Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Windows 7 Compatibility with Aspire 4530


I have tried to use Windows 7 on Acer Aspire 4530.
There are no compatibility issues.
Everything works including Launch Manager just remember to put to Vista SP2 Compatibility Mode when installing.
List of stuff that works (that required tweaking):

Launch Manager (Install in Vista SP2 Compatibility Mode)
Custom ShortCut button tweak continued to work.
Chipset Driver (from Nvidia) Note : No Coprocessor Driver required

List of Stuff that don't work:
Paragon Defragmenter (Hell you don't even need to defrag the OS since it is superbly responsive)
The Modded Synaptic Driver don't work had to use the latest Official Synaptic Drivers (No ChiralScroll)
AMD Dual-Core Optimizer

Unseen Changes in Windows 7
Better multitasking abilities (Developers did improve the CPU scheduling algorithm to make better use of multicpu this was mentioned in a Windows 7 interview)
Improved Network Performance (Better Network Stack)

The new Windows Experience Index for Acer Aspire 4530 (Remember to update DirectX otherwise the score will be 3.9)
If you used 64bit Windows 7 the score willbe even higher...Below was done using 32bit Windows 7.

Gaming Temperatures on Windows 7 in Acer Aspire 4530


Remember to set Restore Point after you finish setting up all the software:
Go to Control Panel >> System >> Advance System Settings >> System Protection >>
Create Restore Point
Any issues regarding Windows 7 and Aspire 4530 post below.
Those who want Windows 7 activated on Acer laptops go here.

Updated:
Please note Acer failed to include the Realtek USB Card Driver in their download page.
Please download it here
The driver will enable better power management control in Windows 7 when it is not in use.

Full Optimization for Aspire 4530 here
Get Windows 7 for Aspire 4530 here

Monday, November 30, 2009

K10STAT AMD Griffin Processor UnderVolting Guide


FAQ

Why UnderVolt?

Because if a lower voltage can sustain your clockspeed undervolting preserve battery life and reduce heat generated without affecting your CPU performance at all!!

0 performance handicap with less heat output and longer battery life!! (Your yield may vary)

If it is so great why manufacturers don't undervolt?

Because they create processors in bulk you can't expect them to test and undervolt every single processor!

So they simply take the a slightly higher approximate stable voltage and burn the same value into every chip of the same family!

Will it spoil my processor?

No it won't, because it doesn't involve making it hotter.
In non-biological system usually heat destroys and cold preserves.
During testing, BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) is common but after a restart the Processor Voltage is restored to original value.
After finalising the stable voltages then you set the program to run every startup.
I strongly recommend testing ALL THE P-STATES before setting up the final values so your computer will not crash when you are doing your important work (or in the middle of gaming).

Why don't you use Windows Startup to run it?

Microsoft seems to be encouraging running start-ups through Task Scheduler, not to mention Task Scheduler allows good control over program automated execution.

Which Processor is it for ?

AMD Griffin Series Processor, ZM,RM,QL,SI and the new M3XX, M5XX, M6X0 Turion II Processor series.

But I am using Intel Processors?

For Core 2 Duo Processor you can use RMClock, if you are using 64bit Operating System you might need to google for 64bit libraries to replace some of the 32bit libraries. You can google it up.
For Core i3/5/7 users, I haven’t heard of any undervolting tool but I personally seen in the BIOS/EFI ACPI P-State Control is Unlockable, so BIOS/EFI modding is a possible solution.

But I am using AMD TL Series and below Processors ?
Use RMClock as well refer to “But I am using Intel Processors”.

Getting Started


Firstly download K10STAT from here.
I Extracted it to C:\Program Files\K10STAT (K10STAT is 64bit and 32bit capable as well)
Configure K10STAT


When you run K10STAT you should see the menu above.
You can set a maximium of 5 Profiles.

FID: The multiplier for the Processor
(FID doesn't work in AMD Mobile Processors because they are multiplier-locked)

DID: The P-State of the Processor
Note all Processors supported by K10STAT uses K10 Power Design


CPU-Voltage

That is what we are interested in.
To set the voltage for P0 simply select P0 and select the corresponding voltage and apply.
Remember: Min 0.75 V Max 1.2 V!
Caspian CPUs maybe able to run lower than 0.75V
For me I tested -0.05 is the Max Stable voltage for each default state any higher it BSOD!

Up%:

This is the amount of CPU usage load before the processor increase P-State to meet the minmium load requirements.
Currently it is set at 60% meaning it will switch from P2 to P1 when processor detect 60% CPU load and the same applies from switching from P1 to P0.

Down%:

It is basically the opposite of Up %
This is the amount of CPU usage load before the processor decrease P-State to meet the minimum load requirements.

Up (milliseconds):

It is the time the processor takes to switch from one P-State to the next higher P-State.

Down (milliseconds):

It is basically the opposite of Up.
It is the time the processor takes to switch from one P-State to the next lower P-State.
After you have set suitable values (-0.05 recommended on first try).



Use Windows Processor Power Management to test different levels.

Use 4 Windows as shown above, to monitor all the P-States so it is more convenient to assess the values and monitor the states.

First remember to enable K10STAT Clock Control



To test simply click on the Core of the P-State immediately the Processor will assume the P-State.


Test each P-State by running Intel Burn In (Google and Download) or any suitable CPU loading tool.

For me the voltage values that passed Intel Burn In test are 1.075V, 0.850V and 0.750V.

At 1.025V, it BSOD after 2 mins.
At 1.0372V-1.050V it produced the wrong result.

Test all P-States you have modified so it won’t crash whenever the CPU switches to any of them.

To pass LinPack, the result calculated by the CPU must be consistent.
After you have affirmed the stable voltage values then you may proceed to set it to start automatically.

Setting K10STAT for StartUp

Open Task Scheduler by accessing Start Menu\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Task Scheduler

Create a Task



Alternatively you can make it run as a SYSTEM task (as shown below)


If you want the K10STAT icon to appear in the systray run the program under your username.
If you run it as SYSTEM account the program will run too but it will not be visible.
Click "Change User or Group" then Enter "System" then choose "Check Names" then select OK.


or you can create it as a startup process as shown below. (RECOMMENDED because it will run before a logon is required)


**Please note a file called K10stat.dat containing the undervolt settings will be created in the C:\Windows\System32 folder because it is the default path for admin rights unless you changed the "Start In (Optional)" parameters, the setting just under the "Add Arguments (Optional)" parameters as shown below.


The program will load the settings from K10STAT.dat so make sure all the changes are overwritten to the file. When you launch K10STAT manually a new K10STAT.dat will be created in C:\Program Files\K10STAT which Task Scheduler WILL NOT LOAD.
It will only load the K10STAT.dat in C:\Windows\System32 unless you change the "Start In" parameters to "C:\Program Files\K10STAT".

If you do not specify “Start In” parameters, the file “K10stat.dat” will be created in C:\Windows\System32 (Default Administrator Path) as shown below.


The following arguments are available (Source:http://dsus4.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-3.html)

Command Line Option
-lp:#(1-5) - load profile#(1-5) and write to MSR.

-nw - Start K10stat with No Window.

-ClkCtrl:#(0-4) - Enable Clock Control by K10stat.
0: No Control
1: Control clock of each core.
2: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is most loaded core).
3: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is average of all cores).
4: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is least loaded core).
If you set -ClkCtrl:2 you get better performance at the expense of more power consumption.
Because Windows proceed on the assumption that cores are unganged by default.

AMD K10 Processors were designed originally to use unganged mode to conserve power.

-StayOnTray - use this option with -nw for Clock Control Mode.(Note after a sleep if the CPU registers are resetted, voltages will revert to default, hence you need -StayOnTray to ensure it is always running in the background)
e.g.Target:
"C:\Program Files\K10stat\K10STAT.exe" -lp:1 -ClkCtrl:2 -StayOnTray -nw



Finally you can Control your CPU using the K10STAT Systray if you enabled -StayOnTray manually as well.


-ClkCtrl:#(0-4) - Enable Clock Control by K10stat (Refer to above).
0:No Control

1:Control clock of each core.
UnGanged means each CPU Core #0 & #1 operates independently of each other so at any one time their frequency and DID could be different.(This is the original intent of the design of the Turion Chips as they are given different power planes.)

2:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is most loaded core).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the one of higher Core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.

3:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is average of all cores).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the average of both core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.

4:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is least loaded core).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the one of lowest Core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.


A new function called Lock-P-state is available in new versions of K10Stat.

It is another way you can lock the P-state for P-state testing again you should enable Clock Control before performing the P-State Testing.

Down Core refers to switching off 1 of the Cores either Core0 or Core1.

Testing

__________________________________________________________________



Original Factory Default Settings
_________________________________________________________________________


UnderVolted 1.075V
In Unganged Mode
__________________________________________________________________


UnderVolted 1.075V
In Ganged Mode (Based on highest core)
__________________________________________________________________

Thats All !

AMD Technical Documentation Regarding Turion Processors here

(Contains Temperature Limits P-States and Voltages)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Streaming Video Using VLC

Edit:

There is a new solution. Simply go to adobe labs and install the new Flash Plugins 10.1 instead of 10.0.
The new plugin promises to offload video processing to the GPU reducing the CPU load.
Please remember to uninstall the old plugin before installing the new plugin.

If you installed it correctly and ran GPU-Z while watching youtube you should see this.


Here is a alternative solution for people having problems streaming youtube.
As you know youtube uses CPU to render the video hence if your CPU is not powerful enough you may experience playback issues (eg. Aspire Timeline with SU2700 Processor).
All laptop comes with good enough Graphics Processor to handle flash videos actually however to make use of the GPU to render flash you need VLC to convert the flash to utilise Video Codecs so the GPU can decode it here is a step by step guide.

Firstly download and install VLC

Next set VLC to DirectX so GPU will be utilised by VLC for playback


Next Launch VLC and select "Open Network Stream"


Enter the URL Containing the Video

Select Play and you are done!

To prove that CPU utilisation is lower using VLC playback:



Note the CPU utilisation averages at about 30-40%

While using VLC (Note: using GPU rendering forces the computer to turn off Aero Glass)

CPU utilisation averages between 10-20%.
The initial CPU spike is due to launching VLC and Setting it to URL Stream Mode.

However I have yet to figure out how to change the URL to High Quality Mode.
Suggestion anybody?

Edit: I found out how just append &fmt=22 to the end of the URL

Thursday, June 11, 2009

OverClocking from RM-72 to RM-74

Edit:
The following does not work although CPUZ claims it works, it doesn't show any difference in Intel burn in test.
Probably the reason is due to AMD Factory Locked Multiplier so FID doesn't work.

I tested a while ago stable voltages that pass LinPack are
1.075V @ 2100MHZ
0.875V @ 1050 MHZ
0.750V @ 525 MHZ
What I actually believe is RM-72 is actually RM-74 crippled by 100MHZ
Based on the Processor Specification RM-72 is identical to RM-74 lest the Clock Frequency.
Even the TDP is the same.
So I used K10STAT to increase the FID to 14 from 13.
It passed all LinPack tests without the need to increase the voltages.
So now my RM-72 became RM-74.
1.075V @ 2200MHZ
0.875V @ 1100 MHZ
0.750V @ 550 MHZ
You need to pass-ClkCtrl:2 argument to overclock.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Check PC Performance In Depth Details with WinSAT in Vista & Windows 7

Open up a Command Prompt with Adminstrative Permission
To do that follow this step:

Go to
Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Command Prompt
Right Click, Choose Run as Administrator while selection Command Prompt

Next in the Command Prompt Windows,

Type in
cd C:\Users\**User Name\Desktop

** Replace User Name with your User Account Name in Vista

Press Enter,

You should see the Command Prompt as:
C:\Users\**User Name\Desktop>
Then type the following:
winsat formal -v >> winsat_result.txt
Wait for Windows System Assessment to finish

You should see a new text file called winsat_result.txt in Desktop.

Open it using wordpad to see the full System Assessment Details

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Disable USB Messages

Sometimes Messages telling you that a particular device can perform faster will appear.
This is true especially on Aspire 4530 Webcam.
The reason is the WebCam is attached to a Full-Speed USB port which allows less data transfer rate then a High-Speed USB port.
To correct this simply uncheck the option:

Go to Control Panel Device Manager
Open the USB Control Hubs until you see one of these dialogue boxes.


Uncheck and Save.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Upgrading your Nvidia Driver

Well, Why do you need to upgrade your Nvidia Driver?
  1. Better Performance (usually)
  2. New Features (PhyX,CUDA,Ambient Occlusion)
  3. Because you are using an Nvidia Card ! Those people using ATi Card will have to stare at your drivers which are more updated then theirs. They have to wait ... until their vendors release the drivers. Only Nvidia provide Mobile Driver support ATi passes on the responsibility to vendors
You don't have to worry about driver stability
In all my previous updates experience I didn't encounter any unstable Nvidia Drivers at all hence very unlikely

First Download GPUZ from the internet to determine your Device ID
You can also determine your Device ID by looking at the Device Manager but it is too tedious to write so I skipped it =)


Your Device ID is where I circled in RED

Next Download the New Drivers from LaptopVideo2Go here

Enter your Device ID as follows
Download any Driver they will all work but of course it is the later the better =)

Next go to Control Panel to remove the Nvidia Display Driver only

Reboot as your Computer tells you to

Then extract the New downloaded Driver
Double Click on Setup.exe
You will see some Driver Not WHQL Warning if you are installing Non WHQL Driver
Just ignore it
After installation you can delete the folder where you extracted the driver

After that check if PowerMizer is enabled here
Sometimes Beta Driver Releases leave out PowerMizer settings (Don't know why ) although all Nvidia Drivers support PowerMizer settings

Below are some new features highlights in my new 185.20 Driver




Thanks to LaptopVideo2go for providing the Drivers & GPUZ for the Wonderful Utility

Note:
Once you install certain drivers you might not be able to install driver version 185.20. This is probably due to incompatibilities in the Control Panel Version, I have yet to find a way to resolve it.

Edit:
The latest driver is no longer 185.20
For details on the latest Nvidia Released Driver click here

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Acer Aspire 4530 WEI

This is the Windows Experience Index score for my Acer Aspire 4530
Not bad for a value laptop =)
How about yours?

You should set Power Plans to High Performance to get a accurate score
You should also know the performance will vary according to RAM configurations as 9100M G is an integrated graphics which utilises System RAM

PS:To get higher WinSAT Scores Change the Windows Theme to Classic Theme and Rerun Windows System Assessment