New PB's ---> Processer Performance gone???

[tekmoe]

This subject seems bare to say the least. I have only read 1 or 2 comments in regards to people saying they can no longer adjust the processor performance in the Energy Saver settings under system preferences.

someone else posted a link to the developer notes for the new pb's. it basically states this:

Processor Power Management
To lower power consumption and heat generation, the 17-inch PowerBook G4 incorporates an automatic power management stepping technique. Stepping is designed to run at full, half, or quarter processor speed and voltage to meet the demands on the processor. The processor speed will switch between 1670 MHz and 833 MHz at 1.30 V for divide by 2 and between 1670 MHz and 417 MHz at .93 V for divide by 4. The memory bus speed is not shifted.

If the 17-inch PowerBook G4 detects a system temperature that is high, due to high ambient temperatures or other factors, it will immediately force the system to quarter speed mode.

The 17-inch PowerBook G4 meets all applicable safety standards, including UL 60950 and IEC 60950.

Graphics Power Management
For additional power savings and reduced heat generation, the 17-inch PowerBook G4 incorporates a dynamic graphics power management technique. When required, the graphics processor runs at a reduced voltage and slower clock rate, similar to stepping on the central processor.

it almost sounds like apple has taken away the ability to set the processor performance and they are doing it for us. i am not sure if i like this.......

anyone else have anything to chime in?

thanks

 

[Demon Hunter]

NOT COOL! (pardon the pun)

I thought the PowerBooks always had this feature. If the user can't force or turn off power stepping though, that could be very bad news.

 

[g0gie]

sound very much like the "cool n quiet" of the athlon cpu's. Helps a lot, i think its much better than having to manualy set it

 

[OutThere]

Bah...in my experience with any Mac with the power adjustment features, the difference between Highest Performance and Automatic is actually quite a bit. I'd hate to see the option to put it on full power taken away, and always have to wonder if your computer is slyly shafting you of its full processing power...

 

[Danksi]

I'm sure my Centrino does the stepped processor speed thing...

 

[TheMonarch]

Wow... That sucks balls. Damn... So when on battery power the PB will decide for you what your needs are? What if you quickly need to render something and don't have your power adapter with you? While you'd think apple just set it on automatic performance and just hid the option for you to change it, I wonder if its always on reduced so they can claim an extra hour of battery life? Either way, that sucks royally...

 

[Sun Baked]

I'd probably say anything that gets the new DDR2/Freescale chipset will lose the ability to set the processor performace.

Still got to see if the same thing will happen with the eMac, Mini, and iBooks when they get their chipsets upgraded to the "Intrepid2."

 

[Demon Hunter]

The stepping itself is great but not if you can't control it...

 

[RHMMMM]

I have the new 17" and there are no options in the power menu to change the performance like my old 15" had. I haven't noticed anything running poorly though. I'm just happy to get the whole extra hour of battery life!