Battery/Performance App?

[d4m1r]

Hey guys, basically I am looking for an application that does something similar to what I get under Windows 7 and even linux....Because the power saving options on my 2012 13" MBP are pretty crappy (i.e almost non existant), I would like to find an app that can control my battery/performance a little better when running under OS X.

All it needs to do is have 3 modes; performance, balanced, and power saver for example. When I have it set to power saver it will do things like lock the Core i5 to a certain (lower) frequency to save power. Does anyone know of a decent OS X application with this functionality? Prefferably free and with a top menu bar applet for quick toggling between modes

 

[benwiggy]

Macs are designed to handle this for you, optimally. There is nothing to micro-manage.
Unless you are having an actual problem with battery performance: get on with your work.

 

[d4m1r]

Sorry, don't trust it. I am looking to be able to manually toggle between such performance modes and more specifically, I want to be able to manually limit my CPU frequency for example.

What OS X app would let me do this?

 

[benwiggy]

I don't think there are APIs to do this in OS X.

Sorry, don't trust it.

I don't understand the desire to be an operating system. Even if I was more efficient than a complex algorithm that can monitor things hundreds of times a second, the time I spent doing it is a bigger sap on my efficiency (re: getting things done) than any deficiencies that the algorithm might have.

 

[d4m1r]

1) Unless Apple removed them, there should already be very well coded and functional calls within the kernel that would allow for such an app. Apps under linux use the same calls.

2) Such an app wouldn't monitor things every x seconds which I agree would degrade performance but under linux, they just set things to 0,1,2 and that is how they would presumably work under OS X as well. It's should just be a small UI application that uses functionality that is already in the kernel....

 

[benwiggy]

1) Unless Apple removed them, there should already be very well coded and functional calls within the kernel that would allow for such an app. Apps under linux use the same calls.

Linux and OS X have completely different kernels. The XNU kernel is not based on the Linux kernel.

If a Google search does not reveal such an app, then it's likely that one does not exist. There's one app in the MAS that limits the processing resources of background processes (e.g. Flash when Safari is not at front), but that's as close as I've seen.

Of course, perhaps the capability is there, but the desire to write one has not gained momentum.

 

[d4m1r]

I'd be shocked in that is actually the case...There MUST be such an app for such a crazy selling laptop brand...It's the first thing that can to mind, an app that will improve its battery life by controlling/limiting its performance.

The search continues....And FYI, the (l)unix and "darwin" kernels are much more alike than most people realize.

 

[satcomer]

Plus with most all laptops (went not connected directly to power) is to just turn down the brightness of the screen at this will give anyone a longer life of the battery.

 

[d4m1r]

Obviously, but I am looking for a 3rd party app that will give me more control that the default power saving options including in 10.8 which are severely lacking.