I wrote:
> AFAIK the mechanisms that throttle or power down processors when they
> get too hot are *not* dependent on ACPI.
Jim Cornette wrote:
> Looking around in the /proc/acpi/processor/CPU0 directory, I have this
> information regarding the CPU. I have one of those laptops that need
> acpi in order to even complete a booting of the system.
My condolences.
> My processor
> runs cooler with acpi enabled in linux.
Yes. Sorry. I over-simplified.
AFAIK:
* some computers have the ability to dynamically reduce CPU speed and
voltage based on current system load *to improve battery life*. This
does use ACPI, and is configurable. It will normally have the effect
of reducing the heat output, for obvious reasons.
* more computers have the ability to dynamically throttle back CPU
speed based on how hot the CPU is, to prevent damage to the CPU. This
is separate to the ACPI-based scaling, and is done in hardware.
In theory, this is only supposed to be for use in emergency (if, for
example, the fan fails).
James.
--
E-mail address: james | Dalek invasion at work today. I plugged them into the
@westexe.demon.co.uk | net: they behave better than some Windows boxes. They
| make great spam filters: "Enlarge your..." "EX - TER -
| MI - NATE!" All in a day's work for a sysadmin...
