The installation is easy as hell. Just start the program.
After starting the program, it automatically minimizes itself into the system tray. It can be identified by one of four different icons which indicate the current CPU policy:
Icon | CPU policy | means ... |
---|---|---|
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Max. performance | keeps the CPU at maximum speed (i.e. a P3-M@1GHz runs at 1GHz continously) |
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Battery optimized | keeps the CPU at the lower speed (i.e. a P3-M@1GHz runs at 733MHz continously) |
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Max. battery | Keeps the CPU at the lower speed and allows further throttling depending on remaining battery power |
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Dynamic switching | switches between the lower and maximum speed according to current CPU load (i.e. a P3-M@1GHz switches automatically between 733MHz and 1GHz) |
If you move the mouse pointer over the tray icon, you see the current CPU policies for AC and DC in a small popup window:
A rightclick on the tray icon opens a small window which allows fast switching between the different CPU policies:
When changing the CPU policy, the tray icon changes automatically to reflect the new CPU policy.
A leftclick on the tray icon opens the main window. It looks like this:
On the main window, you can change the CPU policies for both AC and DC. The program automatically switches between the AC and DC CPU policies when a power state change occurs (pulling the AC plug or plugging it back in).
Clicking on 'Detect max. speed' activates the detection of the CPU's maximum speed. This process takes approximately two seconds.
Clicking on the options button shows the options window:
These options have the following meaning:
The program can display the battery icon only when the system runs from battery ('Only when on DC') or when running both from AC or battery. The value shown in the tray icon can be either the remaining battery charge in % or the remaining battery time in minutes. When moving the mouse pointer over the tray icon, both values are shown in a small popup window:
The 'User policy', 'Machine policy' and 'CPU policy' tabs take you to the internal settings of the power scheme. Before you make any changes to these internal settings you should teach yourself on their internal functionality. I suggest that you read these documents to fully understand their meaning:
If you want to know more about processor control and C-states then take a look at these sites:
Last Update: 31. Jan 2003 Christian Diefer