auto-cpufreq: dynamically adjusting CPU frequency
auto-cpufreq optimizes CPU frequency and reacts quite fast. It’s great for stretching battery life on a Linux laptop.
In my case, I use it to keep my small home server at a milder temperature, and in practice I haven’t noticed any real impact. There’s a bit of latency when the machine is “cold” and I suddenly start some heavy process, like opening an SSH+mosh+zsh session.
Installation
git clone https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/auto-cpufreq.git
cd auto-cpufreq
sudo ./auto-cpufreq-installer
Track CPU core frequency and temperature with the following command
sudo auto-cpufreq --monitor
Since it runs as a service, the usual systemctl commands work
systemctl status auto-cpufreq
Raspberry Pi
It’s a shame auto-cpufreq only supports x86 processors. It would be very useful for the Raspberry Pi.
For the Raspberry, I’m currently downclocking by adjusting config.txt, mainly because of temperature and because I don’t need much processing power.