yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Silverspitz:
My understanding of what test builds are for

For those who missed the whole point of this test build flashing exercise, I hope I can enlighten you guys. From my understanding:

1. r53 uses hotpluging improvement that turns on/off cores based on load. This is the original Franco solution for minimizing battery usage without sacrificing performance. This was the goal of the many recent nightly builds, apart from fixing data drops and wakelocks. If you desperately want UV, then this build is not for you. There is a good reason why UV, being a new thing Franco has been developing, still has to "answer" some questions in his mind, and resolve "unfinished" issues with this new feature before bringing UV to the nightly. So in due time, it is ready when it is ready.

2. r61-test primarily has all 4 cores online, but uses powerstates with is more battery friendly than hotplugging. This is a relatively new idea, that is why this is in the test build. So flashing-trigger-happy dudes can try out if it really does have greater performance and response than hotplugging. Since it will really take time to turn cores on or off, having all cores online all the time is really an advantage in performance. So Franco is waiting for feedback if this performance increase is really a battery friendly solution. Like other test builds, Franco releases these things so he can get "answers" which he will consolidate in all to make another impressive improvement in the nightlies. It just so happens that Franco also used this opportunity window to bring out UV and get answers in that aspect as well. So flash away and give feedback, that's the whole point.

3. r62-test is basically a r61-test replica in terms of configurations in the governor except, that only two cores will be online all the time except during boot. The whole point is to check whether in the powerstate implementation, will using 2 less cores do have a "significant" difference in the battery. I think, Franco is thinking that if the difference is so negligible, we can expect four-cores-always-online type of thing in the next nightly. Otherwise, it could be a mixture of powerstates and dynamic ramping of two extra cores when needed, I don't know, I'm not a kernel developer to know how these are implemented, but I do get the essence of this whole exercise. So r62-test being 2 cores only, doesn't mean 2 cores is always better and "The Right" solution than 4. Neither is 62-test a definite improvement over 4 cores, or that Franco Kernel will always have 2 cores forever from now on, turning our N4 into a "lesser" beast whose purpose of existence is defeated, of course not!

Whether there are advantages or disadvantages between r61-test and r62-test, the point of the test build is to be tested, the point is for us to know, enumerate and qualify the differences in this forum. So Franco can get the answers he needs from these two test builds and come up with best configuration/setup he sees fit for the next nightly. I hope I'm correct in this.

Happy flashing everyone!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] TeddyBeers:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Just went to r62 from r53

2 cores online - sems te bo all the time when screen on

2 cores offline all the time

In my opinion phone response much quicker.

Aps start much quicker. App drawer to.

I'm not an mobile gamer so can't test full performance.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Diamondback:
So please do us a favor, leave this thread to increase the SNR.

Apparently you aren't one of the "advanced users that give reliable feedback" either.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Taxiback:
I don't claim to be, unlike some here. Oh look, some of them have thanked you, how sweet. :)

How come Mods leave pointless posts like your own in the thread when they have nothing to do with the development of the kernel? Fishing for thank you's maybe?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] republicano:
just tried r62 from r34 and only using 2 cores so it doesn't spike the other is what you would expect with efficiency, when you play with the settings, the 4 cores enables and will throttle great for gtavc but idle on 4, but 2 cores will park after display off over 5 seconds, gaming decreases performance.

the previous kernel i tested (r34) with the app updated (8.5), you could modify the core thresholds buts it wouldn't enable the other two cores so it was stuck like r62, i restored to app 8.3.5 and all was fine.

after core management is resolved, you want to create desktop shortcuts of power modes so you can enable casual and gaming modes (2-4 cores) without going into the app for convenience.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] spaxx24:
No ****.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] bleuf1sh:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

lolz...

sent from my r53-Franco nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] peschka:
OK ... just flashed r62. No problem with cores - 2 online nonstop. I cant say much about the battery but its deffinetely better solution than hotplugging 1 core and I'll give you example ... nothing in the UI can't make use of 4 cores. I installed PerfMon and from my tests some things like lockscreen, pie controls (on the PA rom), scrolling next launcher 3D cube and etc. makes use of the 2nd core. So the conclusion is that we deff. need 2 cores online nonstop for the UI. If there is someone here that is well known with PC overclock will understand me when I say using addressing 4 cores always make device slower for low priority tasks(same with RAM 4x1GB always lack performance than 2x2GB). My point is that the best solution will be r62 + hotplugging to 4 cores only in gaming (go_highspeed 98 or something like this).
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] chrisgtl:
I'm with you on this one! The amount of heavy petting that goes on here is getting to a AV-Forum standard (and I really didn't think that was possible).

Maybe we just have quite a few 'short-people' here. ;)

Shame franco doesn't announce more on his Google+ because I'd much prefer to use that when catching up with test builds/useful information.

#stopthedriblecampaign
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Taxiback:
I hoped it would get back to normal now the schools are back, I guess they let them use their phones in class. :)
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] undercover:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Best source of entertainment on N4 forum this thread is.

Jeez, why don't you go vent somewhere else people? If I was franco I'd lock this thread and just post updated links.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] dario3040:
That doesn't make much sense.

Having a 2x2 setup of ram in a computer might make it faster because you would be using two memory channels, otherwise there would be no difference between 2x2 and 1x4. There only benefit you get when you disable two of the cores is improved battery life.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Taxiback:
Great idea. 99% of posts in this thread should be in a discussion thread, but franco doesn't want one of them!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] noneabove:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

One of the reasons I chose Franco is that he's here talking with us, even when the thread gets frustrating. I think what would really help would be a Franco IRC chat where people could get live support by people who feel like helping and dealing with that kinda stuff
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] kyokeun1234:
Let's stop clogging up the thread and let's go back to topic :)

During 6 hours of heavy usage, my Nexus 4 w/ Franco r62 didn't die (It was around 60%). I think the battery life is much improved from r61, which is good. The performance isn't bad at all either. I played Temple Run 2, Hill Climb Racing, and even Shadow Gun and I'm yet to see any lag. I will test NFS Most Wanted and Dead Trigger later when I have some more time.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] peschka:
Its not about the modules. Its about channels. Looking at this ->

Memory is dual channel so using 4 cores to address in dual channel memory will have the same or even smaller performance. Everyone with r62 build try some synthetic benchmarks and you'll see that there is no difference in the points and the times.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] flxdms:
Oh yes, I'd very much like a channel dedicated to this kernel.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] dadonking:
AW: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Westwood = westwood+ ?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] peschka:
BTW franco how cores are disabled ? 2nd couple Krait completely or 1 core from each couple ? Because if you can somehow disable 1 core from each couple we will be able to UV even more ...
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Diamondback:
Nope, just a polite try to drive you away from trolling the users here.

Seems that didn't work out as intended.

So here's the non polite warning:

Stop trolling the users here and keep your non constructive post away from XDA!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] wreckone:
I'll stick will r61 until the next Franco iteration :D

It will give me a chance to compare battery life to earlier revisions.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] nellisere:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Just flashed r62, but its still behaving like r61, all 4 cores active?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] fozzie:
Re-read the last couple of pages, especially Franco's post!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] nellisere:
Thanks for the (not so useful) help, I have read back about 10 pages, have seen one person saying a cache wipe and a reboot sorted it for them, didn't for me. would be nice if you could help out and quote Franco?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] alanwyl:
Correct me if I am wrong.

I read somewhere the ram is like 1GB per couple of cores say {cpu0,cpu1}, {cpu2,cpu3} in the S4 pro

if franco disabled cpu1 and cpu3, the performance should be similar, it would still be dual channel.

but if it is cpu2 and cpu3 disabled, would that 1GB of ram be not accessible or less efficient than the above case?

---------- Post added at 09:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------

Screen off and on 2 min after boot
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] steviewevie:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=37366049
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] dario3040:
What I meant was that one stick of 4GB memory, would potentially give you less performance than two 2GB sticks.

Maybe you were talking about four x 1GB, but either way it was incorrect.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] nellisere:
Just had screen off for 10 minutes, still all 4 cores.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] tmcpnet:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Flashed #62 twice, clear appdata on franco app, rebooted, still all 4 cores online for me as well
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] fozzie:
Did you re-boot after the last bit of advice? How are you checking the core status? What apps have you got installed for managing the kernel? Franco? Faux? Trickster? Any of those have options "set on boot"? What ROM are you using?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] itpromike:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Honestly quad core isn't implemented by Android very well anyway, regardless of gaming.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] undercover:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

AFAIK it is implemented ok, but apps do not take advantage of it as of yet. We saw same thing when pc cpus came out. Programs took a while to catch up to multi threading.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] nellisere:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

I did not. I have check trickster mod and perfmon, using trickster to manage the kernel, all set on boot, and CyanogenMod 10.1 27th nightly.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] meanwhile:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Just comparing #23 and #61, funny it is, but #23 leaves #61 way behind regarding smoothness and speed

Sent from microwave
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] fozzie:
I'd start with the reboot, wait, screen off/on and recheck. Then I'd clear the Trickster app settings (from the Android app manager) and reboot, wait, screen off/on again...
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] tilllt:
Bookmarks Deleted & Battery Question

Hi People,

1. in the process of flashing between stock kernel and franco #53, my chrome bookmarks got deleted. How can that be related?

2. I really only care about Battery Life on my phone, performance is secondary. What settings would i use in #53 Kernel to make it run as long as possible (obviously doing every other energy saving setting in the OS first)?

Cheers,

t

btw. i think that #53 already bettered the battery life, cannot predict how much though. Some weird thing is, franco seems to have embedded a self-charging algorythm, so your phone charges even when its not connected to a charger. just kidding, doh. But you see the slight increasement in Battery before i connected the charger? thats extremely weird.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] trident167:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

I have noticed r61 and r62 does drain the battery slightly more than r53. Going back to r53 to play around again. In terms of smoothness, not noticing much difference from r53.

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] scream4cheese:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Your chrome bookmarks didn't get deleted. Enable sync if its disabled and they will return.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] javacody:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

If you had read back, you would see that trickster was causing this issue for another user. You would have also seen Franco respond that setting the governor turns all 4 cores on.

Maybe try searching the thread for 4 cores and trickster?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] JNewms:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

It's a little quick to pass that judgment, no? You'll need to give the kernel time to settle, like a day or so, before you are getting accurate battery readings.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] zephiK:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Stop talking about trickster. It's a mod intended to work on all kernels and is not a fully supported app for Franco kernel. That's one of the many benefits of having his app, it ensures that the app is fully compatible with the kernel and you'll get support with his apps in terms of debugging.

Contact the trickster mod development, it certainly has nothing to do with this kernel. You guys discussing trickster is like talking about pgm nexus in here. It's just a no. Take it to the trickster thread in themes and apps section.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Treatcon:
For everybody that missed it and is a non-believer :cowboy:
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Zoccat:
Antutu Benchmarks

I know Benchmarks aren't allways reliable performance indicators, but judging from guts feelings isn't either... Anyway, here's my setup for proving franco.Kernel r61 equals or even beats Stock Kernel performance.

- measured with latest AnTuTu Benchmark app 3.03 from Playstore.

- my Nexus 4 has Stock ROM Android 4.2.1, no mods, a couple of background apps running

(e.g. Nova Launcher, WidgetLocker, Light Flow, avast!, AccuWheather)

- set screen brightness to minimum, everything off except for Data/WiFi

- fsync is enabled, Logging disabled with Franco app

- Stock Kernel ist with default IO scheduler cfq, my score 17840 is in line with what AnTuTu rates "LG Nexus 4" 18096

- afterwards tested with franco Kernel r61, with different Governers and Tunables, different IO schedulers (leaving their defaults),

and with Undervolting (-125).

- the best performance results I could get with r61, were with Governor Interactive, Franco's recommended interactive Tunables,

IO Scheduler cfq, and somehow actually Undervolting -125 improved the score significantly vs. stock voltages

- fK r61, cfq, UV-125 scored 17912 (I could reproduce it with another score 17894), on par or slightly better than Stock.

but of course with much better battery life. :D

haven't tested r62 yet, will do, but don't like the concept to castrate 2 Krait cores from my Snapdragon...
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] immunityx:
Will hold off r62 dont liike the whole idea of capping my quad cord phone down to a dual core
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] calanizzle:
Wow! Finally finished up reading all the posts from last night, phone has been great on r61, flashing r62 and shall post comments!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] elliot.newnham:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Well it's only a test for now.if your willing to cripple your phone for a day and post battery results it would help!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] elite_gamer04:
I know Franco is taking a short break, but just updated to the latest version of Francois application (8.5) and when selecting a I/O Scheduler nothing changes, you can check any and it remains the same. I've cleared Apps Data and the usual but still nothing - I've had to set through CMs Performance menu for the time being.

Just me?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] zephiK:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Just you. I can change mines just fine.

You have super user updated? Especially if you're using super su

Which kernel version? Un install the app and re install the app
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] kin24173493:
need to wipe any cache b4 flash new build?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] siscim23:
No
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] richteralan:
With my preliminary impression of 2 cores:

The battery gain is just a little bit, not very significant.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] calanizzle:
I had 4 cores online, no matter what I do. I read posts back that trickstermod will do the trick after hitting "apply". Well, I did that, and phone rebooted, I lost my frozen apps and some settings, updates, etcetc but I got 2 cores now only!

I hope it's worthy lol :(
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] kin24173493:
in r62, the Epic Citadel benchmark is about 55fps. then switching to r61, the benchmark is dropped to 46fps.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] trident167:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

True on r62 but I did use it last night and into today. I have noticed that on r61 definitely.

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] calanizzle:
Massive problems with apps (due to trickster), had to factory reset and now I flashed minco + r62 from a clean install, let's see if that will push 2 cores online from the beginning!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Prod1702:
I have the same results as you on this however all the games i play on r61run smooth with no problems. I ran r62 for about 9 hours and found that during heavy things the battery dropped faster then on r61. So i am back to r61 for the time being. going to wait for the next test or nightly before trying something new.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] iammudd:
8 hrs = 10 pages of a lot of drama over a "test" build. I'd hate to see what would happen it you declared the all future builds will be 2 cores only (no more, no less). ;)

Anyhow, in 10 pages no one has commented on this bit of info. Does that mean that it would it be possible to exploit the use of, say, a fast responding gov on cpu0 and a different governor on the others? Can the kernel identify foreground / interactive / UI tasks and queue them (load permitting) on a specific cpu? (That cpu would likely be ramp to a higher freq faster thereby completing real time tasks faster.) Just thinking out loud.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] kaiser_tytnii:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

I agree and I am on 3g only. But I feel like it costs us too much in performance loss... *smoothness*
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] zephiK:
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=37376779&postcount=10060
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] drawde40599:
Install stock kernel and watch it, it cripples alot more than what franco did.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] calanizzle:
Check my previous post, I don't use trickster at all, just wanted to see if going into the app and just clicking apply will turn off 2 cores and it actually did! Since I did everything advised from other users (wipe, reflash kernel, etc).. But screwed the whole ROM/settings..

EDIT: Confirmed, only two cores online after clean install!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] richteralan:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

At the same time, the performance difference between 2 and 4 cores isn't significant either.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] tazer808:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

I guess each experiences the build a little differently. Build 62 has made even this XDA app run smoother for me. And I'm still uv'n. 57fps in epic citadel bench. Facebook is like glass smooth. Apps launch very quick. Install time for busy box even seems faster. Love the work put in by Franco and this community. Less trash talking would be nice but overall I'm enjoying the banter. Curious and anxious to see what comes next now that it seems that we have 2 cores to address... How to improve upon this dual core build... Bring the 3rd and 4th cores online with minimal power cost and increased thread balancing performance.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Ulver:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Hopefully r63 will only have 1 core!
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] scream4cheese:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

R53 is one core
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Rivermind:
It's one core with hotplugging to online additional cores when wanted/needed. No hotplugging with r61 and r62.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] kaiser_tytnii:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Agree
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] ben_pyett:
I like you the way your thinking. Although I don't know whether the system would be able to accurately identify the varying types of processes and schedule/route them accordingly. Franco said he'd be away for a few days, so I'd be tempted to re-ask this question when he returns so see if he thinks there is any potential for this idea.
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] Rafase282:
What app is that that shows the cpu info on the screen?
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] DutchDogg54:
Re: [KERNEL][GPL][N4] franco.Kernel - r53

Perfmon check it out here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1933284
[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] iammudd:
Yes, I don't understand how cpu's are assigned... but perhaps even preferring a game (by app name) to cpu0 might give smoother results for gamers.

Someone braver than I could even try that now (by echoing, say, performance governor params to /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0 while leaving other cores on conservative). They won't benefit from selective queuing but I suspect that even if all tasks were assigned randomly, they might notice a random change in UI response.

As an aside, when people debate the number of cores, they need to remember that (firstly) not every task lends itself to parallelism ... plus there is a cost in managing parallelism. (An exaggerated example: If you had infinite cores but you were to force to initialize ALL of them first, your net productivity is 0.)

IF there were a task that could be split into 4 parallel tasks, it is possible that the 4 separate tasks MAY run at the lowest speed on each core. 1512 / 384 = 3.94 which means the original single task could be completed in nearly the same amount of real-time.

Performance will be subjective so participate in testing if you like but there's no point in deciding ahead of time that a certain implementation strategy is a deal-breaker. (For example, based on prior reading alone, who would have expected conservative to rival interactive?)