OGerlich/Powertop - Ubuntu Wiki

Collection of different Powertop results

Results from running powertop on various machines/operating systems/configurations.

See http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/powertop/known.php for a list of known offenders.

bigbox Intrepid LiveCD (2008-12-17)

disabled HAL-CD-polling (after seeing that pata_amd was near top of table)
increased writeback time to 1500 cs (after seeing some related entries in powertop)
disabled binary nvidia driver (after seeing that it was on top of table)
powertop running in gnome-terminal; Firefox running with one minimized window with four tabs

idle desktop, no mouse or keyboard usage

     PowerTOP version 1.10      (C) 2007 Intel Corporation

< Detailed C-state information is not P-states (frequencies)

Wakeups-from-idle per second : 15.5     interval: 10.0s
no ACPI power usage estimate available

Top causes for wakeups:
  25.6% (  2.0)     <kernel core> : clocksource_check_watchdog (clocksource_watc
  21.8% (  1.7)    gnome-terminal : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
  14.1% (  1.1)           firefox : futex_wait (hrtimer_wakeup)
   7.7% (  0.6)     <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   6.4% (  0.5)        pulseaudio : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   3.8% (  0.3)   <kernel module> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   2.6% (  0.2)     <kernel core> : neigh_add_timer (neigh_timer_handler)
   2.6% (  0.2)           firefox : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2.6% (  0.2)       gnome-panel : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2.6% (  0.2)   update-notifier : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2.6% (  0.2)          nautilus : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2.6% (  0.2)       gvfsd-trash : futex_wait (hrtimer_wakeup)
   1.3% (  0.1)              hald : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.3% (  0.1)         ssh-agent : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.3% (  0.1)          gconfd-2 : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.3% (  0.1)   gnome-power-man : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)

Suggestion: Enable USB autosuspend by pressing the U key or adding
usbcore.autosuspend=1 to the kernel command line in the grub config

 Q - Quit   R - Refresh   U - Enable USB suspend

bigbox Debian Testing (2008-12-17)

KDE 3.5.9, my default desktop running
using binary nvidia driver
HAL-CD-polling still enabled (machine has two CD drives, ie. two hald-addon-storage processes running)
only few apps running
powertop running in konsole
idle desktop, no mouse or keyboard usage

results:

nvidia driver is bad (need to find bug report)
- see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=694776: enabling the OnDemandVBlankInterrupts option is supposed to help (didn't try it yet, though)
HAL-CD-polling is bad (why does it cost so much? Shouldn't it cause maybe 1 wakeup/second?)
kicker: systray contains has some monitoring applets, with 500ms or 1000ms update frequency -> shouldn't these be synchronized? like with g_timer_add_seconds()?
EMU10K1, eth0: no idea what's it doing... maybe "stray" packets on the net? Hmm... maybe ssh client was already running (need to check with wireshark)
- this is mostly caused by an ssh screen session which displays network throughput every second (when using ssh without screen, wakeups for eth0 are far lower)
- the few other packets (NTP, CUPS announcements, IRC pings, email fetching) don't do much
aptitude: weird, I don't think it should wake up (strace needed)
konsole: weird as well (maybe caused by aptitude but I don't think this is right (strace needed)
mysqld: should be idle process, but MySQL is probably not optimized for this (probably best to just keep this process disabled for most time)
dirmngr: I don't think this is right... this process should stay idle

     PowerTOP version 1.10      (C) 2007 Intel Corporation

< Detailed C-state information is not P-states (frequencies)

Wakeups-from-idle per second : 124.4    interval: 10.0s
no ACPI power usage estimate available

Top causes for wakeups:
  56.9% ( 61.2)       <interrupt> : nvidia
  16.7% ( 18.0)       <interrupt> : ide1
   3.0% (  3.2)            kicker : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.9% (  2.0)       <interrupt> : EMU10K1, eth0
   1.9% (  2.0)          aptitude : futex_wait (hrtimer_wakeup)
   1.9% (  2.0)     <kernel core> : clocksource_register (clocksource_watchdog)
   1.9% (  2.0)           konsole : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.4% (  1.5)            mysqld : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1.0% (  1.1)           dirmngr : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)          kdesktop : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)              kwin : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)   hald-addon-stor : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)              Xorg : nv_start_rc_timer (nv_kern_rc_timer)
   0.9% (  1.0)          kwrapper : do_nanosleep (hrtimer_wakeup)
   0.9% (  1.0)           apache2 : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)             lircd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)          kcpuload : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.9% (  1.0)              ntpd : do_setitimer (it_real_fn)
   0.9% (  1.0)          knetload : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.6% (  0.6)       <interrupt> : ide0
   0.5% (  0.5)   <kernel module> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   0.5% (  0.5)     <kernel core> : schedule_delayed_work_on (delayed_work_timer
   0.5% (  0.5)     <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   0.5% (  0.5)        uml_switch : do_setitimer (it_real_fn)
   0.4% (  0.4)          ksensors : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.2% (  0.2)           portmap : inet_twsk_schedule (inet_twdr_hangman)
   0.2% (  0.2)         ssh-agent : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.2% (  0.2)              init : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.2% (  0.2)     <kernel core> : page_writeback_init (wb_timer_fn)
   0.2% (  0.2)              kded : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.2% (  0.2)   <kernel module> : ide_do_rw_disk (ledtrig_ide_timerfunc)
   0.1% (  0.1)                sh : start_this_handle (commit_timeout)
   0.1% (  0.1)              nmbd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0.1% (  0.1)         klauncher : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)

EeePc 701 (4G) Hardy (2008-12-22)

Desktop Effects enabled
HAL polls /dev/sdb (card reader?)
Wifi connection active, NetworkManager running, four Wifi APs in range (using madwifi driver 0.3862-1)
powertop is running in gnome-terminal
only gnome-terminal and xterm running
idle desktop, no mouse or keyboard usage
results:
- Intel driver causes lots of wakeups in 3D mode (due to Desktop Effects); see http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/powertop/known.php#intelgfx
- Wifi causes lots of wakeups; either because of constant scanning (by NM) or due to driver bug
- multiload-applet is the CPU load monitor in panel (500ms refresh rate)
- the acpi interrupts are maybe caused by HAL polling for battery state; see http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=9263
- C3 state is never reached
  - could be caused by drivers preventing C3; suspects: madwifi, snd-hda-intel

rough list of actions to improve power usage:

disable Desktop Effects
disable Wifi (in nm-applet menu)
disable HAL polling the card reader
remove CPU monitor applet
increase writeback to 1500cs (this decreases the libata wakeups)
rmmod uvcvideo module (this removes the ehci_work line from powertop output); or better: enable some powersaving feature for this module
- actually it seems to suffice to run "echo auto > /sys/bus/usb/devices/5-8/power/level" to enable powersaving mode for the camera (the uvcvideo driver must be loaded before that)
disable snd-hda-intel module which prevents C3 state; or better: enable powersaving for this module - see http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=31898
- better: upgrade BIOS to version 1101 (0910 is not enough), and load snd-hda-intel with "power_save=10 power_save_controller=Y" options

     PowerTOP version 1.9       (C) 2007 Intel Corporation

Cn                 Verweildauer       P-States (Frequenzen)
C0 (Prozessor läuft)    ( 1,3%)
C1                0,0ms ( 0,0%)
C2               16,7ms (98,7%)
C3                0,0ms ( 0,0%)

Aufwachen pro Sekunde : 61,9    Intervall: 15,0s
Keine ACPI Stromverbrauch-Schätzung verfügbar

Häufigste Ursachen für das Aufwachen:
  39,9% ( 36,1)       <interrupt> : uhci_hcd:usb4, HDA Intel, i915@pci:0000:00:0
  11,0% ( 10,0)       <interrupt> : uhci_hcd:usb3, wifi0 
  11,0% ( 10,0)   <kernel module> : ehci_work (ehci_watchdog) 
   9,4% (  8,5)       <interrupt> : uhci_hcd:usb1, ehci_hcd:usb5
   6,6% (  6,0)   USB Gerät  5-5 : UB6225 (ENE)
   4,6% (  4,2)       compiz.real : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2,2% (  2,0)   multiload-apple : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,8% (  1,7)    gnome-terminal : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,5% (  1,4)    wpa_supplicant : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,2% (  1,1)   hald-addon-stor : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,1% (  1,0)       <interrupt> : acpi
   1,1% (  1,0)            dhcdbd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,1% (  1,0)     <kernel core> : ath_newstate (ath_calibrate)
   1,1% (  1,0)              Xorg : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)

Vorschlag: Hindern sie mit: "hal-disable-polling --device /dev/cdrom"
hal daran das CD-Laufwerk abzufragen. hal startet nach dem Einlegen einer CD
autom. einen Dateimanager. Die Abfragen verhindern den SATA Energiesparmodus.
 Q - Beenden   R - Aktualisieren   K - kille hald-addon-storage

Toshiba L40-14N Gutsy (2008-12-23)

no Desktop Effects
using "intel" graphics driver
HAL polls CD-ROM drive
Wifi connection active, NetworkManager (0.6.5) running, two Wifi APs in range (using ndiswrapper driver)
powertop is running in gnome-terminal
only gnome-terminal running

idle desktop, no mouse or keyboard usage

     PowerTOP version 1.8       (C) 2007 Intel Corporation

Cn                 Verweildauer       P-States (Frequenzen)
C0 (Prozessor läuft)    ( 0,5%)         1467 MHz     1,2%
C1                0,0ms ( 0,0%)         1067 MHz     0,0%
C2               13,8ms (18,8%)          800 MHz    98,8%
C3               13,1ms (80,7%)

Aufwachen pro Sekunde : 75,0    Intervall: 15,0s
Keine ACPI Stromverbrauch-Schätzung verfügbar

Häufigste Ursachen für das Aufwachen:
  21,4% ( 15,9)     <kernel core> : ehci_work (ehci_watchdog) 
  15,5% ( 11,5)      S20powernowd : queue_delayed_work_on (delayed_work_timer_fn
  14,6% ( 10,9)       <interrupt> : uhci_hcd:usb5, ehci_hcd:usb6 
  13,8% ( 10,3)       <interrupt> : libata 
   5,7% (  4,3)     wrapndis_wq/0 : wrap_set_timer (timer_proc)
   5,3% (  3,9)   <kernel module> : usb_hcd_poll_rh_status (rh_timer_func)
   2,9% (  2,1)              Xorg : do_setitimer (it_real_fn)
   2,7% (  2,0)     <kernel core> : queue_delayed_work_on (delayed_work_timer_fn
   2,2% (  1,7)    gnome-terminal : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2,0% (  1,5)    wpa_supplicant : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,8% (  1,3)       <interrupt> : acpi
   1,3% (  1,0)            dhcdbd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,3% (  1,0)         nm-applet : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   1,3% (  1,0)   <kernel module> : wrap_set_timer (timer_proc)
   1,3% (  1,0)              Xorg : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,8% (  0,6)    NetworkManager : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,8% (  0,6)     <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   0,6% (  0,5)   hald-addon-stor : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,6% (  0,5)   update-notifier : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,6% (  0,5)       <interrupt> : extra timer interrupt
   0,5% (  0,4)       gnome-panel : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,4% (  0,3)   gnome-power-man : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)

Vorschlag: Aktivieren Sie "USB autosuspend" durch drücken der U-Taste
oder durch anhängen der Bootoption "usbcore autosuspend=1" an die Kernel-
kommandozeile oder in der GRUB Konfiguration
 Q - Beenden  R - Aktualisieren  U - USB suspend einschalten

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo ???, Intrepid LiveCD (2008-12-28)

disabled HAL-CD-polling
increased writeback time to 1500 cs
powertop running in gnome-terminal; Firefox running with one minimized window with one tab; one Nautilus window open
disabled Wifi in NetworkManager (Netgear MA111 adapter attached via USB); wired Ethernet connected
idle desktop, no mouse or keyboard usage

results:

no HPET enabled (probably reduces power saving)
power measure device shows ~30W power usage (dimming display saves ~2W)

     PowerTOP version 1.10      (C) 2007 Intel Corporation

Cn                 Verweildauer       P-States (Frequenzen)
C0 (Prozessor läuft)    ( 0,5%)         1128 MHz     0,0%
polling           0,0ms ( 0,0%)          995 MHz     0,0%
C1                3,1ms ( 0,2%)          862 MHz     0,0%
C2               21,8ms (99,3%)          663 MHz   100,0%

Aufwachen pro Sekunde : 46,1    Intervall: 15,0s
Keine ACPI Stromverbrauch-Schätzung verfügbar

Häufigste Ursachen für das Aufwachen:
  34,5% ( 11,1)       <interrupt> : extra timer interrupt 
  25,4% (  8,1)   <kernel module> : usb_hcd_poll_rh_status (rh_timer_func)
   9,1% (  2,9)       <interrupt> : uhci_hcd:usb1, eth0
   6,7% (  2,1)       <interrupt> : acpi
   5,2% (  1,7)    gnome-terminal : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   3,1% (  1,0)    cpufreq-applet : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   2,7% (  0,9)   /sys/bus/usb/devices/1-2
   2,3% (  0,7)     <kernel core> : uhci_scan_schedule (uhci_fsbr_timeout)
   2,1% (  0,7)     <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   1,7% (  0,5)           firefox : futex_wait (hrtimer_wakeup)
   1,5% (  0,5)     <kernel core> : __netdev_watchdog_up (dev_watchdog)
   1,0% (  0,3)   gnome-power-man : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,8% (  0,3)       gnome-panel : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,6% (  0,2)   update-notifier : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,6% (  0,2)          nautilus : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,6% (  0,2)       gvfsd-trash : futex_wait (hrtimer_wakeup)
   0,6% (  0,2)   <kernel module> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_
   0,4% (  0,1)         ssh-agent : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)
   0,4% (  0,1)    NetworkManager : schedule_timeout (process_timeout)

Vorschlag: Aktivieren Sie HPET (Multimedia Timer) in Ihrem BIOS oder benutzen
Sie den Kernel-Patch um HPET zu erzwingen. HPET Unterstützung erlaubt es dem
Linux Kernel längere Ruhepausen einzulegen.
 Q - Beenden   R - Aktualisieren