Database Users

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

[Q] Nexus 4 Franco Kernel

I Currently flashed franco kernel on my nexus 4 . My question should I leave everything to default ? And how to exactly do I under volt in franco. I have really never under volted
Thanks

dia_naji said:
I Currently flashed franco kernel on my nexus 4 . My question should I leave everything to default ? And how to exactly do I under volt in franco. I have really never under volted
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Default settings are fine for a decent battery life. UV doesn't really increase the battery life; its used to reduce the heating when using processor intensive apps (games). But if you don't know what you are doing, its recommended that you don't change any settings.
Sent from my Nexus 4

blitzzz3434 said:
Default settings are fine for a decent battery life. UV doesn't really increase the battery life; its used to reduce the heating when using processor intensive apps (games). But if you don't know what you are doing, its recommended that you don't change any settings.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really my intention. Right now I am running
384 mhz- 725mV
1026 Mhz-900mV
1512 Mhz-1024 mV

Do you have the Franco kernel app?

dia_naji said:
That's really my intention. Right now I am running
384 mhz- 725mV
1026 Mhz-900mV
1512 Mhz-1024 mV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have UV about 100mV with the franco kernel app. so pretty much like what you have done and I haven't noticed any loss of performance.
Sent from my Nexus 4

Yes
Sent from my Nexus 4

decided to bump this instead of starting a new thread
Is it pretty much the consensus that undervolting w franco kernel on the N4 doesn't noticeably increase battery life?

spitswap said:
decided to bump this instead of starting a new thread
Is it pretty much the consensus that undervolting w franco kernel on the N4 doesn't noticeably increase battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't notice any significant increase in battery life, if any. However, the device runs so much cooler than before.
I am now experimenting with 150mV UV. Haven't had any problems with stability or camera.
Sent from my Nexus 4

Undervolting can somewhat increase battery life. Undervolting is meant for lowering CPU power to reduce thermal heat and it will definitely increase the life of the CPU. It doesn't really increase battery life, it might save a little bit but not much.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Got a question for Franco kernel + Franco Kernel updater app user
Do you have the hotplug control in Frequencies/Voltages menu? It seems to be not there for me. If I flash it with stock kernel then the hotplug control is there but can't change anything. If I flash it with Franco's kernel, then the hotplug control is missing.
Using Franco's latest R119 kernel

frozzbyte said:
Got a question for Franco kernel + Franco Kernel updater app user
Do you have the hotplug control in Frequencies/Voltages menu? It seems to be not there for me. If I flash it with stock kernel then the hotplug control is there but can't change anything. If I flash it with Franco's kernel, then the hotplug control is missing.
Using Franco's latest R119 kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Franco didn't add hotplugging feature back yet. He might add it back in the next app update.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

frozzbyte said:
Got a question for Franco kernel + Franco Kernel updater app user
Do you have the hotplug control in Frequencies/Voltages menu? It seems to be not there for me. If I flash it with stock kernel then the hotplug control is there but can't change anything. If I flash it with Franco's kernel, then the hotplug control is missing.
Using Franco's latest R119 kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something similar happened to me while I was using faux. You have to flash the rom first and kernel later. If you flash kernel first and then the rom some of the features on kernel settings might disappear.

Hotplug is available since quite long time.
Nothing to do with flashing Roms.
Unleashed by my Nexus 4

thought I'd bump instead of starting a new thread.
what's the best settings for the cpu hotplug control? I've set suspend frequency to 384000, suspend frequency is the CPU frequency when the screen if off?
cores on touch is how many CPU cores get used when screen is touched? I kept this to 2.
now I'm not too sure what first_level is used for though. so I left it at 60.
the new app is good but lacks description for some of the settings.

alpha-dog said:
thought I'd bump instead of starting a new thread.
what's the best settings for the cpu hotplug control? I've set suspend frequency to 384000, suspend frequency is the CPU frequency when the screen if off?
cores on touch is how many CPU cores get used when screen is touched? I kept this to 2.
now I'm not too sure what first_level is used for though. so I left it at 60.
the new app is good but lacks description for some of the settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do u want to apply the 'best settings' to increase battery life or performance? And I'm using the ones you have stated, pretty balanced stuff. Keep it that way

[Q] Interactive vs. Ondemand

I have been experimenting with some various governors and have found that interactive and ondemand work best on the nexus 7. My question is which one will have better battery life on the nexus 7? Which one will have the least stuttering? Just curious. Everyone seems to state that interactive will be the better governor, but I tend to notice interactive heats up more in chrome. Anyone else notice this?
Any helps would be appreciated
-Fishwithadeagle

When running low on battery I found conservative with runnable works the best for me. Undervolting by 50-100mV and running custom kernel plus ROM can also contribute. I always turn my WiFi and GPS off when not being used. I would not know of such imperceivable details between Interactive and Ondemand as battery, stutter or heat. Mine reaches 70 degress celsius under overclocked heavy benchmarking load.

For battery life, stick with interactive or conservative.
For less lag and stuttering, use ondemand or performance.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Wow, you couldn't be more wrong. You have it completely opposite. For better battery life, and not to have your frequency set to the highest value, almost at all times, go with ondemand. If you want less lag, and stuttering, but worse battery life, interactive.
Test it yourself with setcpu, and CPU spy, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

KitKat possible Lag Fix

Note: Root IS required!
1.) Install No-frills CPU Control.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.sineo.android.noFrillsCPU
2.) Open the app and set Governor to msm-dcvs
3.) Check "Apply on boot"
4.) Click "Apply" then "Exit"
5.) Reboot and test performance.
I notice a huge speed improvement and also music playback does not stutter anymore also. I am not sure how this will affect battery life. Enjoy!
Update: Music still stutters and garbles. Blah! Atleast performance is good!

kevev said:
Note: Root IS required!
1.) Install No-frills CPU Control.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.sineo.android.noFrillsCPU
2.) Open the app and set Governor to msm-dcvs
3.) Check "Apply on boot"
4.) Click "Apply" then "Exit"
5.) Reboot and test performance.
I notice a huge speed improvement and also music playback does not stutter anymore also. I am not sure how this will affect battery life. Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is no real governor, it's sort of a Qualcomm "testing" governor, which u shouldn't use.
More infos:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1736168
It's a Nexus

Tommy-Geenexus said:
This is no real governor, it's sort of a Qualcomm "testing" governor, which u shouldn't use.
More infos:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1736168
It's a Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. I am seeing better performance because the CPU is being locked at 1.5Ghz.
Do NOT use this!! It will drain your battery! Admin, please close this thread!

if the CPU is locked at 1,5ghz, then why does the explanation for MSM DCVS say
a very efficient and wide range of Dynamic Clock and
Voltage Scaling (DCVS) which addresses usage models from
active standby to mid and high level processing requirements.
A Krait CPU can smoothly scale from low power, low
leakage mode to blazingly fast performance.
Believe it's a governor that is mfg'd by qualcomm to utilize new on chip features.
MSM is the prefix for the SOC (MSM8960) and DCVS is Dynamic Clock and Voltage Scaling. Makes sense, MSM-DCVS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that it scales the processor from low power to high level processing requirements?

Incanity said:
if the CPU is locked at 1,5ghz, then why does the explanation for MSM DCVS say
that it scales the processor from low power to high level processing requirements?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am guessing that the governor is broke. Maybe someone else can try it and let us know.
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app

Yesterday i saw this topic and set my governor to ondemand. Till then there is no lag or dropout music play via bluetooth headset. Probably there is some miss configuration on default interactive governor.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

I've always found ondemand to be better than the interactive governor. on all my previous devices I've had better results with ondemand

kevev said:
I am guessing that the governor is broke. Maybe someone else can try it and let us know.
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is for Qualcomm testing. Yup, it is fixed @ 1.5 Ghz for my stock Xperia ZR. Kinda bad for battery life.