User-Driven Frequency Scaling

Abstract-- We propose and evaluate User-Driven Frequency Scaling (UDFS) for improved power management on processors that support Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS), e.g, those used in current laptop and desktop computers. UDFS dynamically adapts CPU frequency to the individual user and the workload through a simple user feedback mechanism, unlike currently-used DVFS methods which rely only on CPU utilization. Our UDFS algorithms dramatically reduce typical operating frequencies while maintaining performance at satisfactory levels for each user. We evaluated our techniques through user studies conducted on a Pentium M laptop running Windows applications. The UDFS scheme reduces measured system power by 22.1%, averaged across all our users and applications, compared to the Windows XP DVFS scheme.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: CAL
• Authors: Arindam Mallik, Bin Lin, Gokhan Memik, Peter A. Dinda, Robert P. Dick
• Keywords: CAL 2006, CAL 2008, Frequency Scaling, Typical Operating Frequencies, User Feedback Mechanism