[GUIDE] Governors for NOOBS - Nexus S General

Interactive - Instead of sampling the cpu at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
Smartass- Is an improved version of interactive governor
Ondemand – Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see “up threshold” in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed.
Conservative– Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery.
Performance – Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “max” set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting “max” and “min” to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for CPU load.
Powersave – Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “min” set value at all times.
Userspace– A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor.
Hope those will able to help newbies to SetCPU or No Frills CPU.
Credit to LeeDroid for the infos

I believe Interactive is the most responsive kernel out there. Faster than ondemand. So it'll technically use more power when you are using the phone.
HOWEVER, isn't the best feature of Smartass the ability to cap frequencies when the screen is OFF? This essentially negates the need for using SetCPU to limit frequenceis when screen is off. Yes it's an improved version of interactive, but it should be just as responsive, but with these set limits in. I'm just not sure what the specific rules are. I used it for my Moto Milestone, but I'm unsure of what the rules are here.

window7 said:
Interactive - Instead of sampling the cpu at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
Smartass - Is an improved version of interactive governor
Ondemand – Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see “up threshold” in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed.
Conservative – Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery.
Performance – Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “max” set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting “max” and “min” to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for CPU load.
Powersave – Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “min” set value at all times.
Userspace – A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor.
Hope those will able to help newbies to SetCPU or No Frills CPU.
And do correct me if I am wrong. Thank you
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You should credit the source you copy and pasted that from. Or even better post the link.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

dmo580 said:
I believe Interactive is the most responsive kernel out there. Faster than ondemand. So it'll technically use more power when you are using the phone.
HOWEVER, isn't the best feature of Smartass the ability to cap frequencies when the screen is OFF? This essentially negates the need for using SetCPU to limit frequenceis when screen is off. Yes it's an improved version of interactive, but it should be just as responsive, but with these set limits in. I'm just not sure what the specific rules are. I used it for my Moto Milestone, but I'm unsure of what the rules are here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SMARTASS is a rewrite of the INTERACTIVE governor, and it moves the CPU up/down depending on whether the phone is idle/locked/ ... etc.
But some problems that I experience with SMARTASS is that my music playback sometimes stutters(?). So I'm just sticking with INTERACTIVE.

http://setcpu.com
edit:/#7 didnt seem to work right?

matt2053 said:
You should credit the source you copy and pasted that from. Or even better post the link.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling me that. I had changed it
However, I cant post the link as I cannot find the source I find it.
I only know that LeeDroid provided me the details

window7 said:
Thanks for telling me that. I had changed it
However, I cant post the link as I cannot find the source I find it.
I only know that LeeDroid provided me the details
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it comes from SetCPU's website.
Http://www.setcpu.com
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

olorin86 said:
SMARTASS is a rewrite of the INTERACTIVE governor, and it moves the CPU up/down depending on whether the phone is idle/locked/ ... etc.
But some problems that I experience with SMARTASS is that my music playback sometimes stutters(?). So I'm just sticking with INTERACTIVE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this because your screen is off? Yeah, smartass has some issues when the screen is off. Main issue is wakeup and whatever else your phone has to do. I know the Netarchy kernel with smartass just got a revision lately to deal with more wake issues.
But in terms of when your screen is on smartass should function exactly like interactive. So that's why I said smartass is essentially interactive, but with those preset rules regarding screen off that you would otherwise have to create using SetCPU.
The reason you might have worse battery might be because during screen off, your phone is struggling to do work at a slower pace (ideally you shouldn't have to do much, but maybe some people's phones have a lot of stuff running in the background), and so the more time you spent with the CPU active ends up eating more power.
This is one of the arguments about Intel Atom vs. Intel i3. Both idle at the same wattage, but the i3 uses massively more power in load. Probably 2x-3x more. However, given that the i3 is like so FAST, it gets say an encoding job done in like 1/4 the time. Your overall power (Watts * time) used is actually less with the faster CPU. This might apply with the Smartass governor. If your CPU is struggling and maxing out at its cap for a long time because its not fast enough when the screen is off, then perhaps this can be an issue. Just a thought. This is why I think the max_freq for sleep should probably be set around 500-600mhz instead of like 200mhz.
But once again I'm not sure what the governor is set at right now. If someone knows, please do tel

Related

[TUT] SetCPU and Advanced Settings

I've been using setcpu for a while now, but have never bothered to mess with the advanced settings. Searching around I have only found out what most of this stuff means, but I'm missing some still. I thought I would share my findings. I have included SetCPU's descriptions (in italics) supplemented with my findings.
Governor choices (I'm using king's bfs kernel #1 on fresh 3.1.0.2) -
Ondemand - Uses the highest frequency when tasks are started, decreases step by step
Conservative - Increases frequency step by step, decreases instantly
Interactive - I couldn't figure this one out... any help?
Powersave - Uses the lowest possible clock speed to complete its tasks
Userspace - Manual controll of the frequency
Performance - Always uses the highest clock speed
Advanced Settings -
Sampling Rate - An interval (in microseconds) at which the governor will poll for updates. When this happens, the governor will decide whether to scale the CPU up or down. It uses such little power that it is better at lower values when using profiles such as screen off.
Up Threshold (1%-100%) - Defines a percentage from 1% to 100%. When the CPU load reaches this point, the governor will scale the CPU up. When using low min values (245), this happens instantly, using higher values (768) it overclocks less often. With Conservative lower values are better because it slowly increases your clock speed to what you need, with Ondemand, higher is better, as it overclocks less often.
Down Threshold (1%-100%) (conservative only) - Defines a percentage from 1% to 100%. When the CPU load reaches this point, the governor will scale the CPU down. Higher values will offer more aggressive battery saving, lowering the clock speed quicker.
Ignore Nice Load (0/1) - If this value is "1," the system will ignore "Nice" processes when deciding to scale up or down. I need a little more info for this one, what exactly is a nice process? DO NOT GOOGLE 'NICE LOAD' ESPECIALLY AT WORK OR AROUND CHILDREN/WIFE
Freq Step (0%-100%) (conservative only) - Defines how much (as a percentage of the maximum CPU speed) the conservative governor will increase the CPU speed by each time the CPU load reaches the Up Threshold. Increased the value slightly to be able to overclock quicker, but not to high to avoid unnecessary overclocking.
Powersave Bias (0-1000) (ondemand only) - Setting this value higher will "bias" the governor toward lower frequencies. This is a percentage, where 1000 is 100%, 100 is 10%, and 0 is 0%. The ondemand governor will scale the CPU to a frequency lower than its "target" speed according to this value. Gives ondemand some more battery saving potential. High values give worse performance than conservative with equal or worse battery saving. If you want the performance of ondemand with some more battery use values under 200.
I hope this info was helpful to someone, and here are my setcpu settings. I have attempted to target 150-175ms for short and 350-400ms for long benchmarks to match my performance governor and save battery at the same time.
With ondemand I get about 170ms short and 380ms long. I use 90 for up and 50 for powersave. The performance is slightly better than the default settings, and the battery is about equal. I might play with this more, as it should hit the same values as performance with better battery life.
In conservative long benchmarks in setcpu are actually faster than short ones because it takes setcpu time to adjust the speed. Run a short one immediately after a long one to see its actual value. Up changed 75 and down to 25, not much of a change, but drastic performance increase with no battery change. I also increased freq step to 10% to obtain higher speeds faster. Getting the same 170ms short and 370ms long.
My Settings
Conservative 245-1190
Temp > 50C - 768 conservative
Screen Off - 499 ondemand (allows for the screen to be unlocked faster, especially useful with incoming calls)
Charging/Full - 1190 performance
Battery < 15% - 652 conservative
Sampling - 200000
Up Thresh - 75
Down Thresh -25
Ignore Nice - 0
Freq - 10
More DFS Info
SetCPU Info
davebu said:
DO NOT GOOGLE 'NICE LOAD' ESPECIALLY AT WORK OR AROUND CHILDREN/WIFE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LMAO 10chars
HondaCop said:
LMAO 10chars
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I almost spit out my Vanilla Coke on that one. LOL
Anytime have any info about nice load or anything to add?
Sent from my HTC EVO 4G.
HondaCop said:
LMAO 10chars
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I missed this yesterday... Post of the day in my opinion
Thanks dave...good write up
This is what I found about the interactive governor in github:
cpufreq: interactive: New 'interactive' governor
New interactive governor.
This governor is designed for latency sensitive workloads, UI interaction for
example.
Advantages:
+ significantly more responsive to ramp cpu up when required (UI interaction)
+ more consistent ramping, existing governors do their cpu load sampling in a
workqueue context, the 'interactive' governor does this in a timer context, which
gives more consistent cpu load sampling.
+ higher priority for cpu frequency increase, rt_workqueue is used for scaling
up, giving the remaining tasks the cpu performance benefit, unlike existing
governors which schedule rampup work to occur after your performance starved
tasks have completed.
Existing governors sample cpu load at a particular rate, typically
every X ms. Which can lead to under powering UI threads when the user has
interacted with an idle system until the next sample period happns.
The 'interactive' governor has a different approach. Instead of sampling the cpu
at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming
out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire
within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer
fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
If the cpu was not 100% busy, then the governor evaluates the cpu load over the
last 'min_sample_rate' (default 50000 uS) to determine the cpu speed to ramp down
to.
There is only one tuneable for this governor:
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/interactive/min_sample_rate:
The minimum ammount of time to spend at the current frequency before
ramping down. This is to ensure that the governor has seen enough
historic cpu load data to determine the appropriate workload.
Default is 5000 uS.
Also, in the original application thread as explained by the dev, "nice" processes are:
2. Nice processes are used by the IO scheduler to designate a low-priority process. Ignore nice load basically tells ondemand to disregard processes with higher nice values.
Good topic. You covered the bases pretty well. Glad someone finally put this together as it is useful to know. Now prepare for 1000 threads in the next month asking for the information you just posted.
hey question. i went and purchased SetCPU and attempted to follow your instruction. problem is, whenever SetCPU tries to gain super user permission, it says "no root access granted. Are applications allowed root access?" i dunno what to do. can someone advise me?
Umm, is your phone rooted?
Sent from the void...
Yessir. Since day 2 ^_^ (plus its in my sig)
Sent from my Evo using Tapatalk
SilverStone641 said:
Yessir. Since day 2 ^_^ (plus its in my sig)
Sent from my Evo using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try uninstalling and reinstalling it.
Then double check all of your superuser settings.
SilverStone641 said:
Yessir. Since day 2 ^_^ (plus its in my sig)
Sent from my Evo using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, using the xda app which doesn't display the sig.
Sent from the void...
So, as far as speed/responsiveness of governors goes:
Fastest ------------------------------------------------------> Slowest
Performance ------> ondemand ------> Interactive? ------> Conservative
Poor battery consumption --------------------> Best battery consumption
This thread is exactly what i was looking for, thanks for the detailed explanation of the what and why.
Will try it out this week with Fresh 3.1 and KK#8.
this thread helped a lot, i was just in setCPU messing around with things, now i can use this thread to help get what i want. i bookmark'd the hell out of this thread
Thanks...OP...hopefully people will read it first...try things..then ask questions...
I am still working to see how to get the best battery life from cm6 and snap..
Thanks for the helpful post!
I experienced a "nice load" when I unboxed my EVO. Anyway the only setting I use is:
Screen off: 245/128 on demand.
Works for me. And thanks for this helpful post to help us understand all that technical mumbo jumbo.
So I got a rooted Vanilla install of the latest Sprint OTA Froyo build on my EVO. (the 3.29.651.5 build).
I purchased the latest version of SetCPU (2.03) last night and used the autodetect method for the CPU governor.
I notice on my EVO that I only have these 3 options:
Scaling:
ondemand, userspace and performance....
Is this normal to not have the conservative setting since I have the defacto kernel with a vanilla rom?
Thanks
Sheldon
Okay, so I figured it out, my default kernel does not have these other options, oh well......
Nice app though, so far its working really well.

[Q] SetCPU governors (explained)

The SetCPU website explains some governors: http://www.pokedev.com/setcpu/#7
However it seems that some extra governors, not covered by the SetCPU site, have been added to some kernels; which I think should be documented so users know which one to pick.
I will add responses as to what each governor does to this post. If there are any governors not explained that you've come across, please post and we'll see if somebody can explain it.
Unexplained governors (somebody please tell me what they do)
smartass (Best explanation i've found paraphrases to: based on interactive, but better.)
----
ondemand
Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see "up threshold" in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed. - SetCPU website
conservative
Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery. - SetCPU website
performance
Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "max" set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting "max" and "min" to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for the CPU load. This governor is recommended for stable benchmarking. - SetCPU website
powersave
Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "min" set value at all times. - SetCPU website
userspace
A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor. - SetCPU website
Interactive
The 'interactive' governor has a different approach. Instead of sampling the cpu
at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming
out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire
within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer
fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
If the cpu was not 100% busy, then the governor evaluates the cpu load over the
last 'min_sample_rate' (default 50000 uS) to determine the cpu speed to ramp down
to. - [Patches] For developers, interactive governor patch for leo kernel
Thanks,
RJackson
As explained by MDJ:
SMARTASS GOVERNOR - is based on the concept of the interactive governor.
I have always agreed that in theory the way interactive works - by taking over the idle loop - is very attractive. I have never managed to tweak it so it would behave decently in real life. Smartass is a complete rewrite of the code plus more. I think its a success. Performance is on par with the "old" minmax and I think smartass is a bit more responsive. Battery life is hard to quantify precisely but it does spend much more time at the lower frequencies.
Smartass will also cap the max frequency when sleeping to 245Mhz (or if your min frequency is higher than 245 - why?! - it will cap it to your min frequency). Lets take for example the 998/245 kernel, it will sleep at 245. No need for sleep profiles any more!
Click to expand...
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FerretAD said:
As explained by MDJ:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that one but didn't use it because it didn't really explain what it does.
RJackson said:
smartass (Best explanation i've found paraphrases to: based on interactive, but better.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which Kernel support SmartAss? I use WildMonks with SetCPU 2.1.0 and I don't see the "smartass" governor in my list.
SalsaForte said:
Which Kernel support SmartAss? I use WildMonks with SetCPU 2.1.0 and I don't see the "smartass" governor in my list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the "savage" kernal with smartass
LeeDroid's Kernals and ROMs support smartass as well
Leong428 said:
LeeDroid's Kernals and ROMs support smartass as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add Tiamat to the list.
add chad's incredikernel
SalsaForte said:
Which Kernel support SmartAss? I use WildMonks with SetCPU 2.1.0 and I don't see the "smartass" governor in my list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my evo shift the x99 kernel supports smartass for stockish froyo roms and cm7 roms
you have to have a kernel to add smartass to your list
RJackson said:
The SetCPU website explains some governors: http://www.pokedev.com/setcpu/#7
However it seems that some extra governors, not covered by the SetCPU site, have been added to some kernels; which I think should be documented so users know which one to pick.
I will add responses as to what each governor does to this post. If there are any governors not explained that you've come across, please post and we'll see if somebody can explain it.
Unexplained governors (somebody please tell me what they do)
smartass (Best explanation i've found paraphrases to: based on interactive, but better.)
----
ondemand
Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see "up threshold" in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed. - SetCPU website
conservative
Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery. - SetCPU website
performance
Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "max" set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting "max" and "min" to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for the CPU load. This governor is recommended for stable benchmarking. - SetCPU website
powersave
Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the "min" set value at all times. - SetCPU website
userspace
A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor. - SetCPU website
Interactive
The 'interactive' governor has a different approach. Instead of sampling the cpu
at a specified rate, the governor will scale the cpu frequency up when coming
out of idle. When the cpu comes out of idle, a timer is configured to fire
within 1-2 ticks. If the cpu is 100% busy from exiting idle to when the timer
fires then we assume the cpu is underpowered and ramp to MAX speed.
If the cpu was not 100% busy, then the governor evaluates the cpu load over the
last 'min_sample_rate' (default 50000 uS) to determine the cpu speed to ramp down
to. - [Patches] For developers, interactive governor patch for leo kernel
Thanks,
RJackson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the kind descriptions...
I've translated them to Korean for my fellow countrymen!
>,<
http://caleb1783.tistory.com/157
Thanks for this. Smartass has been a mystery to me.
When I installed SETCPU I selected auto-detect, now on my device (not a HD2, but this seemed like a good place to ask as it is directly related) now I have no way to select the governor at all (box is blank), how to I change the detection from automatic to a device type "Tegra 2" in my case, I see no option to allow me to do this?
Thanks,
ERIC
Powersave
I read on this forum that Power save SetCPU governor saves the best battery. I Hope this is true?
I am trying to get my hands on powersave
I can't find powersave in the "market" though.. What's up with that? Can anyone tell me which one it is? Maybe give the name of the developer so i can find it back easier?
thnks in advance
Im using galaxy s 2 with lite'ning rom 6.1 ninphetamine 2.0.5
ssienn said:
I read on this forum that Power save SetCPU governor saves the best battery. I Hope this is true?
I am trying to get my hands on powersave
I can't find powersave in the "market" though.. What's up with that? Can anyone tell me which one it is? Maybe give the name of the developer so i can find it back easier?
thnks in advance
Im using galaxy s 2 with lite'ning rom 6.1 ninphetamine 2.0.5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's not how it works. Governors are a part of the kernel. If you want features in your kernel that you don't have, you must flash a new kernel.
also, perhaps you should reread what 'powersave' is. It will keep your phone at the lowest cpu speed constantly. This will save battery, sure, but it will also completely destroy your phone's performance. Might as well go back to your old Moto Razr.
thx, actually, i set those gov randomly before i read this post
Ondemand vs. Smartass vs. Performance gov. - Test
The idea was, that maybe the display eats so much power,
that if it is on, the CPU setting does not make a big different.
Bottom line: it does.
Phone: HTC Sensation, Leedroid Sensational 3.1 (kernel 3.2)
Conditions: Simulating light cpu use like writing email:
Brightness 50% (no timeout), MP3 playing (Volume=1, headphone), a new document on the screen,
Wifi and 3G network off (these have fluctuation, so it is easier to compare if these are off)
Ondemand 192/1188 governor: 5 h 10 min
Performance governor: 4 h 20 min
SmartassV2 192/1188 governor: 5 h 2 min
Off course if the display is off, it is easy to choose, because there is no need for performance.
I set up Conservative 192/810, but any similar can work.
I choose Ondemand, and using "Tasker" to switch to Performance, if certain applications are active,
like Doodle Jump - which run a little smoother with the Performance, for as an example.
thanks for the info...
nice, thanks
Thanks, cleared my doubts.
completely noob question, how do u choose between governors? set cpu from the market its a paid app, and the one i downloades from the official post wont work
i have a galaxy s2 with Touch X-POWER+ 2.1 [XXKI3] rom

Best CPU governor for Nexus S

which of the recent governors gives best performance?
lazy, interactive, smartassv2?
Thanks guys
I just use Ondemand. I've tried others but I always end going back to it.
I've heard interactive is good for performance. I was under the impression that lazy and smartass were more geared towards battery saving.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
I use lazy or ondemand typically.
Follow the leader @corythug
for performance, ondemand with a sampling rate of 15000 and up threshold of 98.
simms22 said:
for performance, ondemand with a sampling rate of 15000 and up threshold of 98.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simms, I am assuming this will drain battery faster as the default sampling rate is 40000. Am I correct?
Sampling Rate – An interval (in microseconds) at which the governor will poll for updates. When this happens, the governor will decide whether to scale the CPU up or down.
Up Threshold – Defines a percentage from 1% to 100%. When the CPU load reaches this point, the governor will scale the CPU up.
i like smartassV2 1200 / 100
Naa Laa said:
simms, I am assuming this will drain battery faster as the default sampling rate is 40000. Am I correct?
Sampling Rate – An interval (in microseconds) at which the governor will poll for updates. When this happens, the governor will decide whether to scale the CPU up or down.
Up Threshold – Defines a percentage from 1% to 100%. When the CPU load reaches this point, the governor will scale the CPU up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. itll actually be a little better on battery, a little more efficient than the default. and itll give the ui a little speed boost.
Isn't interactive supposed to be a 'better OnDemand'
I'm thinking it's the opposite, that on demand was an improved interactive, but I could be wrong. I really don't notice much difference between any of them. On lazy and smartassv2 I seem to get more random problems. Really though, what's best questions are left for you to explore and find out. Some people on these threads use their phone for most their computing needs and some barely even use their phone.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
i use smartass 1200/200 on matrix 10.0 kernal n havent had any issues..i get awesome battery life 18+ hours with light to moderate use
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
I'm voting for interactive, I've had great battery life and performance from it fwiw
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
What's actually the difference? Is there any guide to read?
gellow said:
What's actually the difference? Is there any guide to read?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ondemand – Available in most kernels, and the default governor in most kernels. When the CPU load reaches a certain point (see “up threshold” in Advanced Settings), ondemand will rapidly scale the CPU up to meet demand, then gradually scale the CPU down when it isn't needed.
interactive – Available in newer kernels, and becoming the default scaling option in some official Android kernels. The interactive governor is functionally similar to the ondemand governor with an even greater focus on responsiveness.
conservative – Available in some kernels. It is similar to the ondemand governor, but will scale the CPU up more gradually to better fit demand. Conservative provides a less responsive experience than ondemand, but can save battery.
performance – Available in most kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “max” set value at all times. This is a bit more efficient than simply setting “max” and “min” to the same value and using ondemand because the system will not waste resources scanning for CPU load.
powersave – Available in some kernels. It will keep the CPU running at the “min” set value at all times.
userspace – A method for controlling the CPU speed that isn't currently used by SetCPU. For best results, do not use the userspace governor.
smartass – Included in some custom kernels. The smartass governor effectively gives the phone an automatic Screen Off profile, keeping speeds at a minimum when the phone is idle.
SOURCE: http://setcpu.com/#7
I've tried different configurations but always end up going for ondemand.
There is no "best governor", just like there's no best brand of beer. My favorite, however, is smartassv2. Great performance and battery life - probably one of the better compromises.
But I don't drink beer!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Setcpu Governers ?

okay im sorry if this is one of the most noobish questions, but what exactly are governors , and how do they help ?
Sent from my Mytouch 4G Running Capychimps Sense 3.5 rom (v.4.0)
Cpu governors "govern" how the cpu works. There is a list somewhere that explains what a few of them do. Basically they dictate how your cpu behaves and therefore the performance you see and power consumption you experience. I'll see if I can find that list.
Edit:
- The ondemand governor is the default option used by Android. It scales the CPU speed between the minimum and maximum speeds depending on CPU load. If the system needs more speed, the kernel will rapidly scale up the CPU speed. - The conservative sets the CPU speed in a similar way to the ondemand governor, but scales the CPU up much less rapidly. This would theoretically save battery power, but may lead to less responsiveness. - The userspace governor is currently useless. It's another way for applications to set the CPU speed that SetCPU does not use. - The powersave governor always keeps the CPU at the minimum set frequency. - The performance governor always keeps the CPU at the maximum set frequency.
Except for "userspace," no matter which governor you set, the CPU will always stay within the bounds of the maximum and minimum speeds you set in SetCPU.
smartass governor -is based on the concept of the interactive governor. I have always agreed that in theory the way interactive works -by taking over the idle loop -is very attractive. I have never managed to tweak it so it would behave decently in real life. Smartass is a complete rewrite of the code plus more. I think its a success. Performance is on par with the "old" minmax and I think smartass is a bit more responsive. Battery life is hard to quantify precisely but it does spend much more time at the lower frequencies. Smartass will also cap the max frequency when sleeping to 352Mhz (or if your min frequency is higher than 352 -why?! -it will cap it to your min frequency). Lets take for example the 528/176 kernel, it will sleep at 352/176. No need for sleep profiles any more!
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
estallings15 said:
Cpu governors "govern" how the cpu works. There is a list somewhere that explains what a few of them do. Basically they dictate how your cpu behaves and therefore the performance you see and power consumption you experience. I'll see if I can find that list.
Edit:
- The ondemand governor is the default option used by Android. It scales the CPU speed between the minimum and maximum speeds depending on CPU load. If the system needs more speed, the kernel will rapidly scale up the CPU speed. - The conservative sets the CPU speed in a similar way to the ondemand governor, but scales the CPU up much less rapidly. This would theoretically save battery power, but may lead to less responsiveness. - The userspace governor is currently useless. It's another way for applications to set the CPU speed that SetCPU does not use. - The powersave governor always keeps the CPU at the minimum set frequency. - The performance governor always keeps the CPU at the maximum set frequency.
Except for "userspace," no matter which governor you set, the CPU will always stay within the bounds of the maximum and minimum speeds you set in SetCPU.
smartass governor -is based on the concept of the interactive governor. I have always agreed that in theory the way interactive works -by taking over the idle loop -is very attractive. I have never managed to tweak it so it would behave decently in real life. Smartass is a complete rewrite of the code plus more. I think its a success. Performance is on par with the "old" minmax and I think smartass is a bit more responsive. Battery life is hard to quantify precisely but it does spend much more time at the lower frequencies. Smartass will also cap the max frequency when sleeping to 352Mhz (or if your min frequency is higher than 352 -why?! -it will cap it to your min frequency). Lets take for example the 528/176 kernel, it will sleep at 352/176. No need for sleep profiles any more!
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow ! , thanks i guess im gonna get rid of my sleeping profile and start using smartass, thanks for the help
Sent from my Mytouch 4G Running Capychimps Sense 3.5 rom (v.4.0)
do you happen to know any info about smartassv2 ? , i just checked my list and i have both smartass and smartassv2
Sent from my Mytouch 4G Running Capychimps Sense 3.5 rom (v.4.0)
You're welcome! By the way, I'd appreciate it if you'd hit the Thanks button. I help people all the time and am rarely thanked. I'm starting to get a complex. Ha.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
jjbat87 said:
do you happen to know any info about smartassv2 ? , i just checked my list and i have both smartass and smartassv2
Sent from my Mytouch 4G Running Capychimps Sense 3.5 rom (v.4.0)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart ass v2 is just an update of smart ass v1
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

[Poll] AbyssNote Kernel * Favorite Governors *

Well I am sticking to one Rom and that's Crisekelo's like in my good 'n old sgs froyo times, but I like to test various kernels, when I have time...
Anyway I never saw a Mod Kernel with so many governors as the AbyssNote kernel, which I am testing right now..
Since there are many users out there that unlike me, already own the GNote for a long time and are way more experienced than me with this particular Kernel, I decided to start this Poll-thread so users can vote on their favorite governor and prehaps elaborate a little about it..
Thanks in advance..
Since Abyss Kernel is not working for my Note (overheat), I' at FM kernel with SavagedZen governor and vr I/0 Scheduler, butter smooth and stable, goes to deep sleep as it supposed to, sharp performance and moderate battery life. I know you prefer Abyss but just wanna let you know how the other kernel is working.
When I was on Abyss I was using abyssplug governor with and without undervolting. Hope you can get Abyss work for you, if you manage to do it without overheat I would appreciate any info.
have fun!
Oops ... you reacted fast ! The poll was not even ready
At the moment I don't prefer any kernel ( Only the rom) and on a device such as the GNote, I have a hunch that we dont need a super-optimized kernel with tons of iterations and that's why I always keep CF-Root and Speedmod handy, but I like the dedication and availability of AbyssNote developer, so I am giving it another try...
Since I have not enough time to play with the GNote as I did with the sgs, I am hoping that the AbyssNote users will give this specific input ....
iceangel1980 said:
"... Abyss Kernel is not working for my Note (overheat), I' at FM kernel with SavagedZen governor and vr I/0 Scheduler, butter smooth and stable, goes ..."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi betoNL,
just give the Abyss Kernel v3.7 another try. I am really satisfied with ABYSSPLUG governor and the SIO scheduler - great balance between performance and battery life. And it is also butter smooth and stable without any overclocking indeed ;-)
To be honest: I can't understand your problem with overheating. It could have its seeds in an app with unnormal behaviour or a constant hang-up in the background. Maybe you will execute this little turnaround at the next opportunity:
1. Charge your battery to 100%
2. Use a Taskkiller and kill every open task
3. Reboot in Recovery Mode and wipe voltage & battery stats (DON'T WIPE ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE!)
4. Reboot yours system...
Best regards
[bs]
---------- Post added at 05:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 PM ----------
Hi,
great poll... my vote goes to the abyssplug ;-)
Would be interesting to add users choice of the I/O scheduler.
What do you think about that little improvement?
Best regards
[bs]
As I said, I recommend AbyssPlug
I don't understand how abyssplug works. So I don't use it.
I do use lulzactive because it uses mostly my lowest frequency which drains battery the least when not stressed and highest frequency when stressed and basically ignores everything in between. It's been great.
can someone explain how abyssplug works? I've been searching, it only says modified hotplug. That doesn't tell me much.
Originally Posted by mancman
here the exact explanation on RootzWiki:
Wheatley governor
in short words this govenor is build on "ondemand" but increases the C4 state time of the CPU and doing so trying to save juice....
The known ones are really good described here one the setcpu page:
the rest is nice described here:the rest is nice described here:
lazy (http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1276092) - is ondemand but with an added option to stay longer on a certain frequency. This is due to the fact that some CPU's dont like too quick freq changes when sampling rate for decision making is set too low. See link for more.
lulzactive (http://tegrak2x.blogspot.com/2011/11...vernor-v2.html) - is basically interactive governor with added smartass bits and variable (as opposed to fixed amout) frequency scaling, based on currently occuring cpu loads. Has, like smartass, a sleep profile built-in. See link for details on exact scaling.
lagfree (http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1272933) - seems to be ondemand but with a lessend tendency to ramp up to 100% but rather also use steps available in between 0-100%.
intellidemand (freely translated from http://www.android-hilfe.de/root-hac...-governor.html) - behaves like ondemand when the system is under heavy use, it behaves differently when the system is mostly ideling. That mode is colled "browsing mode" or "browser mode" or whatever. It seems to be some sort of "intelligent" demand sensing/analysing ondemand governor.
smartassV2 - this one should be known. It's the same as smartass(V1) but tweaked. Same code author. I heard one should use smartassV2 instead of smartass when available.
ondemandx - is ondemand with an added sleep profile built-in. I believe all ...X kernels are the default kernels but with an added sleep profile.
AbyssPlug Governor:
Abyssplug governor is a modified hotplug governor
>>Hotplug Governor:
The "hotplug" governor scales CPU frequency based on load, similar to
"ondemand". It scales up to the highest frequency when "up_threshold"
is crossed and scales down one frequency at a time when "down_threshold"
is crossed. Unlike those governors, target frequencies are determined
by directly accessing the CPUfreq frequency table, instead of taking
some percentage of maximum available frequency.
The key difference in the "hotplug" governor is that it will disable
auxillary CPUs when the system is very idle, and enable them again once
the system becomes busy. This is achieved by averaging load over
multiple sampling periods; if CPUs were online or offlined based on a
single sampling period then thrashing will occur.
Sysfs entries exist for "hotplug_in_sampling_periods" and for
"hotplug_out_sampling_periods" which determine how many consecutive
periods get averaged to determine if auxillery CPUs should be onlined or
offlined. Defaults are 5 periods and 20 periods respectively.
Otherwise the standard sysfs entries you might find for "ondemand" and
"conservative" governors are there.
__________________
After goin thru this thread I tried the AbyssPlug governor.
And indeed its good so far.
Me likes!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
My choice is lulzactive.
Most important things for me are smoothness, fast wake&unlock and gaming performance. I don't care about the battery life that much so it seems a perfect choice for me.
pjm77 said:
My choice is lulzactive.
Most important things for me are smoothness, fast wake&unlock and gaming performance. I don't care about the battery life that much so it seems a perfect choice for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like lulzactive, too!
What, no smartassv2 love here ? I found it at least as good as lulzactive for my usage.
My priorities - Fast response after sleep, smoothness, battery.
My governor choices on top were : SmartAssV2 (Currently using), AbyssPlus (Used it, liked it, later will compare to SmartAssV2) and Lulzactive (which is pretty good as well).
betoNL said:
Originally Posted by mancman
here the exact explanation on RootzWiki:
Wheatley governor
in short words this govenor is build on "ondemand" but increases the C4 state time of the CPU and doing so trying to save juice....
The known ones are really good described here one the setcpu page:
the rest is nice described here:the rest is nice described here:
lazy (http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1276092) - is ondemand but with an added option to stay longer on a certain frequency. This is due to the fact that some CPU's dont like too quick freq changes when sampling rate for decision making is set too low. See link for more.
lulzactive (http://tegrak2x.blogspot.com/2011/11...vernor-v2.html) - is basically interactive governor with added smartass bits and variable (as opposed to fixed amout) frequency scaling, based on currently occuring cpu loads. Has, like smartass, a sleep profile built-in. See link for details on exact scaling.
lagfree (http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1272933) - seems to be ondemand but with a lessend tendency to ramp up to 100% but rather also use steps available in between 0-100%.
intellidemand (freely translated from http://www.android-hilfe.de/root-hac...-governor.html) - behaves like ondemand when the system is under heavy use, it behaves differently when the system is mostly ideling. That mode is colled "browsing mode" or "browser mode" or whatever. It seems to be some sort of "intelligent" demand sensing/analysing ondemand governor.
smartassV2 - this one should be known. It's the same as smartass(V1) but tweaked. Same code author. I heard one should use smartassV2 instead of smartass when available.
ondemandx - is ondemand with an added sleep profile built-in. I believe all ...X kernels are the default kernels but with an added sleep profile.
AbyssPlug Governor:
Abyssplug governor is a modified hotplug governor
>>Hotplug Governor:
The "hotplug" governor scales CPU frequency based on load, similar to
"ondemand". It scales up to the highest frequency when "up_threshold"
is crossed and scales down one frequency at a time when "down_threshold"
is crossed. Unlike those governors, target frequencies are determined
by directly accessing the CPUfreq frequency table, instead of taking
some percentage of maximum available frequency.
The key difference in the "hotplug" governor is that it will disable
auxillary CPUs when the system is very idle, and enable them again once
the system becomes busy. This is achieved by averaging load over
multiple sampling periods; if CPUs were online or offlined based on a
single sampling period then thrashing will occur.
Sysfs entries exist for "hotplug_in_sampling_periods" and for
"hotplug_out_sampling_periods" which determine how many consecutive
periods get averaged to determine if auxillery CPUs should be onlined or
offlined. Defaults are 5 periods and 20 periods respectively.
Otherwise the standard sysfs entries you might find for "ondemand" and
"conservative" governors are there.
__________________
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, it's just a modified hotplug. What's modified about it?
betoNL said:
Oops ... you reacted fast ! The poll was not even ready
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
guess I was in chatty mood
BrainSex said:
\
To be honest: I can't understand your problem with overheating. It could have its seeds in an app with unnormal behaviour or a constant hang-up in the background. Maybe you will execute this little turnaround at the next opportunity:
1. Charge your battery to 100%
2. Use a Taskkiller and kill every open task
3. Reboot in Recovery Mode and wipe voltage & battery stats (DON'T WIPE ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE!)
4. Reboot yours system...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me I don't get it either and I'm pretty upset I can't use that kernel which is so valued by other android users. I was trying your advice and any other I could find in Abyss Kernel thread, nothing works for me. What is really funny I don't have any problems on other kernels. Well maybe I'm just unlucky this way. I'm thinking about getting my Note to Samsung for screen display exchange, so maybe they can do something about overheating too, maybe it's hardware related.
Thank you for your interest and advice
anyone using the app 2nd core and turning on dynamic hotplug?
It rly helps the battery
Might be useless to use along side abyssplug tho since it does the same thing
I use lulzactive, don't care about a little more battery drain
I use too 500mhz minimum speed @ 800mv, with it is pretty strange because 100 and 200 are not stable at that voltage and need 825, so having more speed I use less battery.
You don't use less battery because it's not only determined by voltage. Frequency us also a factor in power consumption, so 100MHz at 825 uses less battery for sure.
Sent from my superior GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Zamboney said:
You don't use less battery because it's not only determined by voltage. Frequency us also a factor in power consumption, so 100MHz at 825 uses less battery for sure.
Sent from my superior GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a post here somewhere here in the gnote forum that shows a study where they explain how 50 and 100MHz do consume more battery cause the CPU gets more stressed and takes longer to perform the task that would take less time and effort to accomplish at a higher frequency (or something like that)
Actually a higher frequency @ same voltage as a lower frequency would consume LESS battery because it will complete the task faster.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
With my setup only ondemand really worked well, my second core scaling is always set to 2 cores enabled and I have a landscape setting for ADWex and any other governor will give me like 10-15fps when opening the app drawer.
Abyssplug fits my needs: I don't need so much power (no playstation-like games) but I use phone h24, from music to calls, from surfing to calendar/alarm...quite all stuff by BT headset and voice command. Battery drains slower than expected, my Note stays alive 'till night

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