software cooler for AMD cpu WinXP

[Dennis Roark]

I was part of a discussion on the board a year ago recommending VCool
1.8 beta 10 to cool AMD cpu's including while running Win XP. There is
another cooler available that also works in WinXP, S2kCtl by Twinsoft.
The author reports that it works for all versions of Windows, including
WinXP. My tests confirm that both S2kCtl and VCool produce about a 7 to
9 degree Celsius cooling with Win XP and Win XP Pro. There are a couple
of software coolers that do not work with WinXP, including Rain which is
the one on the Pricelessware list, and also Waterfall. But not working
with WinXP is a shortcoming of these utilities, not as claimed in the
listing of Rain, that WinXP cannot benefit to the same extent as Win98
and Win Me from software cooling. Several of us run VCool or S2kCtl and
observe the cooling. Just shut the software cooler down and watch the
temps go up.

The interface for VCool is preferable, but the advantage of S2kCtl is
that it works with more recent chipsets, including Via KT600 and the
NForce motherboard chipsets. I do not know if it works with the
chipsets for the 64 bit Athlons. But both of these software coolers
work excellently in Win All versions with the 32 bit Athlons, Durons and
Semprons. It is good to have the cooling ability in XP.

The list over at another excellent freeware / shareware site, Major
Geeks, gives a fuller list of software coolers, the several that do not
work on XP and the couple that do. Here is the link to S2kCtl:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4216.html

Note that both MajorGeeks and the author describe this as working for
ALL versions of Windows, and my testing supports this claim. Perhaps
someday that incorrect note on the Pricelessware page for Rain (that Win
XP can't benefit from software cooling) will be removed and perahps even
one or both of these excellent utilities will be included. Until then
there is always Major Geeks.

--
Dennis Roark, Ph.D.
Assoc. Professor of Computer Science

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[Susan Bugher]

Perhaps
someday that incorrect note on the Pricelessware page for Rain (that Win
XP can't benefit from software cooling) will be removed

(snip)

One more time. . .

A program note is not the place for an essay on CPU cooling programs.
The note is there to inform people of the limitations of Rain. The note
is accurate and it does *not* say that "that Win XP can't benefit from
software cooling":

http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/2004/PL2004SYSTEMUTILITIES.php#0613-PW

<q>
NOTES: Windows NT/2000/XP don't need CPU cooling programs that execute
HLT instructions (such as Rain) because they already come with an option
to execute HLT instructions when the CPU is idle.
</q>

Susan

 

[Dennis Roark]

(snip)

One more time. . .

A program note is not the place for an essay on CPU cooling programs.
The note is there to inform people of the limitations of Rain. The
note is accurate and it does *not* say that "that Win XP can't benefit
from software cooling":

http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/2004/PL2004SYSTEMUTILITIES.php#0613- PW

<q>
NOTES: Windows NT/2000/XP don't need CPU cooling programs that execute
HLT instructions (such as Rain) because they already come with an
option to execute HLT instructions when the CPU is idle.
</q>

Susan

Susan,

Thanks for responsding, but "one more time": your comment once again
tries to draw a distinction between "need" and "benefit." As the
discussion last year demonstrated, the implication of such a note is
that one shouldn't desire a software cooler for Win XP but should desire
one for Win 98 and Win 95. Yet there is absolutely no difference
between the three OS's in terms of needing or benefiting from software
cooling. They each need and benefit from software cooling to the same
degree (to about 8 degree C, if you pardon the pun.) I dual-boot
between Win XP and Win 98 and use a software cooler for each. The same
rise in temperature is found when I shut down the software cooler.
Thus, at the very minimum, the note you quote from the Rain description
is misleading, and frankly, it is just plain wrong. The only distinction
in terms of cooling between Win 9x and Win XP is that Rain can't do the
job on the latter OS, the other two programs, VCool and S2kCttl can.


--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[Susan Bugher]

Susan,

Thanks for responsding, but "one more time": your comment once again
tries to draw a distinction between "need" and "benefit." As the
discussion last year demonstrated, the implication of such a note is
that one shouldn't desire a software cooler for Win XP but should desire
one for Win 98 and Win 95. Yet there is absolutely no difference
between the three OS's in terms of needing or benefiting from software
cooling. They each need and benefit from software cooling to the same
degree (to about 8 degree C, if you pardon the pun.) I dual-boot
between Win XP and Win 98 and use a software cooler for each. The same
rise in temperature is found when I shut down the software cooler.
Thus, at the very minimum, the note you quote from the Rain description
is misleading, and frankly, it is just plain wrong. The only distinction
in terms of cooling between Win 9x and Win XP is that Rain can't do the
job on the latter OS, the other two programs, VCool and S2kCttl can.

I'm sure the note can be improved upon. If you know a better way to tell
Windows NT/2000/XP users "don't bother - Rain won't add anything new -
you won't see an improvement" I'm all ears.

Susan

 

[Dennis Roark]

I'm sure the note can be improved upon. If you know a better way to
tell Windows NT/2000/XP users "don't bother - Rain won't add anything
new - you won't see an improvement" I'm all ears.

Susan

Susan, I can think of two note versions that would state the situation
more accurately and not mislead. The original note says:

"Not needed for NT / 2000 / XP and 2003 as these have built in support
for cpu cooling."

Version 1 would simply change that to read:

"Rain works only with Win 95, 98 and Win Me".

Version 2 would say:

"Rain works only with Win 9x; other utilities are available for Win XP"

I won't try to nominate VCool or S2kCtl for the 2005 Pricelessware. But
Win 9x will be 5 years old and rather out of date. Therefore, the
relevance of Rain is fading. It would be better to have a more modern
software cooler that works with current operating systems. I hope
others will evaluate S2kCtl for this purpose. Despite the somewhat ugly
interface it is probably preferable to VCool because it supports more
recent chipsets for AMD processors. VCool is a great program, but it
has not been updated since the VIA KT400 and, unlike S2kCtl, does not
support KT600 or NForce.

In peace,


--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[Susan Bugher]

Susan, I can think of two note versions that would state the situation
more accurately and not mislead. The original note says:

"Not needed for NT / 2000 / XP and 2003 as these have built in support
for cpu cooling."

Huh? The current PL2004 description is:

Rain
(Freeware) (unsupported)
Windows OS: Windows 95/98
Languages: English
Description: Rain is a CPU cooler program. Originally designed as tool
for the serious overclocker, this is a cooler program with no frills or
extras. It doesn't need them. Rain issues the HLT (halt) command during
periods of inactivity and the processor remains cooler because of it.
Plain and simple. The benefits of running a cooler CPU are that it
reduces power consumption, can extend laptop battery life, and prevents
CPU heat related freezes and lockups. More important, it can prolong the
life of your PC. NOTES: Windows NT/2000/XP don't need CPU cooling
programs that execute HLT instructions (such as Rain) because they
already comes with an option to execute HLT instructions when the CPU is
idle.
Company: Leading WinTech Author: --
Description and download v 1.0 (rain10.zip) (123 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=431
Description, download v 2.0 (rain20.zip) (121 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=430
(desc. rev.: 2004-01-05)

Version 1 would simply change that to read:

"Rain works only with Win 95, 98 and Win Me".

I agree with that idea.

Version 2 would say:

"Rain works only with Win 9x; other utilities are available for Win XP"

If there are no objections from others I will omit the NOTES and revise
the OS info to include Windows ME. The revised description would be:

Rain
(Freeware) (unsupported)
Windows OS: Windows 95/98 (known to work in Windows ME)
Languages: English
Description: Rain is a CPU cooler program. Originally designed as a tool
for the serious overclocker, this is a cooler program with no frills or
extras. It doesn't need them. Rain issues the HLT (halt) command during
periods of inactivity and the processor remains cooler because of it.
Plain and simple. The benefits of running a cooler CPU are that it
reduces power consumption, can extend laptop battery life, and prevents
CPU heat related freezes and lockups. More important, it can prolong the
life of your PC.
Company: Leading WinTech Author: --
Description and download v 1.0 (rain10.zip) (123 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=431
Description, download v 2.0 (rain20.zip) (121 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=430
(desc. rev.: 2004-01-05)

Do you approve of the proposed revision?

Susan

 

[Dennis Roark]

Huh? The current PL2004 description is:

Rain
(Freeware) (unsupported)
Windows OS: Windows 95/98
Languages: English
Description: Rain is a CPU cooler program. Originally designed as tool
for the serious overclocker, this is a cooler program with no frills
or extras. It doesn't need them. Rain issues the HLT (halt) command
during periods of inactivity and the processor remains cooler because
of it. Plain and simple. The benefits of running a cooler CPU are that
it reduces power consumption, can extend laptop battery life, and
prevents CPU heat related freezes and lockups. More important, it can
prolong the life of your PC. NOTES: Windows NT/2000/XP don't need CPU
cooling programs that execute HLT instructions (such as Rain) because
they already comes with an option to execute HLT instructions when the
CPU is idle.
Company: Leading WinTech Author: --
Description and download v 1.0 (rain10.zip) (123 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=431
Description, download v 2.0 (rain20.zip) (121 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=430
(desc. rev.: 2004-01-05)


I agree with that idea.


If there are no objections from others I will omit the NOTES and
revise the OS info to include Windows ME. The revised description
would be:

Rain
(Freeware) (unsupported)
Windows OS: Windows 95/98 (known to work in Windows ME)
Languages: English
Description: Rain is a CPU cooler program. Originally designed as a
tool for the serious overclocker, this is a cooler program with no
frills or extras. It doesn't need them. Rain issues the HLT (halt)
command during periods of inactivity and the processor remains cooler
because of it. Plain and simple. The benefits of running a cooler CPU
are that it reduces power consumption, can extend laptop battery life,
and prevents CPU heat related freezes and lockups. More important, it
can prolong the life of your PC.
Company: Leading WinTech Author: --
Description and download v 1.0 (rain10.zip) (123 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=431
Description, download v 2.0 (rain20.zip) (121 KB)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=430
(desc. rev.: 2004-01-05)

Do you approve of the proposed revision?

Susan

I think that is fine, Susan. My only objection was to the Note section
with its implication that cooling is not relevant for Win XP. Your
revision solves that problem.

I do hope others will try the S2kCtl cooler which works in XP and on
virtually all chipsets for AMD 32 bit CPU's (including Bartons). The
link if anyone is interested is:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4216.html

or directly to the author's site:

http://www.stargaz0r.nm.ru/

If others like this program for XP as well as Win 9x and Me, perhaps it
will be nominated for the next Pricelessware list.

Thanks for offering to correct the note/description of Rain.


--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[Susan Bugher]

I think that is fine, Susan. My only objection was to the Note section
with its implication that cooling is not relevant for Win XP. Your
revision solves that problem.

Thanks for the suggestion Dennis. I've made the revision. (I don't think
there will be any objections - if there are we can continue this
discussion.)

Susan

 

[Joe P]

I think the relevant part of the description was "that execute HLT
instructions (such as Rain)". Rain only executes HLT instructions and
thus it is not useful in newer versions of Windows. So the description
was accurate if incomplete.

Newer CPU coolers are needed and use different methods that still
aren't addressed by Microsoft.

By the way, VCool wouldn't install on my XP system as it politely told
me that it didn't find the supported chipset and so would not help.
Kudos to the programmer for the considerate response. So I'll try
another program. CPU coolers may also preserve battery life on
notebooks.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Dennis Roark]

(e-mail address removed) (Joe P) wrote in

Newer CPU coolers are needed and use different methods that still
aren't addressed by Microsoft.

By the way, VCool wouldn't install on my XP system as it politely told
me that it didn't find the supported chipset and so would not help.
Kudos to the programmer for the considerate response. So I'll try
another program. CPU coolers may also preserve battery life on
notebooks.

Thanks,

Joe

VCool only works on VIA chipsets up through KT400. It won't work on KT600
or NForce. The program S2kCtl that I mentioned earlier in this thread
does work on more recent chipsets and appears to have about the same
effectiveness in Win XP as does VCool (about 7 - 9 degrees C at idle.)
I've found the best settings for S2kCtl to be Halt divisor set all the way
up and the Stop divisor all the way down. With these settings, cooling in
XP is fine and there is no detectable reduction in CPU benchmarks.

Thanks again Susan for removing the note on Rain's description that would
discourage users from finding a software cooler that works in XP.

--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[schrodinger's cat]

I was part of a discussion on the board a year ago recommending VCool
1.8 beta 10 to cool AMD cpu's including while running Win XP. There is
another cooler available that also works in WinXP, S2kCtl by Twinsoft.
The author reports that it works for all versions of Windows, including
WinXP.
...
...Here is the link to S2kCtl:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4216.html

This link seems to point to a program called Athlon CPU SoftCooler. Is
this the same program as S2kCtl?

 

[Dennis Roark]

This link seems to point to a program called Athlon CPU SoftCooler. Is
this the same program as S2kCtl?

Yes, what Major Geeks calls Athlon CPU SoftCooler is S2kCtl. If you
click on the download link at the Major Geeks site you will be taken to
the site of S2kCtl. The author there has several programs, be sure you
scroll down to the cpu cooler, S2kCtl. I believe it is a Russian site,
so the Major Geeks title may have been chosen due to translation
problems. The interface however is in English, though not very pretty.
This is a good program if you are running chipsets other than VIA KT400
and below. If you are running a VIA KT266 or KT400 on Win XP, be sure
you have VCool 1.8 beta 10 and not VCool 1.7. But if you have NForce
(or NForce 2) or VIA KT600 then go with S2kCtl through the Major Geeks
site.

What chipset do you have? I am curious if S2kCtl will work with an AMD
64 on either a KT800 or NForce 3 chipset. I rather doubt it, but hope
someone give it a try.

--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www

 

[schrodinger's cat]

scroll down to the cpu cooler, S2kCtl...
This is a good program if you are running chipsets other than VIA KT400
and below. If you are running a VIA KT266 or KT400 on Win XP, be sure
you have VCool 1.8 beta 10 and not VCool 1.7. But if you have NForce
(or NForce 2) or VIA KT600 then go with S2kCtl through the Major Geeks
site.

What chipset do you have? I am curious if S2kCtl will work with an AMD
64 on either a KT800 or NForce 3 chipset. I rather doubt it, but hope
someone give it a try.

My system is a Compaq Presario laptop.

AIDA32 reports the following:
CPU: Mobile AMD Athlon XP, 1000 MHz (2.5 x 400) Palomino
Chipset: VIA VT8364(A) Apollo KL133(A) / VT8365(A) ProSavage KM133(A)

SiSoft Sandra reports:
Chipset: VIA Technologies Inc VT8363/5 KT133/KM133 System Controller

 

[Dennis Roark]

My system is a Compaq Presario laptop.

AIDA32 reports the following:
CPU: Mobile AMD Athlon XP, 1000 MHz (2.5 x 400) Palomino
Chipset: VIA VT8364(A) Apollo KL133(A) / VT8365(A) ProSavage KM133(A)

SiSoft Sandra reports:
Chipset: VIA Technologies Inc VT8363/5 KT133/KM133 System Controller

With that chipset you should be fine with either VCool 1.8 beta 10a or
the S2kCtl cooler. If you are using VCool enable the cool bit and the
halt detect, but do not enable the idle loop. (users on Win 98 may need
the idle loop, but it defeats the cooling in Win XP.)


--
Dennis Roark

(e-mail address removed)
Starting Points:
http://sio.midco.net/denro/www