I have Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz × 8 process which has 4 physical cores and 4 logical cores.
Most of the time i been on AskUbuntu, Watching videos, Basically no processor hungry stuff.
So I was thinking to take cores offline but i have few question, I know i can take the core offline
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu7/online
1
echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu7/online
So my question is:
- Is it safe to take core/cores offline ?
- Is it possible that my app crash ?
- Does taking the cores offline save power ( On battery ) ?
Best Answer
Some people will argue that changing or modifying anything related to the CPU is not a good thing. Well if that's the case, then there would be no overclocking. I think that you can disable of one or more of the cores in the CPU. I know that it can be done in windows, so there has to be a way to do it in Linux.
Now personally, I think that only advanced users attempt doing such things to the CPU, and the system for that matter. Because any small mistake can render the system useless. So any modifications of this sort, should be done with complete caution.
By default Intel processors, have some technologies built in that help in saving power, such as:
As mentioned above, be careful when dealing with such settings.
For the Procedure when using Linux see Multicore CPU: how to disable a core
Source: Intel
Source: Multicore CPU: how to disable a core