Howto: Dynamic CPU speed with Athlon XP and nForce2 boards

Message

Dreameen · Post by **Dreameen** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:41 pm

Sorry for the delay. I'm using arch linux so I visit gentoo forums occasionally. now, let's see:

Hasw wrote:Which version of the ATXP1 module are you using?

I've tried 2 versions of the module, atxp1-0.3 and atxp1-0.6 and both failed.

Are you using the kernel patch? It should be fixed, otherwise it
doesn't cleanly work with 2.6.12.

Yes, I was patching the kernel. In this case I'll wait for the fix before upgrading to 2.6.12

The module is missing the two functions i2c_which_vrm and i2c_detect, which are there in 2.6.12. So it's possible that
it hasn't compiled in the i2c_sensor functions (is I2C enabled in your kernel config).

All the I2C specific options were enabled properly. I was using a working .config from a previous kernel compilation as a base.

Also the ATXP1 module is in 2.6.12-rc6, it waits to get merged with the stable kernel.

Good news, but when is it going to happen...

Dreameen · Post by **Dreameen** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:52 pm

Any progress on fixing the patch???

PrakashP · Post by **PrakashP** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:00 pm

You could try kernel 2.6.13-rc1, as well.

Dreameen · Post by **Dreameen** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:15 pm

I've just tried it and the same thing happens:

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LD      init/built-in.o
  LD      vmlinux
drivers/built-in.o(.text+0x92298): In function `atxp1_detect':
: undefined reference to `i2c_which_vrm'
drivers/built-in.o(.text+0x921ae): In function `atxp1_attach_adapter':
: undefined reference to `i2c_detect'
make: *** [vmlinux] Błąd 1
==> ERROR: Build Failed.  Aborting...

Dreameen · Post by **Dreameen** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:46 am

Hi again,

I had posted the problem on linux-kernel mailing list and they've come up with a patch that fixes the issue.

atxp1.patch:

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--- linux-2.6.12-mm2-full/drivers/i2c/chips/Kconfig.old 2005-06-30 23:56:34.000000000 +0200
+++ linux-2.6.12-mm2-full/drivers/i2c/chips/Kconfig     2005-06-30 23:57:08.000000000 +0200
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@
 config SENSORS_ATXP1
        tristate "Attansic ATXP1 VID controller"
        depends on I2C && EXPERIMENTAL
+       select I2C_SENSOR
        help
          If you say yes here you get support for the Attansic ATXP1 VID
          controller.

Enjoy.

PrakashP · Post by **PrakashP** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:59 am

Ja ja, my patch was 6 minutes too late to Adrian...

BetterUnborn · Post by **BetterUnborn** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 11:38 am

I finally found what I've been looking for ... thx hasw
Now I'm able to run my desktop system without any fan noise at all

Will there be any chance that this is ported to other chipsets?
This could be very useful for the Intel Centrino fraction ... though advanced speedstep reduces cpu voltage, default settings are far too conservative. Linux on laptops tends to be much louder than windows; there you have many tools to tweak and fine-adjust.

yemu · Post by **yemu** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 10:41 am

hi!
i have a problem with atxp1 module on 2.6.11-r9

here's the compilation output (i tried to compile atxp1 in a separate directory, and didn't patch the kernel)

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komputerek atxp1-0.6 # make
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.11-gentoo-r9/build SUBDIRS=/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r9'
  CC [M]  /home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.o
/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.c: In function `atxp1_storevcore':
/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.c:130: warning: implicit declaration of function `reg_from_vid'
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
*** Warning: "reg_from_vid" [/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.ko] undefined!
  CC      /home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.mod.o
  LD [M]  /home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r9'

komputerek atxp1-0.6 # make install
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.11-gentoo-r9/build SUBDIRS=/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r9'
  Building modules, stage 2.
  MODPOST
*** Warning: "reg_from_vid" [/home/yemu/programs/atxp1-0.6/atxp1.ko] undefined!
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.11-gentoo-r9'
mkdir -p /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/i2c/chips
cp ./atxp1.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/i2c/chips
depmod -a

komputerek atxp1-0.6 # modprobe atxp1
FATAL: Error inserting atxp1 (/lib/modules/2.6.11-gentoo-r9/kernel/drivers/i2c/chips/atxp1.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)

komputerek atxp1-0.6 # dmesg | grep atxp1
atxp1: Unknown symbol reg_from_vid

what do I do wrong?

yemu · Post by **yemu** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:53 pm

i managed to get frequency and vcore scaling to work with atxp1 v0.3, 2.6.11-gentoo-r9 and nvfreqd (from punnoor.de)

it works like a charm - my mean CPU (2200XP@1970Mhz WaterCooled) temperature droped from 46 to 40 degrees celsius (which is 13 degrees more then ambient temperature) during normal computer usage (X, OOorg, KDE, Amarok, Azureus, Skype, superkaramba). i'm really happy because in a couple of days i plan to install watercooling on a northbridge and my gf5600 and completly get rid of the noise (abit nf7-s fan is sooooo loud).

One thing i don't like about nvfreqd is a vcore limit - anyone knows where to change something in the code in order to get rid of the limitation?

also, hasw, do you plan to add memory and northbridge voltage support?

best regards

PS. thanks for the great piece of software.

PrakashP · Post by **PrakashP** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 6:44 pm

The limit is hw related, so w/o mod, no dice.

frary · Post by **frary** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:11 pm

I have problems loading the module:

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modprobe cpufreq-nforce2
FATAL: Error inserting cpufreq_nforce2 (/lib/modules/2.6.11-ck10n/kernel/arch/i386/kernel/cpu/cpufreq/cpufreq-nforce2.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)

Relevant part of the ck-2.6.11-r10 Kernel:

Code: Select all

# CPU Frequency scaling
#
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ=y
# CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_DEBUG is not set
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_STAT=y
# CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_STAT_DETAILS is not set
# CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_DEFAULT_GOV_PERFORMANCE is not set
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_DEFAULT_GOV_USERSPACE=y
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_GOV_PERFORMANCE=y
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_GOV_POWERSAVE=y
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_GOV_USERSPACE=y
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_GOV_ONDEMAND=y
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_TABLE=y

#
# CPUFreq processor drivers
CONFIG_X86_CPUFREQ_NFORCE2=m

Chipset is nforce4-ultra400 on an Abit NF7-S2G

I would really like to use FSB-Scaling, any ideas what I did wrong?

T

yemu · Post by **yemu** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:50 am

you said that your mobo is abit-nf7-s2g - s2 is a completly different motherboard which is not supported. s2 board doesn't allow explicit vcore changing even in bios (you can only add 5% or 10% for example). this board also doesn't support FID changing.

frary · Post by **frary** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:48 am

You are right, there seems to be no atxp1 chip on my board. But I got dynamic FSB working ( the module loads fine after having corrected the Grub-Syntax to load the correct kernel! ).

I tried different demons ( cpudyn, powernowd, cpufreqd ) but 1500 ( @FSB100 ) seems to be the lowest stable setting.
Prime runs fine at 1250 ( @FSB83 ), but I cannot switch back to 2000 ( @133 ) without freezing my system.
So for the Abit NF7-S2G FSB-throttling seems to work between 100 and 133.

@yemu: Do you know that board? I´m searching for the Faneq feature since I bought it, but there seems to be no possibility to control the fans...

T

EDIT: With C1 disconnect enabled, my system freezes when changing FSB. Should have bought a S939 with athlon 64 for powersaving & Fancontrol...

yemu · Post by **yemu** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:14 am

actually, i don't know much about this board - I own nf7-s, i also considered s2 but since it doesn't allow to change the multiplier i bought nf7-s.

now I encountered strange problems with my new Xp-M 2500+ - it doesn't want to go below 1900-2000Mhz (started at 2300 - 200x11,5). it's a little better when i boot with fsb166. on the same board my old 2200+ it worked from ~1250 to 1950 (cpu booted at 1950 13,5x145). so it seems it's cpu fault... if anyone encountered similiar problem and was able to fix it - please help - i'm using 2.6.11-gentoo-r9, today i'll try 2.6.12-gentoo-r4 - maybe this will help, but honestly i doubt it...

also i think it would be great if there was possible to increase fsb not only decrease it below the value set in bios.

frary · Post by **frary** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:06 am

yemu wrote:actually, i don't know much about this board - I own nf7-s, i also considered s2 but since it doesn't allow to change the multiplier i bought nf7-s.

Are you able to control your Fanspeeds via BIOS? Example Screens on Abit Homepage show a FanEQ option which allows to set Temperatures and Fanspeed ratios, but even after flashing the latest BIOS I cannot find that option!!!!

What is your approach for Frequency-scaling? I´m testing powernowd again with steps of 50000 and the sine Mode which seems to work between 1250 and 2000...

T

Edit: System freezed! Iwas able to start and stop prime several times, but it seems that with any setting/demon/governor scaling sometimes fails.
Withiout FSB-scaling the system is rock-solid!

yemu · Post by **yemu** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:24 pm

frary wrote:
yemu wrote:actually, i don't know much about this board - I own nf7-s, i also considered s2 but since it doesn't allow to change the multiplier i bought nf7-s.
Are you able to control your Fanspeeds via BIOS? Example Screens on Abit Homepage show a FanEQ option which allows to set Temperatures and Fanspeed ratios, but even after flashing the latest BIOS I cannot find that option!!!!

i'm not sure because i haven't tried it

frary wrote: What is your approach for Frequency-scaling? I´m testing powernowd again with steps of 50000 and the sine Mode which seems to work between 1250 and 2000...

with my old cpu (2200+) i used nvfreq (cpufreq patched to allow also vcore changes) and it worked flawlessly. now i only change fsb and vcore manually trying to figure out the limits. i made changes in small 10000 steps it doesn't change anything - system freezes at 1900000.

what cpu do you use?

frary · Post by **frary** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:23 pm

2400+ TBred B at 133*15=2000. As the Abit was new ( bought monday ), I took it back an switched to ASUS A7N8x-E Deluxe.
Please don`t tell me this board is even worse, because I won`t change it again.

New trial, new luck! As soon as I got my Installation set up for this board I will be back with another try ( this time I will be able to change the multi! ).

T

ahorn · Post by **ahorn** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:25 am

it's fine to chance the fsb, but this is more ineffective for me (sempron 2500+) because i can switch from 1,4GHz to 1,75GHz (this doesnt make a big difference). So it would be better to got a cpufreqd-patch with multiplikator-support, because i can lower my speed more then with the fsb-method. also, at the new nforce2 ultra ssp (mcp2), there's cpu/ram asynchron so at last you only touch the cpu-fsb. that's why a fid-based solution would be nice.
and is it possible to get the SMI-module even it is in beta-stage?

best wishes, ahorn.

PrakashP · Post by **PrakashP** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:21 pm

I updated nvfreqd: nvclock is now integrated.

woZa · Post by **woZa** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:36 pm

This worked great on my 8rda+ (1.1) all the way down to at least 113 fsb (didn't need to go any lower) and 1.1v. I have now bought an nf7-s and am having issues when I raise the voltage. It will drop down fine but hangs on any voltage increase. This happens with 8rdavore-0.8.8-dev8 on windoze too.

Also can't compile atxp1 anymore - could be because I am now running 2.6.12 kernel. Worked fine on 2.6.11 kernel. Not at home so can't give error message. Will update later when I have tested a bit more.

<edit>Have just seen the top post on this page with regard to 2.6.12. Will try the patch later</edit>

<edit>No luck with the patch but got v 0.3 compiled ok. Still no luck with raising the vcore. Still crashing. Anyone else having problems with nf7-s v2 or do others have it working ok with this mobo???</edit>

Schmolch · Post by **Schmolch** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:25 pm

I have a problem right at the beginning.
I rebooted the new kernel (2.6.12-gentoo) but i am unable to echo anything into the /sys/.../cpufreq/ files.
Im root and the files are -rw- but it wont echo anything into it.

When i try to edit them with vim i get this error trying to write the changes:

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"scaling_governor" E667: Fsync failed

[update] its working now, i had to set it to userspace in the kernel-config.
I can set the FSB down to 66MHz now on my 8rda+ = Athlon 900MHz (max OC is 2200)

bgradid · Post by **bgradid** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 7:01 pm

I don't understand it. I've tried two seperate nf7-s motherboards (rev. 2.0) with a total of 3 different bioses (and now the newest available)
no matter what I do, I can't adjust the CPU speed.
I follow the guide too the letter but when I do

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echo 1700000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_setspeed

and get my cpu info from /proc/cpuinfo, nothing has changed. At all.
I tried it a few months ago with the same problem.
1700000 is well within my 'min-max' level.

cpufreqd output is fine too when the module is loaded

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cpufreq: Detected nForce2 chipset revision C1
cpufreq: FSB changing is maybe unstable and can lead to crashes and data loss.
cpufreq: FSB currently at 171 MHz, FID 13.0

I don't have a clue right now

There are no error messages when I try to change my cpu speed either.

edit: i'm using ck-sources version 2.6.11-ck10
the last time it was a gentoo-sources kenrel of some kind.. 2.6.9 or something

Hasw · Post by **Hasw** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 7:59 pm

The BIOS doesn't matter. Can you please post

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cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/*

and enable cpufreq debugging in kernel to check messages?

bgradid · Post by **bgradid** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:07 pm

#cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/*
0
1989000
2223000
1573000
userspace performance
1989000
nforce2
userspace
2223000
1573000
1989000

I'll get on debug messages in a minute

stealth_br · Post by **stealth_br** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:07 am

Is there anyway to change vcore for ASUS A7N8X-E DELUXE ?
At windows i found 8RDAVcore great , i can get 1.425 vcore

But i barely use windows , so i need a tool for linux.
I saaw a gay talking about a SMI modules but i can't find this module anywhere.