Native SpeedStep + Sleep/Wake on Core2Duo D430

[Hervé]

Last updated 13 May 2014
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For those who would be interested, here are details to get & monitor native SpeedStep + stable  Sleep/Wake on C2D Latitude D430 (tested on my U7700-based own model). The process consists of:

• replace existing FakeSMC kext (4.0 in most cases) with attached tuned-up version (based on Kozlek's 5.2.678 32/64bit)
• remove NullCPUPowerManagement + SleepEnabler + PState + CPUMonitor kexts
• remove PStateMenu utility
• keep VoodooTSCSync kext  (this is critical or your laptop will run like a dead dog, thanks for the info Bronx Teck)
• activate CPU P-States & C-States generation at bootloader level
• use MacBook5,1 profile
• run HWMonitor tool to monitor CPU T° and frequency

 

This basically makes use of MacBook5,1 SMBios and SMC value 1.32f8. Initially, MacBookAir3,1 (C2D SU9400 1.4GHz CPU) SMBIOS profile was used, but it turned out it was not supporting the full frequency range of the D430 CPU and it was not working under SL either. With MB5,1 profile, there is no issue at all.
 
1) EDP-based method:

• place attached FakeSMC kext in /Extra/include/Extensions
• modify Chameleon boot plist to select P & C states, then copy it + MB5,1 SMBios plist to /Extra/include
• do a System Build for Dell D430 with the following settings and reboot:

• in Kext/Drivers tab, select FakeSMC 5.x.xxx (Rehabman ...) / FakeSMC 6.x.xxx or whichever version is offered these days (it does not matter because EDP will not use that kext but the one you previously placed in /Extra/include/Extensions), the rest can be left as listed or changed according to your own wishes or needs
• in CPU & Power tab, set Install VoodooTSCsync to ON and all the rest to OFF
• in the other tabs, default options can be left as provided

2) Manual method:

• place the attached tuned-up FakeSMC kext in /E/E, replacing any existing version
• delete any existing CPUMonitor / VoodooPState / NullCPUPowerManagement / SleepEnabler kexts from /E/E
• delete any existing PStateMenu plist from /Library/LaunchAgents
• place the attached MB5,1 SMBios plist in /Extra
• edit the boot plist with Chameleon Wizard to select P & C states generation, as pictured below
• run myFix (quick) and reboot

 

After reboot, copy HWMonitor application to Applications folder then start it. Click on the HWMonitor menu bar icon, go to Preferences by clicking on the Gear icon in top right corner and select Start HWMonitor at login in General tab. Keep update checking turned off. You can then adjust/modify displayed information in Menubar tab through drag & drop of individual monitored components.
 
HWMonitor application is completely optional but very useful to monitor CPU T° and SpeedStep. Under Snow Leopard, use HWMonitor v2.3.20 as more recent versions are unsupported.
 
You'll know it works if you see fluctuation of CPU multiplier and frequency. For instance, on a U7700 CPU @1.33GHz with FSB 533MHz, you can expect the following steps:

• x6 -> 798MHz
• x7 -> 931MHz
• x8 -> 1.06GHz
• x9 -> 1.20GHz
• x10 -> 1.33GHz

 

You should now enjoy native SpeedStep, lower CPU T° (?) and, probably, improved overall responsiveness. I do!
 

 

Sleep & Wake will work properly and totally stable as long as a System password has been set in BIOS setup.
 
FakeSMC_v5.2.678_32:64bit.kext.zip

smbios_MB5,1.plist.zip

HWMonitor_v5.2.678.zip

HWMonitor_v2.3.20(SL).zip
 
This was tested successfully under Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Lion 10.7.5 & ML 10.8.4/10.8.5 (MLPF).
 
PS1: This is totally similar to what was published in the article about native SpeedStep (with examples provided for D630 and D830). See here. The main difference here is that VoodooTSCsync must be retained with GM945 chipset. As such, this particular process also applies to D420, D520, D620 and D820 laptops for instance.

 

[Chero]

This one was easy to follow ! Thanks for the tutorial.

I now have Lion with native speedstep working on an old lappie I rescued from the dust bin at work !

 

Before I installed native speedstep I had some troubles with youtube, now it seems to work fine.

 

I'm impressed what this little baby can do and how it's still able to keep up with new computers nowadays. I mostly use it for mail and some office apps, so I guess I can keep it going for another year or two ...

 

Have fun,

Chero