Is there a reason a laptop would run cooler with XP than with WIN2K?

[tnitsuj]

I have a couple of identical Alienware laptops at work big ass ones with 3.06ghz desktop processors, 2 hard drives, 2 dvd drives, big video card etc. The ones that the company loads with Win2k are super hot, they put out tons of heat. The one that is loaded up with the Windows XP that Alienware shipped it with is noticably cooler. It just does not seem to put out as much heat. Is there a reason for that?

 

[corkyg]

It is possible that one has Intel's speed stepping software that runs in XP and not in W2K. It adjusts the speed ofthe CPU when sensed heat or when on battery dictates it.

 

[Brentx]

The speedstep software is usually independent of the OS, because the laptop usualy controls the speed of the CPU by a chip on the motherboard. However when you reload Win2k on those laptops, there may be a peice of software you are missing. Try looking at intel.com and look for some software for stepping down CPU speed.

 

[corkyg]

Exactly. I was alluding to the possibility that the Speed Step drivers/program may not have been installed in the W2K switchover. Even a reinstall of XP requires reinstall of Speed Step. It is not automatic.

 

[Nothinman]

The speedstep software is usually independent of the OS, because the laptop usualy controls the speed of the CPU by a chip on the motherboard

Sort of. The hardware can do the frequency stepping for you, but it doesn't have to and can cause problems if the OS doesn't know that it's going to happen. For instance, I have Debian on my laptop and the CPU runs at the frequency I tell it no matter what.

 

[xtknight]

Both are ACPI compliant operating systems so I doubt there'd be a difference. I think the power management settings are the same but of course I could be wrong.

 

[ivwshane]

Power managment is more than just the power settings that you can see and play with. The OS plays a big roll in how it handles hardware and power. Update the win2k systems to xp and you will see the difference.