Experimental Intel SpeedStep kext

[mattiL]

New version 1.3.2 is now available!

 

 

What to test -

 

1) That you can actually switch CPU speed

A: Yes, i can switch speed, and DCPUmanager seems to do a nice job, 1000-1600MHz.

I changed the Info.plist but am not using it now.

 

2) Whether your timing is stable (ie. OSX UI/animations should be smooth, not stuttering in audio)

A: Timing seems to be an issue, even though I have an RTCFix 9.2.0 kernel, the clock drift is massive and ITunes is useless with all the stuttering

 

3) Test whether you can still sleep and then resume - if your sleep/resume worked before

A: Not tried it lately

 

> Make sure you unload ACPICPUThrottle.kext and/or AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext before loading this! <

A: These kexts are not loaded.

 

 

To get debug log messages, type this in Terminal:

sudo dmesg | grep IntelEnhancedSpeedStep

If it doesn't work for you, paste on pastebin the output of the above command, and of

sysctl machdep.cpu && uname -a

, then post the URL here. To get information about the current freq/voltage and available freq/voltage, type

sysctl -a | grep throttle

 

A:

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Initializing version 1.3.2 © Prashant Vaibhav <mercurysquad@yahoo.com>

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: WARN Your processor doesn't support constant_tsc and your kernel doesn't know how to compensate - Expect timing issues or switch to a kernel with RTC fix.

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO On your processor, voltages can be changed in 16 mV steps

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: WARN 2 MHz disabled because your processor or kernel doesn's support it.

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: WARN 2 MHz disabled because your processor or kernel doesn's support it.

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Using 4 PStates.

 

A:

machdep.cpu.address_bits.virtual: 48

machdep.cpu.address_bits.physical: 36

machdep.cpu.cache.size: 1024

machdep.cpu.cache.L2_associativity: 4

machdep.cpu.cache.linesize: 64

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.fixed_width: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.fixed_number: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.events: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.events_number: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.width: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.number: 0

machdep.cpu.arch_perf.version: 0

machdep.cpu.thermal.ACNT_MCNT: 0

machdep.cpu.thermal.thresholds: 0

machdep.cpu.thermal.dynamic_acceleration: 0

machdep.cpu.thermal.sensor: 0

machdep.cpu.mwait.sub_Cstates: 0

machdep.cpu.mwait.extensions: 0

machdep.cpu.mwait.linesize_max: 0

machdep.cpu.mwait.linesize_min: 0

machdep.cpu.cores_per_package: 1

machdep.cpu.extfeatures:

machdep.cpu.features: FPU VME DE PSE TSC MSR MCE CX8 APIC SEP MTRR PGE MCA CMOV PAT CLFSH DS ACPI MMX FXSR SSE SSE2 TM EST TM2

machdep.cpu.brand: 22

machdep.cpu.signature: 1685

machdep.cpu.extfeature_bits: 0 0

machdep.cpu.feature_bits: -1477837889 384

machdep.cpu.stepping: 5

machdep.cpu.extfamily: 0

machdep.cpu.extmodel: 0

machdep.cpu.model: 9

machdep.cpu.family: 6

machdep.cpu.brand_string: Intel® Pentium® M processor 1600MHz

machdep.cpu.vendor: GenuineIntel

Darwin T40p 9.2.0 Darwin Kernel Version 9.2.0: Wed Jul 30 03:20:06 IST 2008; mercurysquad; based on ToH kernel:xnu-1228.3.13/BUILD/obj/RELEASE_I386 i386

 

A:

kern.exec: unknown type returned

kern.cputhrottle_curfreq: 1000

kern.cputhrottle_curvolt: 1164

kern.cputhrottle_freqs: 1000 1200 1400 1600

kern.cputhrottle_factoryvolts: 1164 1276 1420 1484

kern.cputhrottle_ctl: 2589

 

 

See sig. for specs.

[mitch_de]

What to test -

 

1) That you can actually switch CPU speed

A: Yes, i can switch speed, and DCPUmanager seems to do a nice job, 1000-1600MHz.

I changed the Info.plist but am not using it now.

 

2) Whether your timing is stable (ie. OSX UI/animations should be smooth, not stuttering in audio)

A: Timing seems to be an issue, even though I have an RTCFix 9.2.0 kernel, the clock drift is massive and ITunes is useless with all the stuttering

 

3) Test whether you can still sleep and then resume - if your sleep/resume worked before

A: Not tried it lately

 

> Make sure you unload ACPICPUThrottle.kext and/or AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext before loading this!

A: These kexts are not loaded.

To get debug log messages, type this in Terminal:

sudo dmesg | grep IntelEnhancedSpeedStep

If it doesn't work for you, paste on pastebin the output of the above command, and of

sysctl machdep.cpu && uname -a

, then post the URL here. To get information about the current freq/voltage and available freq/voltage, type

sysctl -a | grep throttle

 

A:

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Initializing version 1.3.2 © Prashant Vaibhav

I would use the newer autotrottle (1.4.0) froms superhai. With this yoo dont need to run speedstep.app or DCPUManager all the time ! The newer kext does the stepping itself - after setting up with DCPUManager ONCE (than you can quit the Manager).

superhais Dl LINK must be on Page 6.

[mattiL]

I would use the newer autotrottle (1.4.0) froms superhai. With this yoo dont need to run speedstep.app or DCPUManager all the time ! The newer kext does the stepping itself - after setting up with DCPUManager ONCE (than you can quit the Manager).

superhais Dl LINK must be on Page 6.

 

Hi mitch_de!

 

 

I found a little parameter to change in Info.plist, KernelFeatures, which I changed from -1 to 1. And now it works great, no stuttering at all when changing speed (with DCPUManager).

 

This is brilliant!

[mattiL]

OK, speedstepping seems fine, and no stuttering when switching speed.

 

BUT, clock drift is still an issue, drift (falls behind) at least 20 minutes per hour when running

at 1000-1200MHz.

 

Maybe I should speed up NTP clock sync interval...

[Jingu]

Menutemperature has his own Settings too - you dont have to change your International settings.

Go into Menu of Menutemperature / Settings... then in Settings TAB Visual (in german Erscheinungsbild) and you can set Temp to automatic (uses systemwide International setting of Systempreferences ) or force Celsius or force Fahrenheit.

 

@Mitch_De

 

That's great. Thanks. I had not noticed that MenuTemperature had its own Celsius-Fahrenheit settings in the Appearance icon.

[nigelbb]

another thing to say is - i dont feel my laptop cooler. it is in general a laptop which is not hot.

it is very quiet also. so i dont hear the fans at all but i feel it a bit worm on the touchpad.

so - even when i manually set it to 800mhz it is not cooler. i found not way to see my cpu

termperature, if someone knows how - please share your experience.

 

This is my impression too with my laptop (Dell Precision M60). It has a 1.7GHz Pentium M & when running Windows XP Pro it clocks down to 600MHz & the fans only run very rarely. It also feels cool underneath. With OS X using the IntelEnhancedSpeedStep.kext (either mercurysquad or Superhai versions) even when clocked down to 600MHz the fan is still on at low speed & it feels quite warm underneath. Using mercusrysquad's kext with sysctl interface even when I drop the voltage I still find that it is warm & he fan is on at low speed.

 

 

Is it possible that OS X is running the CPU hotter while idling than Windows XP Pro?

[dj_spark]

Same for me when operating on batteries : OSX can't go down below 1000Mhz, I often hear the fan but in XP I never hear it and I'm under the 1000Mhz clock.

OSX 2h15

XP 4h15

[titooo1]

I solved my problems removing Disabled form <key>DefaultPState</key> on the info.plist which is inside of IntelEnhancedSpeedStep.kext\Contents, so I could use IntelEnhancedSpeedStep kext 1.3.2 and tuxx's SpeedStep GUI (beta)

 

No I tried to use the superhai IntelEnhancedSpeedStep.kext with his DCPUManager (because everything talk good things about that), but when I set cpu or autho throttle the system crash. Why?

[mitch_de]

I solved my problems removing Disabled form DefaultPState on the info.plist which is inside of IntelEnhancedSpeedStep.kext\Contents, so I could use IntelEnhancedSpeedStep kext 1.3.2 and tuxx's SpeedStep GUI (beta)

 

No I tried to use the superhai IntelEnhancedSpeedStep.kext with his DCPUManager (because everything talk good things about that), but when I set cpu or autho throttle the system crash. Why?

I dont know, but i would check the sudo dmesg logs (command in terminal) after you kextload it.

Also compare the dmesg logs from superhais 1.4.0 with the 1.3.2 version and ask superhai for an hint (message him).

Until fixed simply use that combination for you which dont crash.

Autotrottling (superhais 1.4.0 .kext version has it, DCPUManager is ony used for settings, must dont run all time ) is great - but crashs are worst than using seppstep for trottling.

[tsoukkis]

Hi Guys,

 

A quick but maybe stupid question, but that's why this forum is, right?

Ok, I am going to download and install the kext for the SpeedStep.

I understand that SpeedStep is for reducing the work load of the CPU depending on the current circumnstances of the system, but do i have only to install the kext or the kext and the app too?

the kext is to provide the ability to SpeedStep and the app is to use this ability?

installing only the kext doesnot mean that the system is using the SpeedStep?

 

Thanks a lot,

tsoukkis

 

P.S. I am happy that the OSX86 evolution never stops! I didn't want to buy a new PC, but I bought one just to install and use OSX!!! Is my disease serious???!!!

[mitch_de]

Hi Guys,

 

A quick but maybe stupid question, but that's why this forum is, right?

Ok, I am going to download and install the kext for the SpeedStep.

I understand that SpeedStep is for reducing the work load of the CPU depending on the current circumnstances of the system, but do i have only to install the kext or the kext and the app too?

the kext is to provide the ability to SpeedStep and the app is to use this ability?

installing only the kext doesnot mean that the system is using the SpeedStep?

 

Thanks a lot,

tsoukkis

 

P.S. I am happy that the OSX86 evolution never stops! I didn't want to buy a new PC, but I bought one just to install and use OSX!!! Is my disease serious???!!!

 

First: That is not a dump question.

 

To step CPU clock and/or CPU Voltage UP+DOWN (depends of how much CPU% is needed) you need:

1. an driver which communikates with the CPU , that is the .KEXT

2.1 For the version 1.3.2 of the .KEXT you need also an App running 8to setup the CPU% AND do the stepping : Speedstep.app

2.2 For the version 1.4.0 (superhai modded, autothrottling) you need DCPUManger ONLY for the setup of CPU%, after that you can quit DCPUManager

3. You need to ENABLE Speedstep (EIST) in the BIOS settings of the CPU (Mainboard BIOS Setuo)

4. You need an CPU that has speedstep function

 

Both .kext have some parameter in their .plist to setup special things like own PLIST Table (X MHZ with Y milliVolts,....).

 

Until the final versions both .kext need to setup every usage by Speedstep.app(must run always) or DCPUManager.app (can quit after setting up).

The .kext or the setting up apps did not remember the settings of CPU% and how fast they check CPU% changes (milliSek).

 

Speedstep does most powersaving if the cpu has something to do (is working with some CPU %).

If CPU is mostly IDLE (nothing to do, less than 5% CPU work) it doesnt matter if speedstep is aktiv or not.

[izne]

@mitch_de:

thank you very much for the response and tools you share with us.

i`ve downloaded speedit.kext for leopard and menutemperature, zipped the kext and put it

to the folder as described. started menutemperature and it said there are no sensors.

then i changed to my exact model. menutemperature said ok and wanted to load the

speedit.kext. and there it stopped:

Last login: Tue Aug 26 04:33:01 on ttys001
izne-mac:~ izne$ /Users/izne/Downloads/MenuTemperature.app/Contents/MacOS/MenuTemperature; exit;
kextload: cannot resolve dependencies for kernel extension /Library/Extensions/speedit.kext
error loading extension /Library/Extensions/speedit.kext

 

what does this "cannot resolve dependencies for kernel extension" exactly mean?

 

another thing which worries me is... (as we commented above) - using speedstep now, doesnt make

the laptop cooler when it`s on 100% idle on 800mhz (lowest speed). i guess that is what speedstep is all about

and i still dont feel it`s working right. the laptop is warm, which means it will drain out my battery faster, no?

[mitch_de]

Perhaps you use not kernel 9.4.0 ?

All .kext have an entry in their .plist which kernel version they need.

IF thats not the same: kext will not loaded. At least very hardware near .kexts wants exact depencies.

 

what kernel do you use ?

HOW TO GET: start TERMINAL, uname -a

My: 9.4.0 Darwin Kernel Version 9.4.0: Mon Jun 9 19:30:53 PDT 2008; root:xnu-1228.5.20~1/RELEASE_I386 i386

 

Try changing the kernel version (com.apple.kernel) in the speedstep.kext .plist (its in /Library/Extensions, not in /System/Library/Extensions !) to yours, listed with uname -a.

 

After edit .plist be sure that the owners stay at root:wheel !

in TERMINAL, sudo chown -R root:wheel /Library/Extensions/speedit.kext

 

You can also try Hardware Monitor (if you cant get it to work). But thats shareware.

[RogerMac]

Thank You SuperHai !

 

My best compliments for your work. Everything works fine without a hassle on the first try over my VAIO VGN-SZ3 VP-X (that is notoriously a very, very complicated mobo now running 10.5.2). Throttling down the CPU greatly reduces power consumption and slows down the fan automatically, also cutting the noise.

 

Only thing still missing is the "settings memory", but I'm sure you will be adding it very soon.

 

Thank You Again

 

RogerMac

[izne]

thanks very much mitch_de, that worked.

 

yes i am with 9.3 kernel. changed info.plist to 9.3.0 and it loaded successfully.

now it shows temperature, thank you very much. 55 degrees celsius. isnt that much for

core2duo T7300 with speedstep on?

 

again my main concern - why does osx consume THAT MUCH more power even with speedstep enabled.

even when i set it manually to lowest speed (in my case 800mhz), it still drains out the battery for about 1 hour.

compared to 3 and a half hours in vista.. this is damn frustrating.

 

i have another issue on my laptop. osx doesnt start if my laptop is cold. it hangs just after the blue screen

(login window). it it`s a bit warm (worked for 10-20 mins) it starts up normally. this, combined with the

high battery consumption, makes osx not suitable for a laptop. do you guys have any idea what could be the

cause of all this? i have asus f3e laptop (core2duo T7300 @ 2ghz, 4MB l2 cache, 800mhz fsb, 3gb 667mhz ram,

intel gma965, intel x3100 video). im currently running kalyway 10.5.1 comboupdated to 10.5.3 works damn well.

much much faster than vista. (i`ve compared the same apps that i use for win, with mac versions and yes - they work

times fast). so i would like to stick with osx but still i have some problems like these.

[mitch_de]

thanks very much mitch_de, that worked.

 

yes i am with 9.3 kernel. changed info.plist to 9.3.0 and it loaded successfully.

now it shows temperature, thank you very much. 55 degrees celsius. isnt that much for

core2duo T7300 with speedstep on?

 

...

 

No.

Also, it is very complicated to get REAL cpu temps out of C2D. So each temp app has its own

algorithm to get the C/F.

speedit.kext temps (used by MenuTemperature) are about 15-20% higher than the values from Hardware Monitor tool.

But dont worry about that - you see the differences !

 

My E4400 2.0@2.33 GHZ (1300/1900/2330) is getting 46 to 61 Celsius / with Hardware Monitor 38 to 56 Celsius.

Laptops will get much higher temps / are build for getting higher temps.

You can save power if you change (by Speedstep.app or DCPUManager) the UP/DOWN trottling values by the sliders - but you will have also an slower CPU by let CPU stay longer on slow MHZ if CPU% rises.

 

 

Speedstep sets MHZ UP/DOWN thats right, but check also if your mVolts also go down.

Sometimes you have to set the VID (mVolts) also a bit down in the .plist of 1.3.2/1.4.0 .kext.

MHZ down without mVolts down would make not really sense.

Remember:

Without CPU work (at least 20%) it doesnt matter (for temp) if speedstep (MHZ down + mVolts down) in aktive or not.

[titooo1]

how can we check if mVolts are going down properly?

 

THANKS mitch_de for your patiente and help

[mitch_de]

how can we check if mVolts are going down properly?

 

THANKS mitch_de for your patiente and help

First check with the konsole the messages of system.log

Aug 27 07:51:28 e180002141 kernel[0]: IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Initializing version 1.4.0 © Prashant Vaibhav

Aug 27 07:51:28 e180002141 kernel[0]: IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Mod 1.0 - Autothrottle + CPUPMControl app interface © Superhai, www.superhai.com

Aug 27 07:51:28 e180002141 kernel[0]: IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Loaded 3 PStates from Info.plist

Aug 27 07:51:28 e180002141 kernel[0]: IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO On your processor, voltages can be changed in 16 mV steps

For me i have fixed (edited .plist) mVolts , so the .kext use that.

If you dont have own .plist PSTATES (the name of the key ends with ...DISABLED) the info above should comtent what PSTATES MHZ+mVolts are available and used.

If this information shows differnent MHZ (=OK), but with SAME mVolts (??, NOT OK) you should make own PSTATES with shown MHZ+own(less at slower MHZ) mVolts.

My table:

PStateTable

2330 **** THATS MHZ ****

1308 **** THATS mVolts , 1308 means 1,308 V, orig. mVolts was 1340)

1864

1228 *** less mVolts than full MHZ ***

1398

1164 *** less mVolts than middle MHZ - you cant go below an CPU dependen mV, .kext will use this minimum, if you want too less mVolts ***

[nigelbb]

Remember:

Without CPU work (at least 20%) it doesnt matter (for temp) if speedstep (MHZ down + mVolts down) in aktive or not.

Mac OS X must be doing something all the time that isn't registering. My 1.7GHz Pentium M laptop gets hot & the fans cut in when I leave it doing nothing with near 0% CPU utilisation in Activity Monitor even when running at 600MHz & undervolted by 200mV. Running Windows XP Pro even when doing some light work (web browsing etc) it stays cool & the fans don't run at all so it is silent apart from the disk drive.

 

again my main concern - why does osx consume THAT MUCH more power even with speedstep enabled.

even when i set it manually to lowest speed (in my case 800mhz), it still drains out the battery for about 1 hour.

compared to 3 and a half hours in vista.. this is damn frustrating.

I am seeing this too with my 1.7GHz pentium M. At least I am seeing that it runs hot & the fans switch on  even when running at 600MHz & undervolted by 200mV. Running Windows XP Pro it stays cool & the fans don't run at all

 

I thought that it might be something to do with the fact that I have an SSE2 CPU but evidently you have the same problem with a C2D so it's not that.

[BlackCH]

Mac OS X must be doing something all the time that isn't registering. My 1.7GHz Pentium M laptop gets hot & the fans cut in when I leave it doing nothing with near 0% CPU utilisation in Activity Monitor even when running at 600MHz & undervolted by 200mV. Running Windows XP Pro even when doing some light work (web browsing etc) it stays cool & the fans don't run at all so it is silent apart from the disk drive.

 

I am seeing this too with my 1.7GHz pentium M. At least I am seeing that it runs hot & the fans switch on  even when running at 600MHz & undervolted by 200mV. Running Windows XP Pro it stays cool & the fans don't run at all

 

I thought that it might be something to do with the fact that I have an SSE2 CPU but evidently you have the same problem with a C2D so it's not that.

 

 

check if you have AppleACPIThermal.kext loaded. You need that

[mitch_de]

kextstat (in terminal)

look for: com.apple.driver.AppleACPIThermal listet in the output (should be at middle of the list)

[lovedahackintosh]

ok, i have a new issue. using this kext with the rtc fix 9.4 kernel posted earlier on a hp dv4000 running a 1.6 pentium m processor overclocked to 2.13. the FSB is not reported properly to the system (shows 400, should be 533) but this seems to not be an issue until i use the kext. when i use this kext the clock spins way too fast and animations are too fast. the cpu control does not work (always shows 800) but throttling seems to be happenning anyway. when i manually change the speed to 1600 it just outputs 800-->800. any ideas?

 

heres my output: http://pastebin.com/m1846e66

[outZider]

Not sure if my processor is supported: Intel Pentium D 930 CPU @3.0 GHz, StageXNU 9.4.0 kernel. Starting the kext gives this in dmesg:

 

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Initializing version 1.3.2 © Prashant Vaibhav <mercurysquad@yahoo.com>

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: WARN No Intel processor found! You have GenuineIntel. Kext will not load

 

Searching the topic results in nothing like this. Is my CPU just not supported?

[mitch_de]

Not sure if my processor is supported: Intel Pentium D 930 CPU @3.0 GHz, StageXNU 9.4.0 kernel. Starting the kext gives this in dmesg:

 

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: INFO Initializing version 1.3.2 © Prashant Vaibhav

IntelEnhancedSpeedStep: WARN No Intel processor found! You have GenuineIntel. Kext will not load

 

Searching the topic results in nothing like this. Is my CPU just not supported?

 

Pentium D 930 has speedstep (if CPU is stepping(SubModel) B1 and later, not all P D have SS). This B1 can ce shown with CPU-Z util in windows.

Perhaps your kernel give wrong informations.

Try to post (use in terminal):

sysctl machdep.cpu.features (shows all cpu features : SS=speedstep, EST=enhanced speedstep, i dont know but i think most P D have SS)

sysctl machdep.cpu.model

sysctl machdep.cpu.stepping

output here - and wait for answers from the .kext developers.

 

Also you need to have AppleACPIThermal.kext in the .kext /plugins of AppleACPIPlatfrom.kext (show pack content in finder) AND Steepstep enabled in the BIOS.

 

If SS is working, it would have much more effect(temp down) on the Pentium D (uses much watts!) than our C2D cpus (much less watts).

[nigelbb]

check if you have AppleACPIThermal.kext loaded. You need that

 

I do have that loaded but as I understand it that kext is necessary to sense the temeparature & switch the fans on if it gets high.

 

 

My problem is that even when idle & clocked down from 1.7GHz to 600MHz & undervolted by 200mV the laptop is hot & the fans ar running. When running Windows XP Pro & idle the laptop is cooll & the fans are not running. I am not the only one reporting this behaviour.