stochasticflux

AMD 64 k10 temperature module in Ubuntu

Pallo has a great post on the Ubuntu mailing list on how to install the temperature module for new AMD 64 bit processors (link).  The issue is that every time the kernel is updated the module needs to be rebuilt as well.  I therefore wrote a quick bash script to download the necessary code, compile the module, and install it in the correct location.  You need to have the linux-source package installed along with the typical build tools.

#!/bin/bash

# Get the code for the k10 temperature module
wget http://lists.lm-sensors.org/pipermail/lm-sensors/attachments/20080718/d51be536/attachment.bin

# Create a directory for the module to be built in
mkdir k10temp && mv attachment.bin k10temp/k10temp.c
cd k10temp

# Create the make file
echo ‘obj-m := k10temp.o’ > Makefile
echo ‘KDIR := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build’ >> Makefile
echo ‘PWD := $(shell pwd)’ >> Makefile
echo ‘default:’ >> Makefile
echo ‘$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) SUBDIRS=$(PWD) modules’ >> Makefile

# Compile the module
make -C /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build M=$(pwd) modules

# Insert the module and store it with the rest of the modules
sudo insmod k10temp.ko
sudo cp k10temp.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/hwmon
sudo depmod

# Add k10temp to /etc/modules if not there so it will start at boot
if grep -q k10temp /etc/modules
then
echo ‘k10temp already in /etc/modules’
else
sudo echo ‘k10temp’ >> /etc/modules
echo ‘k10temp added to /etc/modules’
fi

# Remove the temporary files
cd ..
rm -r k10temp

10 comments June 18th, 2009

Linux vs. OS X on a Macbook

About a year ago I decided to finally pick up a laptop to more easily facilitate bringing my work home. After looking around at the options that were available I ended up with a Macbook. It simply appeared to be the cheapest solution given the specifications I wanted in a 13″ notebook. For the first year I worked with OS X as I didn’t have the time to fiddle with Ubuntu to get everything working properly. Though now with the upcoming release of Gusty Gibbon I decided to give the improved laptop support a shot. I and I have to say I am really excited. Nearly everything worked right out of the box, it was even easy to setup my apple bluetooth mouse and keyboard. My only grips are the overly sensitive touchpad (this supposedly can be fixed through adjusting the settings) and the lack of automatic recognition of external monitor’s resolution.

Though I digress, the point of this post is that I have seen a number of discussions that Linux on the Macbook appears to be more responsive. The Macbook is a great platform and is extremely fast when completing regular tasks under OS X or Ubuntu so I didn’t want to just speculate on performance. Instead, I wanted to actually measure the difference in performance. For me, the vast majority of my processor intensive computing is done via MATLAB and therefore this is where I looked for a performance comparison.

For reference I have a 2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo Macbook with 2 GB of RAM. I started up each operating system and right off of the back ran MATLAB 7.4 R2007a and the following benchmark code:

x = bench(10); mean(x)

Output under OS X:

ans =

0.3091 0.4460 0.3285 1.4133 1.0258 0.4507

Output under Ubuntu 7.10

ans =

0.3037 0.4127 0.2488 0.5628 0.4634 0.4018

As may be clearly seen, MATLAB under Ubuntu on the Macbook outperformed the MATLAB instillation on OS X. I have yet to fully test out the performance when running some of my current research but these benchmarks provide some hope that I may spend less time waiting.

Add comment October 11th, 2007

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS CDs Arrive

Waiting for me today when I got home was a nice surprise, the new Dapper CDs from Canonical. It appears as if the ShipIt service has gotten better along with the distribution. This is the first time I got the correct order fully intact, it was also the quickest I have recieved an order yet. They were also kind enough to throw in some sweet Ubuntu stickers!

Add comment July 5th, 2006