How to Override hwp-internal as CPU Governor in QubesOS?

User Support General
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Hey everyone! :blush:

I’ve been trying to gain full control over my CPU frequency scaling in QubesOS, but I’m stuck with hwp-internal as the governor. No matter what I try, Xen (or the kernel) keeps forcing hwp-internal, preventing me from manually setting CPU frequencies.

:hammer_and_wrench: What I’ve Tried So Far:

:white_check_mark: Disabled Turbo Boost using xenpm disable-turbo-mode 0-15 – Worked fine.
:x: Set max frequency with xenpm set-scaling-maxfreq – Ignored, still running at max clock.
:x: Added hwp=0 to Xen GRUB parameters – No effect, still stuck on hwp-internal.

:question: My Question:

:point_right: Is it possible to fully disable or override hwp-internal so I can manually control CPU scaling?
:point_right: Or is my CPU locked into hwp-internal with no way to change it in QubesOS?

:desktop_computer: System Specs:

  • QubesOS Version: 4.2 (R4.2)
  • Kernel Version: 6.6.77-1.qubes.fc37.x86_64
  • Scaling Driver: hwp-cpufreq
  • Current Governor: hwp-internal
  • CPU Model: GenuineIntel 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12650H

If anyone has experience dealing with this in QubesOS/Xen, I’d really appreciate any guidance! :pray::fire:

Thanks in advance!

1 Like
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You have not mentioned xenpm set-scaling-governor - did you try it?

I never presume to speak for the Qubes team.
When I comment in the Forum I speak for myself.

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There is no driver in kernels of qubesos for 12th+ gen intels so cant change governor.

Most balanced settings where in idle it can go as low as 800MHz and in high demand to 3GHz+ is:

xenpm set-cpufreq-hwp balance

There is no point at changing any other options and parameters.

Check sudo dmesg |grep -i intel or journalctl -b |grep -i intel - there are messages about unrecognised cpu and missing drivers.

1 Like
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I have the exact same problem on alder lake. I’ve disabled turbo mode on p-cores for now, but i’d also like to adjust core freq at certain values.

So… Is there any hope that driver for alder lake will be available any soon in the next releases of Xen?

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I highly doubt it will ever happen: