Over a month ago in my post on the Intel SU2300, I promised I would create a simplified guide to installing and configuring CrystalCPUID. Well, it took a lot longer than I had hoped, but here it is!
CrystalCPUID is a lovely little piece of free software that can allow you to really, severely underclock your processor. We’re not talking SpeedStep underclock here – we’re talking running your 1.2GHz processor at 98 MHz.
That may sound a bit crazy, but it is apparently quite possible since I’ve done it myself on my little SU2300-powered lappy. My battery life jumped from 3 hours and 50 minutes to a whopping 7 hours. Of course, if I start watching videos or something, the processor jumps back up in clock speed, thereby draining the battery faster and reducing battery life. But if I’m just reading a PDF or something or surfing the web over ethernet, well, who needs their processor cranking along at anywhere near full speed?
So, without further ado, this is how you get CrystalCPUID working on your machine to extend your battery life!
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Scottie Computers battery life, laptop
That's one SASSY laptop!
Back in the day, it was easy to select a portable computer. There was only one size: big suitcase. At that time, Apple’s portable computer was called the Macintosh Boulder, and it only weighed 1,264 ounces. Running through the airport with one of these “portable” devices was a lot of fun. Yes, life was good.
Fast forward a few decades, and laptops were just lower-powered portable computers. Then, a few years ago, something odd happened: everyone started demanding “desktop replacement laptops”. In short, everyone wanted a laptop that could do everything their desktop machine could do. The end result was a wide variety of laptops which were very powerful, but they suffered from poor battery life given the myriad of high-powered features packed inside them, like graphics chips that could let you play games on your laptop.
Enter the netbook: small, light, with up to 10 hours of battery life. But, they’re a bit on the slow side.
And today? Well, today we are on the verge of seeing a whole slew of new laptops with CULV processors. They’re going to be thin and light and have “long” battery lives… or so we’re told.
So, what the heck are you supposed to buy? Well, that depends on what you need and want. But hopefully, it will all be a bit more clear in a few minutes…
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Scottie Computers laptop, netbook
Most people are not technically inclined, at least not to the extent that they know how to repair their own computers. When something goes wrong, the average Joe or Josephine must rely on “techies” to fix things up.
Some people simply call the company from which they purchased their computer. That’s easy enough, although I could tell you horror stories about the outsourced tech support many companies provide. Another option is to visit one’s local “computer shop”. Usually it’s the kind of place that’s family owned and operated. They usually sell components, build their own machines to sell, and service anything that’s brought in to them. They’re everywhere.
The problem is – as if the Big Name Manufacturer tech support wasn’t bad enough – many of these Mom and Pop places really have no idea what they’re doing. Or, they just want to rip you off.
Here’s a little story to illustrate my point.
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Scottie Computers laptop, tech support
