Benefits of quad core? - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This may have been answered before but I haven't stumbled across any discussion of this as of late. To put it simply, how does quad core affect phone speeds? Sure it makes for great benchmark scores, but does it function similarly to pc CPUs in the sense that if the app doesn't support more than 1 core then you're not fully utilizing the entire CPU? If that's so wouldn't a quad core just be draining battery life on a phone? Or do phone apps not have core limitations and that each core will always be used no matter if you're flipping through pages of apps or running a game?

Just like a PC working. Some appsmaube just running in single core but some apps use it. Multi core help system let say it android system working more fast. Because system use all cpu
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So aside from flipping through the android os screens and making calls or writing notes, Internet browsing, video watching, and games are all limited by how they're coded to use the cores? Are the unused cores at least inactive to prevent battery drain?

zergslayer69 said:
So aside from flipping through the android os screens and making calls or writing notes, Internet browsing, video watching, and games are all limited by how they're coded to use the cores? Are the unused cores at least inactive to prevent battery drain?
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Yes.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Related

Tegra 3 CPU monitor

Is there a CPU monitor like the one used in this video: http://goo.gl/aSZpq?
Be nice to see when the companion core is being used...
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
There is an app called tablet cpu usage app doing maybe the same.
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jonas2295 said:
There is an app called tablet cpu usage app doing maybe the same.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks might check it out...
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pastey said:
Thanks might check it out...
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Click to collapse
so did it work?
gunswordx said:
so did it work?
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Click to collapse
He would have had to buy the pro version :/
Since I don't use Google checkout I didn't test it myself
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Ops sorry
It works but doesn't see the 5th core. Some of the app's UI displays properly only in landscape (some bits are squished in portrait).
Some screenies...
nobnut said:
It works but doesn't see the 5th core. Some of the app's UI displays properly only in landscape (some bits are squished in portrait).
Some screenies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes 5th core isn't seen by the system itself so not an issue of the app.
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jonas2295 said:
Yes 5th core isn't seen by the system itself so not an issue of the app.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah - can see when companion is used as the 4 cores show no use...
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nobnut said:
It works but doesn't see the 5th core. Some of the app's UI displays properly only in landscape (some bits are squished in portrait).
Some screenies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you give the market link or the app's full name
U`ll never see the companion core.
It`s invisible to Android OS
management is on Nvidia level
the companion core only works wen the screen is off, It's used for background tasks which doesn't need the quad-core.
It's controlled by hardware so even Android can't see it
so what they using in the video? As that can see it?
jaspabt said:
so what they using in the video? As that can see it?
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My guess is that its an app designed by Nvidia that has the ability to call the companion cores usage..
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vallandil said:
U`ll never see the companion core.
It`s invisible to Android OS
management is on Nvidia level
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android OS never sees it, but I've been digging through nvidia's tegra kernel repo[1] and the kernel definitely knows about the extra core. But it doesn't get reported over any of the regular performance monitoring interfaces.
However arch/arm/mach-tegra/sysfs-cluster.c[1] defines a sysfs interface than can report if the low power core/cluster or the high performance cluster is in use, tweak a few parameters and even force it to switch between clusters.
Reading /sys/kernel/cluster/active will report the currently active cluster (LP or G). writing 'lp' or 'g' will force it into one of those modes.
You can also find various stats in /sys/kernel/debug/cpuidle/lp2 and /sys/kernel/debug/tegra_hotplug/stats.
I've only skimmed some of the code, and so far I'm not sure if the completely automatic switching from the low power core to the fist core that nvidia brag about actually exists. Some comments in arch/arm/mach-tegra/pm-t3.c suggest that the at least the first generation of Tegra 3 chips have bugs and don't quite switch the entire cpu state and implement some workarounds.[3]
Anyway back to the main topic, I'm guessing that someone could hack together a cpu monitor that polled /sys/kernel/cluster/active and assigned the activity of the first core to either the companion core or the first core depending on which cluster is active.
As a new user, I can't post links, but here are some urls you can copy/paste
Links:
[1] nvidia's tegra kernel repo - nv-tegra.nvidia.com/gitweb/?p=linux-2.6.git;a=tree;hb=refs/heads/android-tegra-nv-3.1
[2] arch/arm/mach-tegra/sysfs-cluster.c - nv-tegra.nvidia.com/gitweb/?p=linux-2.6.git;a=blob;f=arch/arm/mach-tegra/sysfs-cluster.c;h=49c3abcf32b918483e06123466186ab6168553ee;hb=refs/heads/android-tegra-nv-3.1
[3] Workarounds - nv-tegra.nvidia.com/gitweb/?p=linux-2.6.git;a=blob;f=arch/arm/mach-tegra/pm-t3.c;h=a83174224498c20d9cea53e099a2dfa00b91ab47;hb=refs/heads/android-tegra-nv-3.1#l237
Based off above posts saying that android itself is not aware of the extra CPU...
I have not rooted my HOX yet however i have installed SetCPU to monitor clock speed of the CPU.
To my supprise, it seems that the lowest clock you can set is 51Mhz...
Im not sure if this is a bug with setcpu/stock rom but to me if it is at 51mhz then that would be the +1 core.
The lowest i can monitor my phone go to when i am watching SetCPU is about 100mhz
U`r getting close......
The 4 cores have a min clock of 100
The 51Mhz is indeed the companion core cause the 4 cores never NEVER drop below 100Mhz
Tablet CPU Usage monitor
nobnut said:
It works but doesn't see the 5th core. Some of the app's UI displays properly only in landscape (some bits are squished in portrait).
Some screenies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you manage to get it to install on your HOX ? I just bought it but the download don't start ! tryed through wifi & 3G, nothing changes.
It seems that google play store is blocking the download for non tablet user, although it say it's compatible with the HOX...
0.99 $ spend through the window....
viGnoS said:
how did you manage to get it to install on your HOX ? I just bought it but the download don't start ! tryed through wifi & 3G, nothing changes.
It seems that google play store is blocking the download for non tablet user, although it say it's compatible with the HOX...
0.99 $ spend through the window....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to download it from market but uninstalled within my 15min window since it's not optimized for the one x screen + quicksystem Info & CPU spy app can do the same with more functionality
Sent from my Leedroid powered HTC One X
I finally managed to install it on my oneX but I'm disapointed to see that the companion core seems to be never used.
I was expecting to see the four cores down to 0% in numerous low usage case but it NEVER get down to 0% even when sitting on the desk and doing nothing
in the vid which have been posted in the first post, you can clearly see that the companion is activated at least 90% of the time.
I don't know what to think about that, is the companion core included in the four cores stat through Tablet CPU Usage Monitor, or is the companion being never used ???
Also, I have read around here that the GPU actualy doesn't render 2D things (even the desktop), so it might explain why the companion is never activated...

Disabling CPU Cores PLZ need help.

hello everyone...i was searching for an application that disable one of the 4 cores..or 3 of the core..since i use my Beast just for whats app and music..nothing more...my phone is rooted...using omega 10+ stock kernel. ....i feel that stock kernel gives me the best battery life.
Is there a kernel who has the capability to shutdown the cores if the user wish??
There is an application called " Core Disabler (ROOT)" at playstore...but it costs..
and the other core management are just for dual core or dont work.
There is a member here in XDA who is developing a App what i search for. But it keep force closing.
or if i am wrong...please advice me and give me some suggestion.
thx in advance
You can use custom kernel like perseus and under clock and undervolt
scribbled from my note 2 (N7100)
You won't need to take care of shutting down the cores manually. The CPU's logic will take care of that all on its' own. If you want finer control, just use a kernel like RedPill, along with the STweaks app. there is a function called "sched_mc" which influences the way the CPU cores are triggered. Honestly, I couldn't feel much difference, neither performance-wise nor battery-drain wise.
Get a kernel that supports STweak. Open the app and go to the CPU HOT PLUG tab. Scroll down to Maximum CPU Lock and choose maximum number of cores you want to utilize.
Sent from the Rabbit Hole

dev options for graphics apps question

Having been talking to various people about various art apps. The concensus seems to bee that beyond 2000 x 2000 most devices suffer from lag and performance issues with drawing programmes. My assumption is that this is due to both processor and RAM demand but have wondered if playing with some of the settings in the dev options would help with this.
I know that android is designed to ballance apps in the background on the fly, but when your main use it to use just the one app, would playing with the "limit background processes", "force gpu rendering" and other options I perhaps have not considered help with the performance of the app in question (even if its at the cost of having a slower tablet in general due to having to load up processes on the fly rather than having them stored in RAM)?
Would this also help with resource intensive games?
I already turn all the animation options off, have a plain background and limit the number of widgets on my homescreens in order to free up as much as possible for my art apps in question.
I also use Greenify to limit apps opening on their own accord and use a gaming booster than shuts down other background apps and stops them opening when said art apps are in use.
I used to OC, but have gone back to 1600mhz and 533mhz for the CPU and GPU respectively having had concerns with how hot my tablet gets in the edge of the screen under load.
hertsjoatmon said:
Having been talking to various people about various art apps. The concensus seems to bee that beyond 2000 x 2000 most devices suffer from lag and performance issues with drawing programmes. My assumption is that this is due to both processor and RAM demand but have wondered if playing with some of the settings in the dev options would help with this.
I know that android is designed to ballance apps in the background on the fly, but when your main use it to use just the one app, would playing with the "limit background processes", "force gpu rendering" and other options I perhaps have not considered help with the performance of the app in question (even if its at the cost of having a slower tablet in general due to having to load up processes on the fly rather than having them stored in RAM)?
Would this also help with resource intensive games?
I already turn all the animation options off, have a plain background and limit the number of widgets on my homescreens in order to free up as much as possible for my art apps in question.
I also use Greenify to limit apps opening on their own accord and use a gaming booster than shuts down other background apps and stops them opening when said art apps are in use.
I used to OC, but have gone back to 1600mhz and 533mhz for the CPU and GPU respectively having had concerns with how hot my tablet gets in the edge of the screen under load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use any apps for drawing and rendering. But, within the last month, I have noticed a huge improvement in performance swapping out my class 10 SD card for a professional quality 633x SD card. I would think any card capable of both 65+ MB/s read and write should help with bottle necks. Though you want to set your app to use the SD card for saving, as it will utilize caching to SD card. I have setup my device to point to SD card for most all app saves and caching. Some apps will use system cache, so unless you are able to tweak further, there is no way to unlimit stock caching. Though I do have trickster mod (Though it is very limited with stock ROM), and found bumping from 128 read ahead cache to 256 to 384, as it seems best with how I utilized my ultra fast SD card. Also you may set the Governor as well, but I have a feeling that is pretty much the same as what you are doing in Greenify. As for antivirus apps, they all have some ways of checking what is going on. If you can temporarally disable and test it may help.

G4 Core Configuration Q

Hi i was wondering, i was observing some games and app usage of the cpu cores, as u know there are small and big cores.
I noticed big cores got barely used, and almost all Kernel tweaks recognize only the 1.44GHZ cores.
I was wondering is there a way to force big cores to be used first? or probably we need to wait for a custom Kernel?
Also those of u who run PPSSPP emulator, will notice that multithreading decrease performance substantially, that due to inability of the emulator to use the right cores...
I think some lag of the games/software are as direct results of using invalid core config.

Apps Only Use 3 CPU Cores?

Hello, I've been trying for a while to make sense of some behavior I didn't expect. No matter what workload I throw at this device it will only fully load CPU cores 1-3, leaving core 4 mostly unused. I have a CPU monitor app on at all times in the notification bar (I use the open source "CPU Stats" app) which allows me to see this happening in real time. Some examples: AnTuTu benchmark will light up 3 cores but the 4rth will be nearly idle resulting in 75%-80% CPU usage. BOINC research app will allow me to run 4 jobs at once but only uses 3 cores no matter the setting. Using Termux to run ffmpeg and transcode 4k video only uses 3 cores. But, and this struck me as interesting, installing large apps from the Play Store will briefly provoke that fourth core into action and can sometimes result in 100% CPU usage. Going into free window mode and resizing and dragging windows quickly can result in momentary 100% usage. I wonder if the system has reserved core 4 for itself? Is this a thing? If I use Kernel Auditor to shut down core 4 then 1-3 still easily ramp up to 100%, as will cores 1 & 2 if I shut down 3 & 4. If I shut down 2 & 3 then core 1 easily goes to 100% and 4 still refuses to do so unless handling a system workload. I used to think I had a bum core but it can be provoked into use by the system so I now think it's been reserved somehow.
Kinda wish I could override it. I'd like to transcode on 4 cores, for example. By the way, the 3 cores match or slightly exceed the 4 cores in the Pixel-xs for some ffmpeg commands, and run away with it over time because the phone throttles.
Anyone else seeing this? Am I on to something, do I have a bum device, am I nuts?
It's because the apps are programmed to use that many core. Simple apps can actually get away with with only 1 core being used. On those apps that need to run on multiple cores, it's actually very difficult to design the program efficiently. In short, more cores utilized = more difficult to program.
Even if you have multiple programs open at the same time, you only have 1 program that has focus at each given moment. Then what you're most likely experiencing is that threads from other programs are suspended, so your cores get utilized by only that program which has focus.

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