14 replies to this topic

[SaberSHO]

Alrighty then....here is my first beta release of CPUThrottler2. CPUThrottler2 is a GUI replacement for estctrl. Basically, it allows you to select whether to manaully throttle the CPU or let it dynamically throttle between a minimum and maximum value. Also, It has seperate settings for both battery and AC. In the future, you will be able to load profiles, but for the moment that feature is disabled ( i am having way to many problems with it, look for profiles to show up in beta2). So, please test it out and let me know your experiences in the proper thread in the subforum. Just FYI, the way I use the program currently is that i select my settings and then simply go to the menu and Hide CPUThrottler2.

Oh...before i forget..this program requires you to have ACPICPUThrottle.kext (writtin by Niall Douglas) installed and working on your system. Grab a copy from his website: http://www.nedprod.c...CPICPUThrottle/
and please make sure to follow all instructions to get the kext working! I will not be supporting people with problems loading the kext...since i think Niall has that quite covered.


Lastly, I wanted to thank all the people who have made this project possible. It started with keithpk posting a information gathering thread. phb then took over the reigns with a enhancedspeedstep.kext. And finally, thanks to Niall for getting the ACPI throttling to work. This app would be absolutly useless (I probably never would have even thought to make it) without these three guys. And i wanted to thank Mashugly for setting up this great community and these new X-Labs! SO, THANKS KEITHPK, PHB, NIALL, and MASH! you guys rock....'nuff said.


EDIT: WORKAROUND FOR AUTHORIZATION TIMEOUT
currently, CPUThrottler2 prompts you for your password every 5 minutes...this is a security feature of osx and i am working on finding a more elegant work around. However, until I do, the following instructions will fix this problem...

1. navigate to /etc "cd /etc"
2. open the file authorization with a text editor(i use nano): "sudo nano authorization"
3. scroll down until you see the following rule:
<key>system.privilege.admin</key>
<dict>
<key>allow-root</key>
<true/>
<key>class</key>
<string>user</string>
<key>comment</key>
<string>Used by AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges(...)
AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges is used by programs requesting
to run a tool as root (ie. some installers).
Credentials remain valid 5 minutes after they've been obtained.
An acquired credential isn't shared with other clients.
Clients running as root will be granted this right automatically.
</string>
<key>group</key>
<string>admin</string>
<key>mechanisms</key>
<array>
<string>builtin:authenticate</string>
</array>
<key>shared</key>
<false/>
<key>timeout</key>
<integer>300</integer>
</dict>
4.Delete the following
<key>timeout</key>
<integer>300</integer>
5. Save and exit....CPUThrottler2 should no longer prompt you for your password every 5 minutes.

I realize this is not a very elegant way of doing things. As long as you do not mess around with any other values in the authorization file you should not have any problems, but I dont assume any risk. By deleting the timeout value you are essentially setting the timeout to infinity. I hope this helps...im honestly tired of looking at authorization code, so I am going to concentrate on the NSStatusItem for the moment and put this on the backburner. If anyone has any experience with creating rights in the policy database, please contact me. Hope this helps some people out....

Attached Files

•  CPUThrottler2Beta1.zip   70.38KB   688 downloads

[bofors]

Umm... I know this is a super-n00b question... but there is no way to overclock with your CPUThrottler2, right? It is for slowing down laptops to save power, right?

[SaberSHO]

bofors- that is correct, it is only made for saving power using ACPI cpu states on a laptop(well, i guess a desktop too, if you are trying to conserve power or run at a slower but cooler state). Overclocking features are not possible using ACPI. I however am looking at possibly adding the ability to undervolt a processor in order to save even more power. That is, it would run at max speed, but at a lower voltage. However, this feature is in the future, if it is even doable at all. right now, im still looking into it.

[autoy]

Working fien in my Centrino 750

[-TiLT-]

Undervolting is quite a good way for saving power. But it can make your system unstable. A lot of testing is important to find the right voltage for a multiplier. XP-Users mainly use the beautiful "Notebook Hardware Control" formerly known as "Centrino Hardware Control" to control their notebooks voltage and multiplier. Best for testing is Prime95, because its computations consume the maximum of CPU and FPU and show errors of undervoltage very precisely. Implementing both features, undervoltage and excessive testing of it would give the project more importance. NHC can as well control the ATI-Powerplay features or it can directly under and overclock ATIs. Putting this all together (multiplier, undervoltage, S.M.A.R.T.-control, powerplay-control) would give the macworld a masterpiece of software.

Good luck!

[Radoslav]

How do I make it to load on boot up. I really dont get the manual included. Can you please provide me with some sort of newbie step by step way. Thanks a lot!

[Midral]

hi guys sorry my bad english
my laptop work perfectly with battery
the only problem is: BAD AUDIO, TOO TOO TOO SLOW AUDIO
what can i do?

[Midral]

hi guys when i lauch cputhrottler i can't change anything see the pics

Attached Files

•  cputhr.tiff   49KB   203 downloads

[iNap]

I keep having to re-enter my password every now and then whenever CPUThrottler is running. Why?

Also, it doesn't seem to listen to the settings I put in; I tell it manual 1867 MHz and it still runs at whatever it feels like.

[SaberSHO]

OK guys....i have not at all given up on this project, i promise you. Im actually currently on vacation in France with the family, so my internet access is very limited. I have however taken advantage of this time to read Aaron Hillegass's Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X.....I highly recomend it to anyone that is interested in developing applications for OS X. Anyway, on to the two issues mentioned by iNap:

First, you say that the setting dont seem to have any effect...this might seem like a dumb question, but are you on the right tab? as in, are you changing the settings for AC when on AC and battery when on running on battery. Obviously if you attempt to change the battery settings and you are running on AC, nothing will happen. If this is not the case, i will investigate further.

Secondly, having to reenter your password is my number one bug right now. The reason it prompts you repeatadly is that there is a timeout on the authorization. This is a security feature of OSX and the documentation on using the authentication tools is virtually non-existant. All of the free time i have had in the past 3 weeks has been devoted to solving this problem. Although i have not solved it to my satisfaction, i have found a dirty workaround (alright alright, its a hack...but it works). I will edit the post at the top of the page with instructions.

Thanks for trying out my program and all the feedback. When i get back from this vacation, I will finish the StatusItem that is in the works that many people have requested.

CHECK THE FIRST POST OF THIS THREAD FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON GETTING RID OF THE PASSWORD PROMPT.

[iNap]

K, here's the deal. I was on the right tab and everything, but now it mostly works for some reason. I say mostly because it briefly did it again earlier, but went back to normal after I quit and relaunched it. I'll keep you posted if it happens again. Until then, don't worry about it.

As for the password prompt: I tried to apply the fix, but /var/authorization apparently doesn't exist for me (installed from JaS 10.4.6 dvd). Here's my ls /var:
at cron launchd msgs root samba vm
audit db log named run spool xgrid
backups empty mail netboot rwho tmp yp

Any ideas?

[Midral]

K, here's the deal. I was on the right tab and everything, but now it mostly works for some reason. I say mostly because it briefly did it again earlier, but went back to normal after I quit and relaunched it. I'll keep you posted if it happens again. Until then, don't worry about it.

As for the password prompt: I tried to apply the fix, but /var/authorization apparently doesn't exist for me (installed from JaS 10.4.6 dvd). Here's my ls /var:
at cron launchd msgs root samba vm
audit db log named run spool xgrid
backups empty mail netboot rwho tmp yp

Any ideas?

i quote

[SaberSHO]

That was a typo. Im sorry. it is actually in /etc. I will edit the top post to the correct information.
-SaberSHO

[iNap]

Tried the authorization trick; found the key with no problem this time. Seems like it'll do the trick, but I didn't keep the program running long enough to find out for a couple of reasons:

0. The bug came back with the speed not doing what I tell it. This time I've attached a screenshot.
1. When I take screenshots (command-shift-3), I get a screenshot for each display (I've got 2). I tried to delete the other one, but I couldn't empty the Trash afterward because I apparently didn't have the privileges to do so. This happens on and off and probably isn't CPUThrottler's fault. Anyway, I usually fix this by opening up a terminal and emptying the Trash as root. Problem: the terminal wouldn't do anything. It opened up a terminal window with the title "Completed Command" and nothing inside. I've had this happen before, and it always goes back to normal when I quit CPUThrottler. Don't know why.

Attached Files

•  Picture_1.png   164.57KB   317 downloads

[Midral]

cputhrottler can't change my cpu speed in battery mode why?
i'have a centrino 740 on Intel 915 PM/GM
my notebook is an ASUS A6Vc