CPU Scaling Patch or The SmartReflex Patch: Which one is for you?

By
Max Kanter
Published: November 24, 2009
preware_2009-24-11_175326 vs.preware_2009-24-11_175137

By now you have probably read the countless articles or threads about the CPU scaling patches or the SmartReFlex patch. So the question in everyone’s head is, which one is right for me? Well the answer is not really black or white. It could be either one or none at all. Just don’t install both at the same time! I decided to run a test for myself to see if either choice would work for me. After running two of the four patches I have concluded that for myself, neither is really worth it. That doesn’t mean others shouldn’t try out the patches to see what they like. In the following article, I will provide you with my overall thoughts on the two patches I have installed, along with what problems and upgrades I saw in my Palm Pre’s performance. Hopefully this article will help you make an informed decision.

I just want to stress that the results that I saw in my Palm Pre, does not make it the same for all



First, let’s go over what the differences are in the two patches:

SmartReflex is a technology by TI that’s built into the chipset that dynamically lowers voltage occurred in the website.

CPU scaling, instead, sets the maximum CPU speed to your choice, (500mHz to 600mHz); this will dynamically change the clock speed based on initial load, from 250mHz to 600mHz. When you overclock your CPU to 600mHz you have the possibility to speed up the aging process of your chip.

{I decided to test out both the SmartReflex 500mHz patch and the CPU scaling 500mHz patch. I thought it would be smart not to overwork the chip at the moment seeing as my pre moves pretty fast with either of these patches.}

My process:

First I install the SmartReflex 600mHz patch. I did a complete shutdown along with taking the battery out completely before restarting. Once I got up and running I did not notice any difference in bring up the launcher pages. The launcher pages scrolled and moved in the same speed they had before. After that, I had decided to bring up the apps in which I use daily. I ran the following: messaging, email, phone, web, calendar, agenda, drpodder, preware, quick contacts, photos and navigation. I did notice a small increase in the opening of the applications but nothing to write home about. So I decided to run a test and open each application one after other to see if I could notice an improvement there. I can say that there was an increase in speed on opening an app if you have multiple apps open. I had no problem moving between 15 apps. Performance was better overall on the web also. Some pages loaded faster but that could have been because of my WiFi or EVDO connection rates.

Negative aspects for the SmartReFlex:

For the two days I ran this patch I did have to restart my Pre at least twice due to it freezing in certain spots, which meant taking out the battery and restarting completely. I also noticed when running multiple apps my battery ran down faster then normal, due to the CPU running at 600mHz instead of the stock 500mHz.

Decision for the SmartReFlex:

The conclusion I gathered for the SmartReflex is that with the 600mHz you will see an increase in performance and a small increase in battery life while the pre is not in use. The down side is that the battery will drain faster if your chip is performing at 600mHz. The battery life is really a flip of the coin depending on how you are using your Pre that day.

Next I installed the CPU Scaling 600mHz patch. From the beginning I had problems. I had to reboot my phone at least twice and pull the battery to get my phone reloaded. Upon running the CPU patch I did feel the pre was snappier and I didn’t see any delay. Battery life was a touch better than before. I also noticed that the apps opened up faster and it was easier moving between multiple apps.

Decision for the CPU scaling patch:

Overall, I used the CPU scaling patch for a total of 9 hrs and did not like the way my Pre was handling it. Since I had to perform multiple resets of my Pre, this patch did not seem like the one for me.

If I had to choose a patch, I would say that I preferred the SmartReflex 600mHz to the CPU scaling 600mHz after testing both out. With both patches you should see an increase in battery life while the Pre is in stand-by mode. While using apps and browsing the web speed in the applications will be better however, battery life will decease faster with the chip running at 600mHz. I have decided, after using both patches, my Pre will be sticking to the stock chip speed and scaling, instead of an upgrade. I for one did not notice a big enough speed boost or greater battery life to out-weigh the freezing and resets that occurred with either patch running.