Weird CPU noise

bugsan · n00b Joined: 26 Dec 2004 Posts: 1

i have a A7N8X-X
i have the "sound" under mandrake 10.1 (i've found this thread with google)

The setcpi works ! no sound anymore.
IMHO It's not a solution and it should be fixed in the kernel.

mouse256 · n00b Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 32

g4c9z · Apprentice Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 178

I don't have a laptop, but my desktop with an A7N8X-X motherboard had this problem and I found another way to fix it, by adding:

setagllib · n00b Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 53

Kernel timer granularity will affect the maximum precision with which events can be scheduled and file/devicce/etc polls can be timed. This can sometimes make a visible difference in MPlayer (but not if you use the RTC, which you SHOULD) and WINGs-based apps since WINGs uses a stupid timing system based on timer ticks instead of real time (for instance, WindowMaker animations are much faster in 1000 than 100).

It is perfectly safe and certainly more efficient to run at 100 than 1000, but there is still a loss of precision for event polls and so on. Don't worry too much though.

I will soon have a D600 and report if I have the problem.
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mouse256 · n00b Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 32

g4c9z · Apprentice Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 178

Hmm, interesting. I don't properly understand it either, but my guess (and I'm just making this up) is that when Windows is always in an infinite loop (as is the case when you're not doing anything else useful), it's only using one component of the processor. When something more complex is happening, there's electricity going through all kinds of circuitry in the processor, hence more heat. But again, that's just my pseudorandom guess.

mouse256 · n00b Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 32

I think it works another way. Normally when the cpu is idle, there happens nothing. But you can also send special idle instructions to the cpu, and when you do that the cpu will get even more colder.
But if this is true, there is a problem in the next theory:
*) Windows doesn't make the noise, so he isn't sending idle calls (Although I thought windows did it)
*) linux makes the sound, so it send idle calls. But when you disable idle calls in the kernel, the sound doesn't stop :?:

I've read a lot of it on the internet, and as far as I can find the nforce2 mobo's make these idle calls from the bios, so the os must not do it. And that seems to be the reason why the "setpci" command solves the problem: it sets a bit so the bios won't make the idle call anymore.
But now my problem is: if that's right, and the bios makes the idle call, then why don't we have that sound in windows? I've also been busy in windows with setting that idle bit, but it makes no difference at all in windows. It seems windows and linux are doing something different, but I don't know what, and I either don't know which os is actually doing the right things...

comcute · n00b Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 2

mouse256 · n00b Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Posts: 32

hmm, I doesn't hear the sound in windows when I disable the nforce drivers, maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I believe you it can :-)

And installing the official nvidia drivers in linux, I would like to, but I didn't manage to get them working :-(

, maybe you have a step-by-step installation procedure?

Zeddicus · Apprentice Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 163

Okay -- slightly necromantic here, but I figure this might be helpful for someone.

I've found that adding "idle=poll" to the kernel arguments completely eliminates this sound on my Inspiron 8200 (even with speedstep/thermal/etc enabled). Hope it works for others!

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