SetCPU - Not recommended?

[packerbacker]

Read a thread on one of the last pages of this section of the forum that advised against SetCPU for the Fascinate. I will uninstall it if that is the case, but is there anything else I can do to up the performance on my rooted phone? Or is there really not much I can probably do until 2.2 and more ROMs come out?

(PS, I'm not entirely sure all that ROMs do, and what kernels even are.)

 

[namebrandon]

If you're not ready to kill your phone, I wouldn't recommend overclocking (using SetCPU). The device has no way to measure processor temperature, and the device has no airflow/fan or any other way to effectively dissipate heat other than through itself.

That being said, most lower OC's (to 1100MHz) have proven very stable and we haven't seen any serious meltdown problems, even at 1200MHz and higher. Due to the manufacturing process, every chip is minutely different, so saying that this particular ARM processor can always run at 1200MHz is probably not accurate. Many can, some will see problems, and some will see serious problems.

You can search to find more of the basics on ROM / kernels, but you need a kernel that supports CPU frequency changes (overclock/underclock) in order to use SetCPU. You cannot just download SetCPU from the market and have it work w/o the correct kernel.

 

[Adiliyo]

i've had my phone at 1.2, there is no noticeable difference aside from higher quadrant scores....

running a voodoo kernel probably helps, but not a ton from what i've noticed.

 

[Rjbaran17]

I agree with you, I have the 1.2 rom and it only shines through on quadrant scores, not noticable when actually using the phone...I may go back to stock...

 

[packerbacker]

I did open SetCPU once but I uninstalled and refunded. I'll buy it later if it's needed. For now, debloating seems to improve my battery life tremendously, so I'm happy with that for now. I do really want to know what is involved with a ROM though, because I'd love for a theme/font change.

 

[Adiliyo]

you can change the theme without a rom, just make sure they are compatible with the fascinate. there's a few out there that are pretty decent.

fonts as well, there's a thread on xda that has a bunch of fonts that are compatible and are in a CW zip format for easy flashing.

i had the ubuntu font for a while, it was nice

 

[packerbacker]

Oh okay thanks, I'll try to look for the fonts then.

 

[bL33d]

im only useing setcpu to set it to 1000 because voodoo runs at 800 for some damn reason. Is consevative settings gonna degrade performance?

 

[NOsquid]

Yes, 800 feels slower to me

 

[aecky01]

The base voodoo kernel will not affect your cpu speed. If you downloaded one of the overclocked kernels then you will need setcpu to adjust the clock speed. The kernels default to 800mhz so you can test stability with the overclocked speed, at least thats my understanding. Also since "Set on Boot" does not seem to work that well with galaxy s phones at the moment, you will have to change the speed every time you restart your phone.

I tired Dirk's lv 1200mhz kernel and things would run great for a while, then I'd start getting soft resets. The phone was never hot or anything like that, but it didn't have the stability I was hoping for. I tired the lv 1100 kernel and thats been running great. I'm not sure how much of an improvement there is outside of quadrant and linpack scores, but it does run very smooth.

One of the benefits of setcpu is that you can underclock your cpu to 800, or even 400 mhz and get much better battery life. I'll do this if I'm running navigation on a trip, or I'm not using processor heavy apps. It might not be quite as crisp, but the battery life improvements are significant. Also setcpu has a handy widget, that makes it easy to jump into the app, change your clock speed and get back to what you were doing.

 

[denzillion]

I heard good things about Setcpu but whenever I run the profile the phone basically shut off and requires battery pull. So I just stopped running it.

I have voodoo lagfix with SV 1200 and was using Setcpu for 100 mhz to 400 mhz when screen is in off stage. I hope it would have worked. Oh well.

 

[cmanbrooks]

I heard good things about Setcpu but whenever I run the profile the phone basically shut off and requires battery pull. So I just stopped running it.

I have voodoo lagfix with SV 1200 and was using Setcpu for 100 mhz to 400 mhz when screen is in off stage. I hope it would have worked. Oh well.

Try running an LV or SV1100 kernel. Some phones (mine included) have trouble running these 1200+ OC kernels.

 

[DroidDev]

When you run SetCPU too high it will cause instability. The lockups and shutdowns will cease when you lower the speed.

Also, remember I believe Restart after speed change is set on by default.

 

[denzillion]

Try running an LV or SV1100 kernel. Some phones (mine included) have trouble running these 1200+ OC kernels.

I don't have issue running at 1200 SV. It doesn't shut down or throw off any error. Its just that the phone doesn't want to handle SetCPU profiles.

 

[Adiliyo]

you can't use profiles or the ondemand setting with setcpu, the kernels don't support it.

 

[NOsquid]

Really?? Profiles works for me I think? It tells me the battery profile is active when I get to my preset level and the CPU monitor never goes above 800 which is where I set it...I think??

 

[Adiliyo]

what kernel are you running? afaik no one has built one that can use profiles

 

[NOsquid]

I'm on Dirrk's LV1200.

I know the profile was on in the notification bar, maybe it wasnt actually working though?

 

[mystichero06]

you can use profiles just cant use ondemand or it will lock up every time screen dimes and phone idles and requires battery pull i had the same issue but on conservative its all gone using sv 1200 dont know how lv 1250 will play out