The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    AMD PowerNow!

    Discussion in 'HP' started by onionion, Jul 14, 2006.

  1. onionion

    onionion Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I just got my dv2000z today; I love it! Very stylish and super quiet.

    I was just wondering if I need the AMD PowerNow driver. It mentioned it was for Linux and, pardon my ignorance, I'm not sure if this would apply to me.
    Thanks for any suggestions.
     
    onionion, Jul 14, 2006
    #1
  2. miner

    miner Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    1,326
    Messages:
    7,137
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    PowerNow/Cool n Quiet is included in the standard AMD Windows driver. No need for any extra drivers unless you plan on running older OS(Win 98, ME or Linux...).
     
    miner, Jul 14, 2006
    #2
  3. Shel

    Shel Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    541
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Congrats!

    HP did a fantastic job on these laptops. They are amazingly quiet, and I haven't noticed any heat issue. Don't think I've even heard the fan ever come on, it's either VERY quiet, or simply doesn't come on very often.
     
    Shel, Jul 14, 2006
    #3
  4. compaq64

    compaq64 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Can someone that has researched it more than me and/or has a better understanding of PowerNow Technology explain exactly what it does. I kind of have an idea but I have never really known!

    Thanks
     
    compaq64, Jul 14, 2006
    #4
  5. KrispyKreme50

    KrispyKreme50 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    41
    Messages:
    678
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    PowerNow Technology is equivalent to Intel's Speedstep Technology where the processor lowers its clock speed automatically when the demand on the processor is low. By running at a lower clock speed, the processor helps save battery life and keeps the notebook cooler overall by releasing less heat. The beauty of PowerNow is that the processor also automatically raises its clock speed when the workload goes up so that it does not require any user input.

    Hope this helps.
     
    KrispyKreme50, Jul 15, 2006
    #5
  6. compaq64

    compaq64 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Ohh so thats what dynamic switching is on the Notebook Hardware Control, for some reason I just thought all computers had Dynamic Switching processers. Thanks for the description.
     
    compaq64, Jul 15, 2006
    #6
  7. KrispyKreme50

    KrispyKreme50 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    41
    Messages:
    678
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    No problem. I forgot to mention one more thing and that is you need to set your power options (Start-->Control Panel-->Performance and Maintenance-->Power Options) to laptop/portable for PowerNow to work; otherwise, you'll be running at full clock speed with the other power options.
     
    KrispyKreme50, Jul 15, 2006
    #7
  8. vassil_98

    vassil_98 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    133
    Messages:
    1,524
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    PowerNow does a good job but using RMClock or NHC to manually manage the throttling of the processor yields better results. I always undervolt my AMD CPUs.
     
    vassil_98, Jul 15, 2006
    #8
  9. compaq64

    compaq64 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    So you you edit the settings even if it is set to Laptop/Portable it will not work???

    When I run notebook hardware control it still says that the processer is dynamic so I am assuming that my processer isnt running at full throttle all the time.
     
    compaq64, Jul 15, 2006
    #9
  10. compaq64

    compaq64 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    -What program do you reccomend to undervolt?
    -What are the specs you use when undervolting your amds?
    Thanks

    +I am profficient on a computer, but I really dont want to screw up volt settings, thanks for your help.
     
    compaq64, Jul 15, 2006
    #10
  11. KrispyKreme50

    KrispyKreme50 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    41
    Messages:
    678
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Editing the settings (ex. hibernation, standby times) won't affect how PowerNow works.
     
    KrispyKreme50, Jul 16, 2006
    #11
  12. vassil_98

    vassil_98 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    133
    Messages:
    1,524
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I use RMClock and I prefer the old 1.8 version to the new 2.05 version. My settings are 0.925v for 4x and 1.2v for 9x ( I have ML-34). I suggest you look at the undervolting thread (Undervolting L2000, there's plenty of info there).
     
    vassil_98, Jul 16, 2006
    #12