DV2 undervolting: get at least 25% more battery life!

In my last response to you, I should have said "RTCore64.sys", not "RTCore64.exe". You need to replace the original .sys file with a signed version. I will tell you exactly what you need to do:

1. 
   Go to the undervolting guide.
   
2. Within the first post, scroll down to the section titled "RMclock for Vista 64bit users".
   
3. Download the file in that section (rtcore64.zip).
   
4. Extract the .sys file inside that zip file into your RMClock install folder (where it will replace an existing rtcore64.sys).
   
5. Start RMClock. It should work now.

If you continue to have trouble, tell me what step you are on when it happens.

 

i'm gettin pissed. i downloaded the files. i dragged the zip file to the .bin file and the rmclock icon on the desktop. it still won't open. give me the same notice

 

OK, it looks like I'll have to be a wee bit more precise here.

It appears that you are trying to open a zip file using RMClock by dragging the zip file onto the RMClock shortcut on your desktop. This will not work because RMClock does not open zip files. Dragging the zip file to rmclock_235_bin.exe will not work either for the same reason. This file is merely an installer for the software. The zip file itself is not the driver. It merely contains the driver file. You need to extract the driver file into a place where RMClock expects it to be. Follow these instructions:

1. From your screenshot, it looks like you already have RMClock installed. Go to the folder where you installed it to, which is probably C:\Program Files (x86)\RMClock.
   
2. It also looks like you have the Vista 64-bit driver downloaded as well. Double-click on it to open it. There should be a file inside it called rtcore64.sys. Drag rtcore64.sys into C:\Program Files (x86)\RMClock. Vista will likely ask you if you want to continue, so allow it to do so whenever it asks. Ensure that you replace the rtcore64.sys that is already there.
   
3. Double-click on the RMClock icon on your desktop. It should work now.
   

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH HALLELUJAH!!!! stupid complicated stuff lol. thanks man.

 

wonderful~ The guide brought me down from 65C to 60 C on max. I haven't done huge stress tests yet but I'm gonna try some Killing Floor on Steam on this new Dz2. When I have more time I'll try to crank it to the lowest I can.

 

im really impressed so far. i got my voltages down to the op's before bsod

temperatures went from 64 C under max load to 57 C. right now the dv2 is at 44 C. before it used to run at 60 C under normal use. no downgrade in performance either

thanks for the sweet thread, op

 

I'm glad it worked so well for you. 7-10 C difference, this is awesome!
Plus, it does save your battery life quite a bit.

 

I've set the range from 0.7v to 0.85v. But how come sometimes I see 4x at 1v? I see the monitor report both 0.7v and 1v for 4x.

 

Is it the Rightmark built-in monitor? Then something is wrong. Try to follow all the steps again (without testing voltages, obviously). If that doesn't help, there is a registry script to reset the settings (RMClock_Wipeout.reg).

 

Yes, it's the built-in monitor. Seems like I see 1V only during transitions.

 

Hey there,
The latest Bios, F0C, states it increases stability and adds power managment to the video card... I guess they gain the stability by removing a bunch of the CPU multipliers... there's only 4.0, 4.5, and 8.0 now. My system came with F03 firmware with all the normal multipliers and RMClock worked great... as soon as I updated the bios I also started seeing the same symptoms you described (VID spiking to 1V while on the same FID). After looking around the web I found a forum discussing a bug in RMClock when you have only a couple of multipliers whereby the Vista power management would fight RMClock. Once I performed this "patch" RMClock started working properly again:

"Now, go into Windows Power options (the battery icon in taskbar)->more power options->change plan settings
(for whatever plan you're using)->advanced settings->processor management,
and set BOTH the minimum and maximum states to 100% for battery and plugged in.
This will allow RMClock to take control of your CPU Voltages."

Later

 

I am trying to undervolt the dv2z with the Turion Neo x2. I have RMClock v2.35.

On the Advanced CPU settings page, Processor tab, I do not have the "mobile" radio button which Flipfire referred to.

Under Advanced CPU settings, P transitions tab, should I pick the "Official AMD P-state transition scheme, half FIDs", or should I pick the "Direct P-state transition scheme, half FIDs."

RMClock does not recognize the CPU. It says AMD K8 family on the Advanced CPU settings page, but on the CPU info page, it shows "AMD processor model unknown". Could this be because RMClock is not yet updated for the Turion Neo x2? Can I still use RMClock if the CPU is unknown?

 

I have a dv2 and mine is showing up and unknown as well, RMClock still works. I'm also using the AMD P-state transition scheme, half FIDs. Don't know anything about a mobile radio button, none on mine and don't seem to need it. Later.

 

Thanks cathane. It seems to work. I haven't seen the voltage spike to 1V after tweaking the min processor state to 100%.

I also switched to the official AMD P-state transitions scheme and see only 3 indexes now.

I suspected there might be a clash with the OS as well but since I didn't check OS load-based management, I thought I should be ok.

 

I notice that the frequency seems to shift between 800Mhz and 1.6GHz. It does not seem to switch to any other frequency between these two numbers. Since these correspond to 4x and 8x for the FID, does the other FIDs between these do anything? Would it work just the same if you just ticked off 4x and 8x and not the other FIDs in between? It would be much simpler and much faster testing only two FIDs.

 

Under Advanced CPU settings->P-state transitions, if you select "Official AMD P-state transitions scheme, half FIDs", you'll get only 3 states: 4x, 4.5x and 8x. It goes to 4.5x rarely though.

 

So if the only three states it uses are 4x, 4.5x, and 8x, is it a waste of time to test the other P states (5x to 7.5x) which is never used. Or if you enable those P states (5x to 7.5x) with RMClock, is the CPU able to make use of those P states which it was previously not using?

 

I flashed the newest BIOS and haven't had any issues. But I also dumped Vista almost immediately.

Running XP x64 right now no probs, and regular XP was good too. XP runs a lot smoother than the NT6 OSs on here cuz of the slow CPU. 3D performance is better too, as I found with both 3DMark2001 and 3DMark03 and real games. Vista's only real advantage (DX10) is rather pointless with this hardware.

I just have RMClock setup to use 4x and 8x multis. The ones in between are rather unnecessary IMO, and there is actually some overhead to multiplier changes that impacts performance so it's slightly beneficial to minimize the number of times it changes clock. And at only 0.825v at 8x multi, the power difference between idle and full speed isn't that great.

 

Has anyone worked out the stable voltages for undervolting the dv2 running on Windows 7? I would like to compare mine with everyone else's.

 

I use the following:
4x 0.6875v
4.5x 0.7125v
8x 0.825v

and it's been very solid. Note that with the latest BIOS, after selecting the "Use CPU defined default P-states" in "Management", you get only 3 p-states instead of all 8.

HP also released a new BIOS (along with Windows 7 drivers) in Oct that I'm currently using.

 

The OS shouldn't change which voltages are stable.

If the OP's suggested voltages aren't working for you in 7, they probably aren't working with any OS. You'll want to test different voltages out and find out what works with your particular system.

I personally have been running my DV2 with the 7 RC at the OP's suggested voltages for months now.

 

i've got 0.7125V for 4X and 0.9000V for 8X when I was running Vista so I used the same voltages for Win 7. So far so good. I'm not sure why my voltages are 2 notches higher than most other people but I am wondering if it's because I have the Neo X2 L335 processor instead of the MV-40.

By the way, under Management->CPU defaults settings, should I check CPU-defined default P-state or P-state found at startup (default)? I just left it as default. Also, should "Enable OS power management integration" be checked"?

Finally, is everyone using "Official AMD P-state transitions scheme" or "Direct P-state transitions scheme"?

Thanks in advance!

 

sry to double post but has anyone had the problem of stressing the cpu at a certain voltage for 3hrs and had no troubles, only to find that they get a BSOD while doing normal daily tasks when they set it to that voltage?

 

Did you stress test all multipliers? .. Sometimes daily tasks like Anti virus scans will use up a multiplier in the middle which can be unstable.

Also try raising the voltage on all multipliers by 2 steps and see if its still unstable.

 

yup i have. i've got 3 multipliers, 4.0X, 4.5X and 8.0X, and i did 3 hrs for each one, so unless i have to be those ultra certain ppl who stress them for 8 hrs, i have no clue what my problem is .

Also, what's the voltage increase for each step generally? cos mine's 0.0125V

 

alright, this is seriously not working. can someone help please? i have the neo x2 L335 processor and ati 3410 version. anyone with the same specs manage to get a decent undervolt?

 

I am running...

FID 4.0x at .6875 V

I haven't had any BSOD and I like my dv2 so much more now!

I have the x2 L625, 3410 ati and Vista (barf). There is a big difference in battery life and I can do almost anything I want with it underclocked. I usually only turn it up to full speed with hulu and high intensive stuff.

 

thanks for yr reply! so what abt the other multipliers?

 

I haven't messed around much with the other multipliers... I set up RMclock so that power saving mode has two settings, the previous one I stated before for battery, and FID 8.0 .8500 V 1600 mhz for plugged in. It keeps it from running insanely hot and will run mostly everything. I go to the no management setting when I need that extra juice, but otherwise I usually stay underclocked most of the time. When I first got this thing I almost returned it because it was running so hot. The battery life could hardly make 2 hours too. Now I get about 4 hours out of it and it doesn't run all that hot unless its intensive. I missed my return date so I am stuck with this thing now, but I got the warranty plan so when I get bored I will just run it over with my truck.

 

This is nice to hear. I may forget about waiting and just get one of these. They certainly look nice, and have the right specs. My main issue was the complaints about heat and battery life.

 

ahh, i have the same voltages as you and have no trouble if I use the same multiplier the entire time. However, as soon as I use all 3 multipliers, the computer gets BSOD every now and then. very weird.

i get about 3 hr 15 mins with the lowest multiplier (4.0X) turned on. not sure why i cant get to 4 hrs like many people did but im still fairly satisfied. i would recommend it to u aerows if u are happy with 3 hrs of battery life. heat isnt such a major issue especially at 4.0X but it does run slightly hotter than intel processors.

 

Truthfully, these things do have serious heat issues, and when running at normal voltage I don't like them at all. With the use of RMclock I can change the heat and batteries to the point where its not an issue. I had serious thoughts of returning it within the first 30 days, but I still wanted the AMD platform that was thin and didn't have a cdrom. The new dm3 is slightly larger and boast a similar range of features, and I have herd it runs hot too (not too sure though?). I ended up staying with the dv2 and I have been hard on it ever since, including a icy bike crash without a case. One thing I really like is how the keyboard is smaller. At first I was bummed there was space on the sides of the keyboard where it could have been expanded but after a while of using it I am quick on it. The shorter key strokes are easier on my fingers and joints (I have some wrist issues). The mouse pad looks cool but could be smoother with your finger. Overall I love it with RMclock running. Its quick, efficient, and can be boosted with the click of a switch. Once you remove all the bloat its super quick, and meets nearly all of my needs. I haven't tried blue ray (isn't blue ray higher res than the screen?), but every other resolution of video plays perfect off the hd, and can do 480i off hulu 99% of the time.

 

Anyone hear of using setfsb to OVERclock the DV2? I tried it with the MSI wind and it worked but you need to know the chipset type of the motherboard first.

 

Here's my voltages in RM Clock.
Computer running rock solid, a lot cooler and longer on battery.

4.0x - 0.6500
4.5X - 0.6750
5.0x - 0.6875
5.5x - 0.7125
6.0x - 0.7375
6.5x - 0.7625
7.0x - 0.7750
7.5x - 0.8000
8.0x - 0.8250

Before I installed my funky SSD voltages should be one notch higher for stability.

Battery life:
Gaming FPS (Full load) 2 hours 5 mins.
Lightweight use - 3 hours 17 mins.

SSD note - Adding an SSD to my DV2 worked wonders - Everything is so snappy afterwards.

 

Looks very good, nielsensan. You are lucky with your CPU.
What about battery life?

 

I have been trying this on my MSI U230 with the MV-40. I have 3 multipliers available and I have set them above the numbers listed by others for the same FID. When I apply there seems to be no change. I set the min/max states to 100% under win7 power management, no dice. I wonder if MSI has locked the MV-40, I know that the L335 version works with RMClock.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

 

Bringing back an old thread because I just finished reinstalling W7 due to the original HDD in my DV2 crashing a few days ago. Had to revisit the undervolting setup again. If anyone is interested, all the frequency multipliers between 4x and 8x are made available by activating the "Enable FID/VID change" option in the "Advanced CPU settings" window of RM Clock.