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q-codes avatar Server

Setting CPU frequency to hardware minimum limit - will it harm the hardware?

br flag
q-codes

I'm running on a Intel Celeron N4120. I can easily set the CPU governor for all 4 cores to powersave using:

for n in {0..3}
do
  sudo cpufreq-set -g powersave -c $n
done

Now, using cpufreq-info I know the hardware limits of my CPU is 800 MHz - 2.60 GHz. And, cpufreq-set allows me to set the highest and lowest clock speed.

My question is: if I always set the highest and lowest clock speed of my CPU to 800 MHz for all the cores, alongside setting the governor to powersave all the time, then will it affect my hardware?


Information: I did this on an older (Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo) computer of mine, and had kernel crashes (not sure if they are related). I used the computer for a long time like that - and then I wasn't able to tune my CPU anymore. No cpufreq-set command worked anymore. Again, not sure if they can be related.

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LeRouteur avatar
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LeRouteur
Welcome to Server Fault. This question does not belong here since it's an end-user environment. Please address your question to Super User (https://superuser.com/).
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q-codes avatar
br flag
q-codes
@LeRouteur Thanks, I believe this is an important question. Server people, or anyone in general, can be immensely benefitted if this question can be answered.
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Michael Hampton avatar
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Michael Hampton
No, this really does not belong here. This site is for professional questions only.
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LeRouteur avatar
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LeRouteur
@q-codes sure, it's important like pretty much each question, but as Michael said, it does not belong here. You'll be welcome on Super User :)
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Martin avatar Server
kz flag
Martin

Let us recall, what a scaling governor does.

here is the official documentation. If the CPU supports dynamic frequency setting, the linux kernel is responsible for setting the appropiate cpu frequency. Setting the scaling governor changes only the limits within which the kernel may change the CPU frequency.

Now what happens when you force the CPU to the lowest frequency available?

  • your CPU consumes less power
  • your CPU produces less heat which needs to be cooled down.
  • the command to change the frequency setting is not being issued, as the frequency stays constant

Considering that the most likely cause for hardware damage is the heat death (for example because of a cpu cooler being covered with dust), you will probably extend the lifetime of your CPU by limiting the CPU speed.

What about other effects on the hardware?

You will suffer a performance penalty of course, which can also include other hardware - for example the network card, since almost everything must go through the CPU. But apart from the performance loss, I do not think that there will be other effects.

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q-codes avatar
br flag
q-codes
That was a perfect answer. I've read somewhere that kernel panic may occur if sufficient computing power isn't provided -- what do you think, how true is that?
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Martin avatar
kz flag
Martin
this is nonsense. A [kernel panic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_panic#Causes) comes up because of major bugs inside the kernel's software code or because of a major hardware damage. The worst you would encounter is an unresponsive system because of a load which is to high...
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