 however I cannot keep this setting to stick no matter
which preference setting I choose.

I have the latest Superuser, and SetCPU.
I cannot even change the bias and subsequent settings that follow
on SetCPU's menu for these values.

Something weird I noticed (could be placebo)
Running wifi and flash, no additional heat was generated.
Running 3G and flash, and/or using the stock browser (or even Dolphin)
the temps got to about 45 C > the browser would self close, not force close, but just close.

Could this mean I should try the Standard voltage, or reduce CPU frequency?

Yes, a Low Voltage kernel will handle the Interactive Governor far better than a Standard or Increased Voltage kernel. No doubt about it.

I use OnDemand because it ramps up the CPU which means it spends more time in the lower end of the voltage and frequency ranges, which can help with battery life.

SetCPU 2.0.2 has issues with switching governors because the Advanced settings aren't kept separate. So if you switch between Conservative and OnDemand they will corrupt each others settings. I hope the Developer of SetCPU will fix this issue soon.

What you are seeing is legit with WiFi vs 3G. If you have a very strong WiFi signal and the weak 3G signal the power draw difference will be huge. Basically as you get above -86 dBm you will really start to draw a lot of power on 3g. On WiFi you will start drawing a lot of power at 35% signal.


Great insight Skull.

I now recall what you said about different possible profile settings
not being able to switch properly due to SETCPU's handling of them...

btw, Have you tried Sayher's newest nightly 125mhz-1250mhz v1.6?
It has a new Wifi module, and it is just amazing, I mean really.

it was like I used an SSD drive for my phone during boot!
It took a touch over 30 seconds to boot.

Take care, and thanks for the advice.
 
Thanks for the insights and help with understanding setcpu program as I am new to root but not in overclocking. I have no clue about the advanced settings in setcpu as I randomly choose 32000,70,0,70. I used p3 kernel low volt 250/800. I want it to be fast, yet can last at least a day.

Here are also my profiles:
Screen off (100%) 400/250
CPU Temp > 45 (90) 550/250
Temp >40 (80) 550/250
charging (USB/Wall)/Full (70) 600/250
Battery < 50 (65) 600/250
Battery <25 (50) 500/250

Thanks for your time and help skull just wondering if these profiles and advance settings are right.
 
Thanks for the insights and help with understanding setcpu program as I am new to root but not in overclocking. I have no clue about the advanced settings in setcpu as I randomly choose 32000,70,0,70. I used p3 kernel low volt 250/800. I want it to be fast, yet can last at least a day.

Here are also my profiles:
Screen off (100%) 400/250
CPU Temp > 45 (90) 550/250
Temp >40 (80) 550/250
charging (USB/Wall)/Full (70) 600/250
Battery < 50 (65) 600/250
Battery <25 (50) 500/250

Thanks for your time and help skull just wondering if these profiles and advance settings are right.


About the only thing you might want to change is moving:

Battery <25 (50) 500/250

above

CPU Temp > 45 (90) 550/250


The reason is if you are below 25% battery but overheating you will be at 550 instead of the intended 500Mhz.
 
thx for the input Skull. The weird thing is that my advanced setting sampling rate changed from 32000 into 300000. After I read your previous post, that setting can lead to disabling custom ring tones which prefer. What kind of range that is stable enough for droid. And if I may know why kind of ranges are you using at the moment for your advanced settings. Thanks for your help.
 
thx for the input Skull. The weird thing is that my advanced setting sampling rate changed from 32000 into 300000. After I read your previous post, that setting can lead to disabling custom ring tones which prefer. What kind of range that is stable enough for droid. And if I may know why kind of ranges are you using at the moment for your advanced settings. Thanks for your help.


OnDemand: 30000, 50, 0, 0 at present.

And the 300000 probably came from another governor and it got stuck in memory.
 
Profile Settings

Your work and research is amazing Skull. Very impressive! I am running SS 4.7 - ULV 1.25Ghz. The phone seems to be running very well, but I am looking for some suggestions for Profile and Advanced settings. Your help would be greatly appreciated in this manner. Thank you kindly!
 
thx for the input Skull. The weird thing is that my advanced setting sampling rate changed from 32000 into 300000. After I read your previous post, that setting can lead to disabling custom ring tones which prefer. What kind of range that is stable enough for droid. And if I may know why kind of ranges are you using at the moment for your advanced settings. Thanks for your help.


OnDemand: 30000, 50, 0, 0 at present.

And the 300000 probably came from another governor and it got stuck in memory.


If I missed it my apologies.
So has your opinion changed and that 250 000 isn't the magic number
anymore, it is 300 000?
 
thx for the input Skull. The weird thing is that my advanced setting sampling rate changed from 32000 into 300000. After I read your previous post, that setting can lead to disabling custom ring tones which prefer. What kind of range that is stable enough for droid. And if I may know why kind of ranges are you using at the moment for your advanced settings. Thanks for your help.


OnDemand: 30000, 50, 0, 0 at present.

And the 300000 probably came from another governor and it got stuck in memory.


If I missed it my apologies.
So has your opinion changed and that 250 000 isn't the magic number
anymore, it is 300 000?

I don't understand the question. Sorry.
 
Your work and research is amazing Skull. Very impressive! I am running SS 4.7 - ULV 1.25Ghz. The phone seems to be running very well, but I am looking for some suggestions for Profile and Advanced settings. Your help would be greatly appreciated in this manner. Thank you kindly!

To make any suggestion would require knowing how you use the phone and what you want to gain. That is what makes Profiles more of an art than science unfortunately.
 
Hi Skull One,

I just wanted to say that I stumbled across a new kernel about a week ago that was built to support an interactive CPU governor.

forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/4434-froyo-kernels-by-slayher/

Check it out. I'm running it now with SetCPU set to 'interactive' and it seems to be working really smooth, and the battery runs a lot cooler now (avg now 87 deg vs 94 deg before with a P3droid kernel). Seems a little faster too maybe.

I am also using the optional Compcache feature which he includes in this new kernel which creates a virtual swap memory which uses hi-speed compression to effectively give you more memory, which seems to be working good as well.

I just thought I'd mention it in case you wanted to test it out officially, and you might have some more professional opinion about whether it really provides an advantage or whether the gains I'm perceiving are just all in my head. The link above talks all about how it all is supposed to work.

I am using this 'Slayher' kernel with an M Droid, on Lithium Mod ROM, and SetCPU, set to interactive mode, and running my advanced settings the same as I had them when I had the old kernel on 'On Demand' mode (which I don't even know if this is optimal anymore).

Anyway, have a look at it and tell me what you think of it, or the idea of it.

THANKS
 
Last edited:
Hi Skull One,

I just wanted to say that I stumbled across a new kernel about a week ago that was built to support an interactive CPU governor.

forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/4434-froyo-kernels-by-slayher/

Check it out. I'm running it now with SetCPU set to 'interactive' and it seems to be working really smooth, and the battery runs a lot cooler now (avg now 87 deg vs 94 deg before with a P3droid kernel). Seems a little faster too maybe.

I am also using the optional Compcache feature which he includes in this new kernel which creates a virtual swap memory which uses hi-speed compression to effectively give you more memory, which seems to be working good as well.

I just thought I'd mention it in case you wanted to test it out officially, and you might have some more professional opinion about whether it really provides an advantage or whether the gains I'm perceiving are just all in my head. The link above talks all about how it all is supposed to work.

I am using this 'Slayher' kernel with an M Droid, on Lithium Mod ROM, and SetCPU, set to interactive mode, and running my advanced settings the same as I had them when I had the old kernel on 'On Demand' mode (which I don't even know if this is optimal anymore).

Anyway, have a look at it and tell me what you think of it, or the idea of it.

THANKS

I already tested interactive enough to know it will drain a battery faster than ondemand in sleep/standby mode if you have ANY apps that don't allow your phone to go to full sleep mode.

If you are only using it when the phone is awake, under a low voltage setup, then you are basically running a modified performance mode that allows for underclocking about 1/5 to 1/6 the time it is in use. Which helps keep the phone cooler than the performance governor under the same condition.

As long as you can afford the higher battery drain over ondemand, then I don't see a reason not to use interactive. But if you have to switch back to a Standard Voltage kernel, then you should avoid interactive due to heat it can generate.
 
OnDemand: 30000, 50, 0, 0 at present.

And the 300000 probably came from another governor and it got stuck in memory.


If I missed it my apologies.
So has your opinion changed and that 250 000 isn't the magic number
anymore, it is 300 000?

I don't understand the question. Sorry.

No problem.
When I first found this thread you stated the best sample data
figure (via the setCPU advanced tab) was 250 000

You stated on page one that anything above 250 000
isn't worth using, I was just wondering if your opinion has changed.

Oh, and guess what?
I just checked the advanced tab (running interactive)
and it said -1 !!!???

I checked back later and it was at 25 000
I am confused. Should this setting be higher?
Like at 250 000 ?
 
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