How much can I underclock amd geode gx500 processor?

[IZAI]

Hey everyone ... +,

I am currently trying to find out how slow one can underclock a webdt tablet with an amd geode gx500 366mhz processor. I think its pci/fsbus is 33/66 mhz if that matters.

The lower speed the better ... as long as it's still capable of word processing. It's for an electrically sensitive friend of mine. Alot of people think it's psychosomatic, but he can actually feel fluxuations in em frequency. Higher frequencies give him head-aches.

Is the cpu capable of going lower than the fs or pci buses? Can the buses be slowed?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Izai +.

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

how about a pen and paper? might be safer.... their life must be hell, seeing as electromagnetic radiation completely surrounds us from one source or another, at all sorts of frequencies...

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[FredWagner]

some people actually feel or hear physical vibration at higher pitches than most of us, but since others can't sense them, we think they're sensing electrical fields. See if one of those nifty 'gel' protective covers for the unit makes a difference.
When I was younger I could hear the horizontal sweep on Tube TV's - 15.25khz, which was made physical by the flyback transformer that upped the output of the tube to the Kilovolt range for the deflection coils. Or I might been gettings something from the coils, but I heard it as a very high pitched squeal. Some CRT computer monitors squeal at me too. Flat panel LCD screens are a blessing for me.
A soft protective cover for the back and sides of the tablet unit, or a transparent 'screen guard' shield might reduce the transmission of very high-pitched physical vibrations.

Fred Wagner

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

indeed a dodgy flyback (the vibration between the two ferrites) I can totally concur with as I have issues with them as well...

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[FredWagner]

IZAI - your friend very likely just has excellent hearing - very sensitive to higher pitches that are inaudible to most humans - humans with this sensitivity hear frequencies that animals and birds do. My wife has this even more than I do. When we first married, I traded my C-soprano sax (which was a novelty item anyway) for an Alto flute, which was much more mellow. A classmate of mine in flying school was almost eliminated because he got airsick every flight (we were in T-37 jets) until the flight surgeons did some extensive hearing tests, and it was a whine from the engines that most of us couldn't hear that was getting to him. Better earplugs solved the problem. He didn't realize he was hearing something, just knew that he felt sick in the plane, and they duplicated it in the hearing test chamber.
For the tablet PC issue, if a soft plastic cover doesn't solve the issue, you may want to have him go shopping at an emporium with a wider variety of tablet PCs, and let him see which one gives him the best comfort level. Some stores (Fry's Electronics in our area) sell high-end Audio gear as well as computer equipment, and will have a listening room for the audio. I think the tablet sales reps might be willing to let your friend evaluate the tablet candidates in the audio demo room once you explain the situation.

Fred Wagner

 

[IZAI]

Hey ... +,

Thanks for the responses. Ummm ... without gettin' into it too much,many other options have been tried, and although high pitch hearing seems to go hand in hand with electrical sensitivity in some cases ... this has been tested and is for certain an electrical sensitivity issue(particularly to em frequencies above approximately 20 mhz).

What I'm needin' to know is how low I can get the frequency on this particular processor. The reasons for this particular tablet are many, but I don't want to take the discussion onto those tangents quite yet.


Izai +.

 

[rclarke250]

I don't think the frequency can be adjusted, I believe it is locked. As this is a tablet, there are very minimal things that can be changed in bios, if any at all. Also, you realize that anything running on the system would be running slower also as a result of running the cpu at a lower clock. And if you were able to under clock the system significantly you could make the system unusable.

 

[IZAI]

+,

I've seen it clocked down to 62%. These type of embedded devices often are capable of clocking down to 33% or beyond to keep power usage and temperature down(they have no fan). I'm pretty sure this device can clock down to 66 mhz and easily have all the simpler functions. 66 or 33 mhz may be its limit, unless you can additionally slow the clock rate for the pci or fs bus. All the megahertzs really needed for the OS and word processing is probably only around 8 or less(an advantage of handhelds and embedded chipsets).

I need someone who is familiar with either this processor or ACPI 1.0 with which it is configured to solve this quest.

Although my research has already gone past the scope of this last reply, I'm still grateful people are bothering in the first place ... so thanks.

Izai +.

 

[biglebowski]

Build a faraday cage/case for the laptop.

Biglebowskis Razor - with all things being equal if you still can't find the answer have a shave and go down the pub.

 

[FredWagner]

biglebowski -
it's a tablet! touch screens aren't going to work very well with wire-mesh gloves.... back to the pub!

Fred Wagner