CoolBook on 11" MBA?

[fs454]

This is probably a stupid question but does it slow things down when more intensive use is needed?

Not at all, it's just reducing the amount of voltage running to the CPU during each step. Same amount of processing power, but less voltage. If you lower it too much, you usually get kernel panics or shutdowns, because the CPU can't function with so little power running to it.

So Intel specs the ULV processor in my ultimate 11" to run at a max of .95v at 1.6ghz. When the CPU isn't being taxed, it clocks down to 800mhz using .875 volts to save battery and heat. So what coolbook does is allow you to feed the processor .875 volts at 1.6ghz. It just so happens that it works out on these CPUs without a crash.

 

[dokindo]

Another maybe stupid question, aside from measuring battery life or temperature, how do you tell if it is running?

I bought it, checked the active box, (not throttling), used 0.875 for all speeds. I don't see anything in the activity monitor, does it start up automatically on reboot? When I manually open it and set it to display the settings in the menu bar, it does indicate the set voltage, but do I need to keep it open/hidden?

 

[fs454]

If you can see in the lower left when Coolbookcontroller is open that, when you drag CPU load slider to the max, it throttles up from 800mhz to 1600mhz while staying at .875v, it's working. This is a low-level setting somewhere and doesn't require the app to be open. I don't think it runs as a background process either, just sets it and gets out of the way.

I added a 600mhz idle clock as well when on battery, by checking B/2 and adding 600mhz@.875v. Not sure if this will give me any noticeable battery boost but every little bit counts.

Massively impressed by the battery in the past two days. Carried my laptop around doing lots of various things, here-and-there web browsing tethered to my iPhone charging from the USB port. Never once had to worry about the battery, it didn't get critically low all day, and but best part about this thing is that 1. the power brick fits in my coat pocket, and 2. it charges so damn fast compared to my old computer. It always shows less than an hour till full when I plug it in. So quick to add some juice if you need more.

 

[sunrisemusic]

Thanks for the reply, sounds great, I'm really interested in it more for battery than cool (no heating issues so far).
Just want to first know if it's reasonably easy to set up - ie - do you just install and off it goes, or are there lots of manual settings to deal with? I'm reasonbly OS savvy but not totally tech-ie with everything I've seen here on this thread, so I'd hate to find I'm out of my realm in setting it properly.
thanks.

 

[ditosou]

info

If you can see in the lower left when Coolbookcontroller is open that, when you drag CPU load slider to the max, it throttles up from 800mhz to 1600mhz while staying at .875v, it's working. This is a low-level setting somewhere and doesn't require the app to be open. I don't think it runs as a background process either, just sets it and gets out of the way.

I added a 600mhz idle clock as well when on battery, by checking B/2 and adding 600mhz@.875v. Not sure if this will give me any noticeable battery boost but every little bit counts.

Massively impressed by the battery in the past two days. Carried my laptop around doing lots of various things, here-and-there web browsing tethered to my iPhone charging from the USB port. Never once had to worry about the battery, it didn't get critically low all day, and but best part about this thing is that 1. the power brick fits in my coat pocket, and 2. it charges so damn fast compared to my old computer. It always shows less than an hour till full when I plug it in. So quick to add some juice if you need more.

could you please share with us the complete coolbook seetings that you use in your mba 11"?

thanks....

 

[johannnn]

I added a 600mhz idle clock as well when on battery, by checking B/2 and adding 600mhz@.875v. Not sure if this will give me any noticeable battery boost but every little bit counts.

It was proven some weeks ago in this forum that decreasing the MHz can actually decrease the battery because when the processor runs slower, it has to work for a longer time to clear the same task. As small stuff as even scrolling a web page requires a lot of cpu work, it is only when the computer is doing NOTHING where you gain from decreasing the MHz.

It's an interesting discussion I think, but the most important thing is always to set the voltage to 0,875 V.

(I run a single setting - 1400 MHz 0,875 V)

 

[fs454]

It was proven some weeks ago in this forum that decreasing the MHz can actually decrease the battery because when the processor runs slower, it has to work for a longer time to clear the same task. As small stuff as even scrolling a web page requires a lot of cpu work, it is only when the computer is doing NOTHING where you gain from decreasing the MHz.

It's an interesting discussion I think, but the most important thing is always to set the voltage to 0,875 V.

(I run a single setting - 1400 MHz 0,875 V)

Interesting, is the speed stepping not efficient? It seems to be pretty instant; if it needs more processing power it jumps up instantly, and then settles back down at 600/800mhz when doing nothing. If I scroll down a complicated web page, it'll shoot to 1200mhz, and when it comes to a rest as I'm reading the page, it idles at 600mhz. Lather, rinse, repeat. It at least seems like holding it at max clock speed at all times doesn't make any sense. I'll have to do some of my own testing.

I'll post my settings after dinner, I'm on a different computer at the moment.

 

[ditosou]

hummm

I purchased coolbook today and I'm using it on my MBA 11". It seems to effectively extend battery lifetime... I'm using it with web + on-line radio since 3 hours ago and I still have available something between 3h-3h30 (at least in the bar indicator)... I will continue until the battery fully discharges...

I have a dual setting configuration in coolbook 800 MHz + 0.875v and 1600 + 0.875v

 

[n1tut]

I must be unusually thick today as I have just received the registration info for CoolBook, but can not see how to activate it. Instructions are to go through "Preferences" in CoolBook Controller, but I do not have that option, just Adaptor and Battery.

Help much appreciated.

tut

 

[kyle.c]

I must be unusually thick today as I have just received the registration info for CoolBook, but can not see how to activate it. Instructions are to go through "Preferences" in CoolBook Controller, but I do not have that option, just Adaptor and Battery.

Help much appreciated.

tut

I am also having questions on how to use it....should I need to open the "coolbookcontroller" all the time to keep it active???

the window pops out and after I closed it, it seems gone...

 

[ditosou]

info

I am also having questions on how to use it....should I need to open the "coolbookcontroller" all the time to keep it active???

the window pops out and after I closed it, it seems gone...

no problem... after defining the Mhz vs voltage pairs confs you save the configuration in coolbook interface and after that you can close the application. If you look to the activity monitor you will notice that a coolbook swapper process remains active.

 

[johannnn]

Interesting, is the speed stepping not efficient? It seems to be pretty instant; if it needs more processing power it jumps up instantly, and then settles back down at 600/800mhz when doing nothing. If I scroll down a complicated web page, it'll shoot to 1200mhz, and when it comes to a rest as I'm reading the page, it idles at 600mhz. Lather, rinse, repeat. It at least seems like holding it at max clock speed at all times doesn't make any sense. I'll have to do some of my own testing.

I'll post my settings after dinner, I'm on a different computer at the moment.

Well, the cpu is working even at 600/800 MHz - the OS is always doing something.

 

[jdavtz]

I've just bought it and my MBA 11.6/1.6 seems stable at 1.6GHZ at 0.875V.

My settings are:

Power adapter - 1600MHz/0.875V

Battery -
600MHz (B/2) / 0.875V
1600MHZ / 0.875V
Throttling level medium

Will see what difference it makes to battery times this week. Sounds like it should be good. 9.3% less voltage hopefully means about 10% extra battery time.

 

[dokindo]

no problem... after defining the Mhz vs voltage pairs confs you save the configuration in coolbook interface and after that you can close the application. If you look to the activity monitor you will notice that a coolbook swapper process remains active.

I've followed the above instructions but don't see anything in the activity monitor that refers coolbook.

Does throttling need to be checked for the process to appear? That is the only setting I haven't enabled since the other thread suggested there was a performance hit for throttling.

 

[fs454]

Well, the cpu is working even at 600/800 MHz - the OS is always doing something.

Yeah, but if cpu usage is bouncing around 1-10% while idling at 600mhz, it seems much more likely that it'd use less power than sitting at full clock speed.

I have Coolbook set to 1600mhz@.875 for today, to see how it does.

 

[jace88]

I'm a bit noob here but I understand why this works on the old MBA with core shutdown, but I don't understand why Apple wouldn't just lower the voltage from the factory but instead opts for the higher setting? Are there other risks involved here?

Speaking in terms which I understand, this seems like leaning out the fuel mix in your car... at factory your car runs a bit rich and uses up more petrol than it needs to, and you can lean it out to make things more efficient, but lean it out too much and you end up with bigger issues/fatal issues to your car.

 

[gb1631]

I have this application and have activated it on my MBA 11" (Max). I'm still confused as to the best setting to have to use that application in the best way for all situations, (Sort of a set it and forget it setting.

If you have such a setting please post it! (To bad the creator of the app doesn't do that!)

 

[ditosou]

hummm

I'm a bit noob here but I understand why this works on the old MBA with core shutdown, but I don't understand why Apple wouldn't just lower the voltage from the factory but instead opts for the higher setting? Are there other risks involved here?

Speaking in terms which I understand, this seems like leaning out the fuel mix in your car... at factory your car runs a bit rich and uses up more petrol than it needs to, and you can lean it out to make things more efficient, but lean it out too much and you end up with bigger issues/fatal issues to your car.

I'm also interested in answers to these questions... if from hardware "experts" better

"why Apple wouldn't just lower the voltage from the factory but instead opts for the higher setting?"

"Are there other risks involved here?"

thanks

 

[drxcm]

I'm also interested in answers to these questions... if from hardware "experts" better

"why Apple wouldn't just lower the voltage from the factory but instead opts for the higher setting?"

"Are there other risks involved here?"

thanks

I suspect Apple doesn't do this because it would be too labour intensive. Every CPU produced to lets say a 1.4GHz spec will run slightly differently. That is to say some are more efficient and some are less efficient. Coolbook lets you adjust the settings to your individual processor's needs. Apple instead chooses settings that will be reliable for the most inefficient of CPU's - meaning those who have efficient iterations are 'wasting' battery on their machines.

 

[ditosou]

info

I suspect Apple doesn't do this because it would be too labour intensive. Every CPU produced to lets say a 1.4GHz spec will run slightly differently. That is to say some are more efficient and some are less efficient. Coolbook lets you adjust the settings to your individual processor's needs. Apple instead chooses settings that will be reliable for the most inefficient of CPU's - meaning those who have efficient iterations are 'wasting' battery on their machines.

seems a reasonable explanation... I hope that's the correct answer

thanks

 

[jace88]

I suspect Apple doesn't do this because it would be too labour intensive. Every CPU produced to lets say a 1.4GHz spec will run slightly differently. That is to say some are more efficient and some are less efficient. Coolbook lets you adjust the settings to your individual processor's needs. Apple instead chooses settings that will be reliable for the most inefficient of CPU's - meaning those who have efficient iterations are 'wasting' battery on their machines.

In other words, Apple chooses the safest voltage in order to cater for the inconsistencies in the manufacturing process of the CPU. Doesn't that logic then flow on to say that whilst using CoolBook will be great for those who (by chance) have a CPU which was manufactured with no faults, but then it could pose serious/fatal issues for someone who (by chance) has a CPU which was manufactured with the maximum number of faults but below the quality control threshold?

I know I'm being pessimistic here but there seems to be no logical reason for Apple to purposely do this other than to protect the longetivity/reliability of components, and I'm also inclined to think this would be a warranty voiding situation.

 

[trondah]

No, lowering the voltage is completely harmless hardware wise. The only risk you are running is the possibility of filesystem corruption if your hardware crashes while testing the lowest possible voltage setting. Don't have any open applications while testing and you should be fine.

There's no way of telling if the voltage has been adjusted either since it's done through software. So warranty is not voided.

 

[drxcm]

In other words, Apple chooses the safest voltage in order to cater for the inconsistencies in the manufacturing process of the CPU. Doesn't that logic then flow on to say that whilst using CoolBook will be great for those who (by chance) have a CPU which was manufactured with no faults, but then it could pose serious/fatal issues for someone who (by chance) has a CPU which was manufactured with the maximum number of faults but below the quality control threshold?

I know I'm being pessimistic here but there seems to be no logical reason for Apple to purposely do this other than to protect the longetivity/reliability of components, and I'm also inclined to think this would be a warranty voiding situation.

What you say is kind of right in that it is better for those who have (by chance) a CPU with no 'faults'. However, there is no evidence I can find anywhere on the net, that undervolting damages CPU's, so I'm not sure that you can really lose anything by giving it a try, apart from 10 bucks.

I've been running mine on the lowest voltage for all speeds 0.875 V with no difference noted so far.

FWIW most of the time, my processor is clocked at 800 MHz anyway, so I'm not sure I'll notice a huge improvement. Reading the coolbook manual suggests I can adjust the software in the terminal to give even lower voltages than 0.875V - has anyone tried this yet?

 

[Kenal0]

If I read correctly, the Coolbook Controller does not have to be running for the coolbook to operate however I do not see anything in the activity monitor that shows it is running. Can someone confirm that if the controller is closed, the app is still doing its thing?
Thanks
Kenal0

 

[dokindo]

If I read correctly, the Coolbook Controller does not have to be running for the coolbook to operate however I do not see anything in the activity monitor that shows it is running. Can someone confirm that if the controller is closed, the app is still doing its thing?
Thanks
Kenal0

You can close the app. Just make sure both boxes (coolbook, throttling) are checked active. You also need to show all processes in the monitor.