Viiv, QRTD & Away mode

Make · 2006-10-11, 15:12

I'm trying to figure out what kind of a motherboard I'm going to have in my HTPC project.

Intel has released its Viiv specification which require certain Intel chipsets AND Windows MCE. The most interesting feature for HTPC is a feature called Quick Resume Technology Drivers (QRTD) that works together with MCE power saving feature called Away Mode. QRTD/Away mode should enable instant on/off functionality with on/off button similar to conventional HT equipment. Away mode is some kind of a shallow sleep mode which allows some tasks, such as networking and recording continue.

Now, the most obvious question is: if I have both required HW and MCE operating system, can MP actually utilize QRTD/Away mode? That is, can MP put PC in Away mode instead of shutdown or standby after a scheduled recording?

Is it really so that if I want to make any use of QRTD, I really need to invest on MCE even if I don't want to use its media features. I mean, has anyone managed to use QRTD with ordinary XP Home edition?

Finally has anyone used QRTD/Away mode in any configuration and what is your opinion? Is it significantly faster to wake the PC from away mode than it is from standby mode S3?

BTW, mobos I'm interested in are Asus N4L-VM DH for core 2 duo mobile and Intel DG965OT for core 2 duo desktop cpu.

Marcusb · 2006-10-11, 15:23

I've read about the away feature in an AMD based Asus board. I don't think the program needs to be aware of this as the motherboard takes care of everything. On the Asus page they say that you can have torrents downloading and other similar things while the PC is half asleep.

My guess is that it just shuts down most things that aren't required at the time.

ziphnor · 2006-10-11, 18:02

I dont think away mode is that interesting, i would be more interested in super fast resume from hibernation, but maybe that is part of Quick Resume?

I have been considering buying a motherboard supporting Quick Resume(or AMDs Live! equivalent to VIIV) when i upgrade my HTPC, but its hard to tell whether its actually useful or not.

EDIT:
From reading
[url=http://www.intel.com/support/entertainment/viiv/sb/cs-021742.htm] it sounds like it just shuts down the video and sound output but fans and CPU etc stay on. It doesnt sound that useful to me, i would think that it still used to much power to be on like this for 24/7.

In hibernate/completely off my HTPC uses 0.5W, in S4 it uses 7.5W. I strongly doubt that Away Mode can bring the power usage to those levels.

Make · 2006-10-11, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziphnor

In hibernate/completely off my HTPC uses 0.5W, in S4 it uses 7.5W. I strongly doubt that Away Mode can bring the power usage to those levels.

I guess not. Unless it goes to S3 or S4 when there are not any active tasks.

If you have Merom (mobile core 2) CPU and almost all functions are shut down, power consumption in away mode _could_ be in 5 - 30 W range. That's just a guess because I haven't found any information regarding that. Intel's Viiv documentation is very vague and one can only find bits and pieces of information here and there so I've no clue how it actually works

But hey, that's why we have this forum

ziphnor · 2006-10-11, 20:53

Im actually quite please with S4, it resume within seconds and the power usage is low enough for 24/7 operation. What would be neat would be hardware supported resume from hibernation if that is possible, ie skipping or speeding up the boot sequence and go straight to resuming the memory from disk.

Still, Away Mode could be interesting for when the HTPC is recording or acting as server to TV/music clients. I wonder how much power is saved in Away Mode?

Im actually considering a Merom based system myself, but so far i have held back because i would need a seperate video card, the only decent onboard GPU is the 6150, and i havent seen any Merom(or Conroe) boards with an 6150, making the power saved by the CPU pale in comparison to the idle power consumption of the video card. But i suppose that if Away Mode can actually turn off the video card, then it wouldnt be so much of a power consumption issue to have say a 7600GT video card.

2006-10-11, 15:12	#1 (permalink)
Make Portal User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	Viiv, QRTD & Away mode I'm trying to figure out what kind of a motherboard I'm going to have in my HTPC project. Intel has released its Viiv specification which require certain Intel chipsets AND Windows MCE. The most interesting feature for HTPC is a feature called Quick Resume Technology Drivers (QRTD) that works together with MCE power saving feature called Away Mode. QRTD/Away mode should enable instant on/off functionality with on/off button similar to conventional HT equipment. Away mode is some kind of a shallow sleep mode which allows some tasks, such as networking and recording continue. Now, the most obvious question is: if I have both required HW and MCE operating system, can MP actually utilize QRTD/Away mode? That is, can MP put PC in Away mode instead of shutdown or standby after a scheduled recording? Is it really so that if I want to make any use of QRTD, I really need to invest on MCE even if I don't want to use its media features. I mean, has anyone managed to use QRTD with ordinary XP Home edition? Finally has anyone used QRTD/Away mode in any configuration and what is your opinion? Is it significantly faster to wake the PC from away mode than it is from standby mode S3? BTW, mobos I'm interested in are Asus N4L-VM DH for core 2 duo mobile and Intel DG965OT for core 2 duo desktop cpu.

2006-10-11, 18:02	#3 (permalink)
ziphnor Portal Developer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Copenhagen Age: 29 Posts: 711 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts Country: My System	I dont think away mode is that interesting, i would be more interested in super fast resume from hibernation, but maybe that is part of Quick Resume? I have been considering buying a motherboard supporting Quick Resume(or AMDs Live! equivalent to VIIV) when i upgrade my HTPC, but its hard to tell whether its actually useful or not. EDIT: From reading [url=http://www.intel.com/support/entertainment/viiv/sb/cs-021742.htm] it sounds like it just shuts down the video and sound output but fans and CPU etc stay on. It doesnt sound that useful to me, i would think that it still used to much power to be on like this for 24/7. In hibernate/completely off my HTPC uses 0.5W, in S4 it uses 7.5W. I strongly doubt that Away Mode can bring the power usage to those levels. Last edited by ziphnor; 2006-10-11 at 18:06.

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2006-10-11, 15:23	#2 (permalink)
Marcusb Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,936 Thanks: 67 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts Country: My System	I've read about the away feature in an AMD based Asus board. I don't think the program needs to be aware of this as the motherboard takes care of everything. On the Asus page they say that you can have torrents downloading and other similar things while the PC is half asleep. My guess is that it just shuts down most things that aren't required at the time.

2006-10-11, 20:53	#5 (permalink)
ziphnor Portal Developer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Copenhagen Age: 29 Posts: 711 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts Country: My System	Im actually quite please with S4, it resume within seconds and the power usage is low enough for 24/7 operation. What would be neat would be hardware supported resume from hibernation if that is possible, ie skipping or speeding up the boot sequence and go straight to resuming the memory from disk. Still, Away Mode could be interesting for when the HTPC is recording or acting as server to TV/music clients. I wonder how much power is saved in Away Mode? Im actually considering a Merom based system myself, but so far i have held back because i would need a seperate video card, the only decent onboard GPU is the 6150, and i havent seen any Merom(or Conroe) boards with an 6150, making the power saved by the CPU pale in comparison to the idle power consumption of the video card. But i suppose that if Away Mode can actually turn off the video card, then it wouldnt be so much of a power consumption issue to have say a 7600GT video card.