AMD PowerNow With Windows 2003?

[Will]

We want to find an application that will let us control power saving
features in the Opteron processor under Windows 2003. With Windows XP you
use the PowerNow! application. That application refuses to install to
Windows 2003. Very strangely, the PowerNow *driver* *does* install to
Windows 2003 64-bit. Is there any way for us to configure this driver
using just registry entries, since no UI is being provided for Windows 2003?
Specifically we want to configure when / how the processors switch from the
default 1.8 GHz speed to full speed.

The above is very strange because Opteron is supposed to be a *server*
processor. How could AMD have not had the insight to provide an
application to configure the power saving features on a server operating
system?! It kind of undoes the value of the hardware if you cannot
configure in software.

 

[bushwhacker]

..

We want to find an application that will let us control power saving
features in the Opteron processor under Windows 2003. With Windows XP
you use the PowerNow! application. That application refuses to install
to Windows 2003. Very strangely, the PowerNow *driver* *does* install
to Windows 2003 64-bit. Is there any way for us to configure this driver
using just registry entries, since no UI is being provided for Windows
2003? Specifically we want to configure when / how the processors switch
from the default 1.8 GHz speed to full speed.

The above is very strange because Opteron is supposed to be a *server*
processor. How could AMD have not had the insight to provide an
application to configure the power saving features on a server operating
system?! It kind of undoes the value of the hardware if you cannot
configure in software.

got this from the amd website.

AMD OpteronT Processor with AMD PowerNow!T Technology Driver for Windows XP
and Windows Server 2003 Version (x86 and x64 exe) 1.3.2.16 - Allows the
system to automatically adjust the CPU speed, voltage and power combination
that match the instantaneous user performance need. Download this Setup
Installation program (EXE) to automatically update all the files necessary
for installation. This package is recommended for users whom desire a
graphical user interface for installation. This .EXE driver is a user
friendly localized software installation of the driver designed for
end-users. This driver supports Single- and Dual-Core AMD OpteronT
processors on Windows XP SP2, Windows 2003 SP1 x84 and x64 Editions

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9033,00.html

 

[Will]

got this from the amd website.

AMD OpteronT Processor with AMD PowerNow!T Technology Driver for Windows
XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (x86 and x64 exe) 1.3.2.16 - Allows the
system to automatically adjust the CPU speed, voltage and power
combination that match the instantaneous user performance need. Download
this Setup Installation program (EXE) to automatically update all the
files necessary for installation. This package is recommended for users
whom desire a graphical user interface for installation. This .EXE driver
is a user friendly localized software installation of the driver designed
for end-users. This driver supports Single- and Dual-Core AMD OpteronT
processors on Windows XP SP2, Windows 2003 SP1 x84 and x64 Editions

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9033,00.html

Exactly, and after you install this to Windows 2003 you have a driver only,
and no practical way to configure that driver's behavior. And how do you
know when the CPU has shifted to a higher speed?

 

[Wes Newell]

Exactly, and after you install this to Windows 2003 you have a driver only,
and no practical way to configure that driver's behavior. And how do you
know when the CPU has shifted to a higher speed?

You use the utilty that came with the MB or download any of many
monitoring programs like MBM. And by the way, I don't use windows.

 

[bushwhacker]

You use the utilty that came with the MB or download any of many
monitoring programs like MBM. And by the way, I don't use windows.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
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got this from the AMD site also.

AMD Clock Version 2.0.1 - AMDClock shows the current speed of each core of
each AMD processor in a system. The user has the ability to choose to run
the application on top of all other applications and to select the refresh
rate for reporting the speeds.

 

[bushwhacker]

You use the utilty that came with the MB or download any of many
monitoring programs like MBM. And by the way, I don't use windows.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

this also works.
AMD Power Monitor Version 1.0.2 - This application is used to monitor the
current frequency, voltage, utilization, and power savings of each core of
each processor in a system. This application also has a system tray icon
that can be used to view and select power schemes on the system. The system
tray icon will show the average utilization of every core on the system.

 

[Will]

got this from the AMD site also.

AMD Clock Version 2.0.1 - AMDClock shows the current speed of each core of
each AMD processor in a system. The user has the ability to choose to run
the application on top of all other applications and to select the refresh
rate for reporting the speeds.

We already had AMD Clock and Processor Monitor installed. If you are an
end user who is always logged into a console I guess these make sense. For
a server where you might login once every few days, it's not all that
helpful. For a server you want something more like a time graph, and you
want to have explicit control over the conditions that trigger the higher
CPU speeds.

A server user might push up the speeds three times each day and this tool
wouldn't help you see that unless you were logged in and looking at it
during the right time periods.

 

[Zhezow]

We already had AMD Clock and Processor Monitor installed. If you
are an end user who is always logged into a console I guess these
make sense. For a server where you might login once every few days,
it's not all that helpful. For a server you want something more
like a time graph, and you want to have explicit control over the
conditions that trigger the higher CPU speeds. (...)

Try Motherboard Monitor: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
Or SpeedFan: http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

I'm not sure if MBM works in Windows 2003 x64, but SpeedFan works.

 

[Wes Newell]

A server user might push up the speeds three times each day and this tool
wouldn't help you see that unless you were logged in and looking at it
during the right time periods.

Personally, I let cpu demand control mine automatically. I never change it
manually. I think I turned off logging comepletely.

 

[Will]

Useful programs, thanks.

--
Will

Try Motherboard Monitor: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
Or SpeedFan: http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

I'm not sure if MBM works in Windows 2003 x64, but SpeedFan works.