Another program better than NHC?

Actually, question is more like is there any other program similar or better than notebook hardware control? I've been using NHC for my w2v for quite some time and though I enjoy the features, I noticed that maybe my notebook would run better w/ it off. I only say this because even though it is neat to undervolt and hopefully get better battery life, NHC can only clock down to 6x at its lowest on my w2v. That's ... 800mhz so even at idle, my laptop runs at a constant 799-800mhz. Now ... with NHC off and assuming I was doing light word processing or being idle, according to system properties, the notebook would be running at 295 mhz. I assume that's from Intel's speedstep. So I wonder if any of you know of some better program that perhaps doesn't fix the lowest clock setting at 800 considering it's possible to even go lower. I don't know, I hear so many people getting 3-4 hours with mid-brightness and light wifi ... but for me, regardless of my brightness settings or wifi usage, NHC (and Windows battery) reports me only having 2 hours and 17 minutes on a full charge (NHC reports 4% battery wear). And this is it undervolted! =T

 

799mhz is the lowest that chip will go. it is not designed to go any lower. there are other programs but CHC is the best. i get about 3 hours on my w2v. with half brightness. and wifi on light web surfing. and system properties is not accurate reporting your clock speed whatsover.

 

You could try RMClock... that will undervolt too.
You can also customize throttling settings...

I haven't used NHC for a while, so I don't know what new features it has...
but RMClock is geared more towards CPU manipulation, whereas NHC is more towards monitoring... at least that's how I see it.

 

aurora Even with RM clock you are locked at the 800mhz lowest right? i have never actually tried to get lower than that. IM just assuming you cant.

 

Here's a question for those of you who are familiar with these programs. Would using a program such as NHC/CHC/RMClock etc. provide me with more options for under/over volting than the software coming with the laptop?

Also, as a novice to uc/oc, would NHC/CHC/RMClock have pre-set levels that can be used, let's say, for extended battery or max performance, or do they all have to be manually configured? I'm somewhat familiar with OC'ing a desktop cpu, but haven't toyed with a GPU or anything on a laptop, so I wouldn't want to do anything that would be potentially damaging. The only mod I'd want to make would be if I could undervolt to extend battery life when necessary. I'm not overly concerned with oc'ing since I'm sure I'll be pleased with the "stock" performance.

TIA

 

If you just want to use setting for max power or battery saving, then you should just use Power4Gear, thats exactly what it is designed for. Just push a button to cycle through your modes, way simple until you are more comfortable with other methods, plus no worries of messing up your hardware.

 

not sure what u mean by preset levels. but with nhc u can set a plugged in mode and battery mode to one of 4 settings.

max performance: well seems pretty self explanitory, this will keep the cpu clocked at its highest possible setting

battery optimized: keeps cpu at minimum speed

max battery: keeps cpu at minimum speed and according to the chc website allows for further throttling depending on battery life. i'm not sure if this means it can clock it even lower than 800mhz.

dynamic switching: switches between min and max speeds according to how much processing power u need. in default it only switches between the min and max values, but with custom dynamic switching it'll switch between min and max and every value in between that u set.

i personally dont recommend max performance even when plugged in cuz then the fans get loud and the laptop heats up. dynamic switching works fine when plugged in especially once u've undervolted cuz then the laptop stays pretty cool even when its chugging.

 

Sorry for any confusion - basically I meant pre-configured levels that were selectable through the software without user-required configuration - i.e., the max power or battery settings that were alluded to earlier. Power4Gear sounds like what I will stick with, unless there are obvious advantages to NHC that you can mention that are not difficult to configure. Again, I'm familiar with cpu oc'ing, but I have not done so on a laptop so would be uber-cautious.

 

Anyone can correct me if they think I'm wrong (since I don't use it), but Power4Gear doesn't undervolt, it just throttles the (clock speed) CPU and/or GPU according to performance settings. I personally use an older version of RMClock and ATI's PowerPlay to undervolt the CPU and control the GPU. No need for Power4Gear. Undervolting isn't the same as controlling the clock speed -- it's changing the voltage applied at each given clock speed.

 

OK first power4gear is nowhere near as good as Centrino hardware control. power4gear is more confusing has like 6 different profiles. CHC has 2 with ac plugged in and without. You cannot mess your hardware up with CHC. You just find the lowest setting you can undervolt. It then tests it. If you undervolt to low the worst that will happen is pc freezes and you reboot. thats it. once you figure you settings you set it and never have to touch again. You can even adjust harddrive settings and fan settings. Power4gear is pretty useless. Try CHC people very easy to use you really dont need to know anything about overlocking. even a intermediate user will find it easy to use.

 

I just wish that there was a program that could control the Brightness of the laptop. Power4Gear can do it, but only for certain settings.

RMClock shows an option for LCD Brightness, but it doesn't work on the w3v

 

Thanks for the suggestion SRD. I'll certainly look into it. I apologize for the n00b question, but I'm assuming that undervolting will increase your battery life beyond what is capable with only throttling?

 

Yeah... throttling is just making the processor run slower, and thus use less electricity. Undervolting is giving the processor less electricity (since manufactures boost the voltage higher then what the processor is needed to create stability, since each individual chip has a different voltage limit, some higher, some lower. So instead of setting every single chip at a different value, they just set a uniformed voltage for every processor, so it would be easier on their part)

There are some articles on undervolting around here... search the forums for "undervolt" and you'll probably find it

 

Hmm... can I use Power4Gear and CHC/NHC/RMcontrol concurrently and not have to worry that Power4Gear messes up/changes the undervolted settings that I made in the 3rd party programs? It seems nice that Power4Gear can also change screen brightness at a push of a button =P *laziness prevails*

Actually, anyone know which disc in the w2v package contains the Power4Gear installation? My w2v came pretty much to my door without its wifi/bt drivers, sound, Power4Gear, and other things installed. Not sure if that was how it was supposed to be, but I never really knew how to get P4G installed or which disc even had it.

 

i would recommend just using chc. chc can still perform the cpu throttling and u dont even have to change the voltages if u dont want to. if u wanna change screen brightness just use Fn+f5 or f6 (at least that's what it is on my z70va) it's 2 keys but u cant be THAT lazy...can u?

 

In my opinion NHC is just the best program if you have Centrino and Ati together. Check my sig for some interesting links.

Cheers,

 

NHC, current version, requires .NET 2.0. That has given me a lot of trouble. Otherwise, I'd recommend NHC, too. That's where RMClock can be handy. No .NET requirements at all.

 

whats wrong with using .NET?

 

.NET 2.0 has given me trouble. Why? Dunno. Actually, after I posted I realized I recently did a full reinstall, so I'm trying out the newest NHC with .NET 2.0 now, and it seems to be working fine.

 

.NET 2.0 is becomming more needed these days. Catalyst Control Center needs it too.


Cheers,
Ivan