by Donnie Tevault

Modern CPU's can be power-hungry beasts, and they can also run quite hot. Take, for example, the highest speed offerings from both Intel and AMD. Intel's 3.0 Gigahertz Yorkfield Quad-core is rated to consume about 130 Watts of power, while AMD's 3.0 Gigahertz 6000+ Dual-core is rated to consume about 125 Watts. Fortunately, modern processors from both companies now include a power-saving technology known as CPU Frequency Scaling. So, when super-high speeds aren't needed, the frequency will get scaled back, so that the CPU consumes less power and runs cooler. (AMD's implementation of this is called Cool n' Quiet, and Intel's implementation is called SpeedStep.) This is all supposed to happen automatically, but there may be times when you'll want to control it manually. Here's one example of why.

I've always had an interest in science, and several years ago I became a fan of distributed computing projects that contribute to scientific research. The one that I most avidly support is Einstein-at-Home. (This project helps search for gravitational waves, in an effort to find pulsars, and to help prove Einstein's Theories of Relativity.)

When you purchase or build a computer, Cool n' Quiet or SpeedStep will be enabled by default. So, a computer with a 3.0 Gigahertz processor, running with a light load, might only have its processor running at 1.0 or 2.0 Gigahertz. When I built my last few computers and loaded them with Linux, I found that my Einstein-at-Home work wasn't being recognized as a heavy load, and my workunits were getting processed at a snail's pace. So, I would just enter the BIOS setup for those machines, and disable Cool n' Quiet or SpeedStep. That works fine, except with the latest one that I built.

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