Questions about power-profiles-daemon configuration after switching from TLP

General system
1

Hi,

I ended up switching from from TLP to power-profiles-daemon based on the new dependencies for Gnome. After searching through the forums I have two questions I’d like some feedback on:

(1) When you use TLP, you have the option to have your bluetooth radio turned off by default on boot (in my case to save power). I can easily use the Gnome settings to turn on the radio on when I need it.

What is the best approach to have Gnome shut off the bluetooth radio after the system boots?

(2) I noticed that on my laptop (Think T450) that when I run the powerprofilesctl list, there appears to be no drivers chosen for power management. I thought this should say intel_pstate as I have an intel processor.

powerprofilesctl list
* balanced:
    Driver:     placeholder

  power-saver:
    Driver:     placeholder

I did verify the power-profiles-daemon.service was running.

systemctl status power-profiles-daemon.service
● power-profiles-daemon.service - Power Profiles daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/power-profiles-daemon.service; disabled; v>
     Active: active (running) since Mon 2022-01-24 12:15:21 EST; 7s ago
   Main PID: 10697 (power-profiles-)
      Tasks: 4 (limit: 19032)
     Memory: 1.2M
        CPU: 23ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/power-profiles-daemon.service
             └─10697 /usr/lib/power-profiles-daemon

Jan 24 12:15:21 mani systemd[1]: power-profiles-daemon.service: Deactivated successfull>
Jan 24 12:15:21 mani systemd[1]: Stopped Power Profiles daemon.
Jan 24 12:15:21 mani systemd[1]: Starting Power Profiles daemon...
Jan 24 12:15:21 mani systemd[1]: Started Power Profiles daemon.

Source:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/CPU_frequency_scaling

2 
 » powerprofilesctl --help   
Usage:
  powerprofilesctl COMMAND [ARGS…]

Commands:
  help       Print help
  version    Print version
  get        Print the currently active power profile
  set        Set the currently active power profile
  list       List available power profiles
  list-holds List current power profile holds
  launch     Launch a command while holding a power profile

Use “powerprofilesctl help COMMAND” to get detailed help.
3

Hmm. Reading though

it kind of looks like the application for power-profiles-daemon is actually quite limited (like, only recent Intel CPUs).

I wonder if this is the type of device that all GNOME etc. developers have - same as back when they assumed everyone had SSDs and so removed things like preload or other HDD performance improvement tweaks from systemd (?).

My Ryzen is running with schedutil no matter what GNOME’s power settings says, so I guess that’s fine.

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4

I have something that works for me. Not sure if it is the best way or the orthodox way of doing it.

I have disabled bluetooth.service altogether.

Then I have made the following aliases:

alias bl-on='sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service'
alias bl-off='sudo systemctl stop bluetooth.service'

For not having to type in my password, I have the system to run /usr/bin/systemctl without asking for the password.

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5

Thanks for sharing your findings. So … my backup laptop is a T470s, and as you mentioned it recognized ( Driver: intel_pstate). So this is definitely food for thought.

What are your thoughts in running TLP on older Intel and AMD computers?

As I read through (https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/hadess/power-profiles-daemon/-/issues) I get this impression that power-profiles-daemon will not be able to do anything to improve power usage when switching between AC and Battery where there is no recognized driver.

6

I do not think that it is needed to show a driver to have PPD working on my system it does also not show a proper driver and the profiles work as they should… i can see that on temperature and CPU Frequencies.
But if you like TLP and it is working for you go for TLP!

You can simply mask PPD service as it is a dependency for GNOME now you can not uninstall it.

7

Ah. So that is why some people are masking the “power-profiles-daemon.service” . I’m definitely fine with switching away from TLP.

Pretty much I don’t want to run too much of a specialized setup. I try to keep things simple so I won’t be tinkering (espcially since I have 2 non technical parents who now run EndeavourOS instead of Windows). I blame @jonathon … LOL.

Thanks everyone for sharing your expertise and advice.

8

:dizzy: :heart_eyes:

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9

What do you tell your parents then when they ask a question? just sudo it! :laughing:

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10

MOM! RTMFM :vulcan_salute:

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11

Check the mirrors!

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