HOW TO DISABLE DISABLE CPU FREQUENCY SCALING IN UBUNTU JAUNTY AND KARMIC

source:   http://www.webupd8.org/2009/10/how-to-disable-disable-cpu-frequency.html

Dynamic frequency scaling (also known as CPU throttling) is a technique in computer architecture where a processor is run at a less-than-maximum frequency in order to conserve power. Dynamic frequency scaling is commonly used in laptops and other mobile devices, where energy comes from a battery and thus is limited. It is also used in quiet computing settings and to decrease energy and cooling costs for lightly loaded machines.

If you have a desktop PC, you may want to turn it off. The old sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets method does not work anymore, so here's what you need to do to disable CPU frequency scaling so that you CPU always runs at full capacity:

Open a terminal and type this:

sudo apt-get install rcconf

This installs rcconf which we now need to run so again in a terminal, type:

sudo rcconf

For cpu scaling, look for "ONDEMAND" and once at the entry, with the space bar un-check the box. To save the configuration hit the tab key so that "OK" is highlighted then enter to save and reboot.

Now, right click your panel and select "Add to Panel" and add CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor, then click it and select "Performance":

Reboot and that's it.

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Disable “ondemand” CPU scaling daemon

To make all CPUs run at maximum performance continually on a Ubuntu desktop or server, run:

sudo chmod -x /etc/init.d/ondemand

at the shell prompt and enter your password. This disables the shell script that makes all CPUs run at speed "OnDemand", making them default to full speed (Performance). You will need to reboot for this to take effect.

I have only tested this in Ubuntu Jaunty 9.04, but it should work and not cause any problems on any version of Ubuntu.

I think the Ubuntu defaults are strange for this. A desktop or server should run at full speed, in my opinion.

Regards, George