Less Watts: Intel's Power Saving Initiative for Linux
At its own Intel Developer Forum (IDF) the semiconductor manufacturer introduced its power saving initiative. Under the Less Watts umbrella a number of Open Source projects have joined forces to help reduce the power consumption of Linux systems.
The Powertop tool has found a new home on the page; it was released by Intel this summer. Powertop tracks down processes that unnecessarily wake up the CPU. The culprits include the kernel's tickless timer. The Tickless Idle kernel patch disables the ticker when the CPU is inactive and in idle mode.
The Linux Battery Life Toolkit (BLTK) is a test framework that generates system load and collects power consumption statistics. This will help developers check the effectiveness of their modifications. Six scenarios are provided as test workloads: idle, document view, office, DVD play, software development and 3D games.
There are also projects that aim to teach applications on Linux how to save power by means of advanced power management, and that provide Linux support for the power saving features provided by Intel's contemporary and future chips.
Representatives by Linux companies such as Red Hat, Novell and Oracle announced that they will be supporting the Less Watts while at the same time emphasizing the fact that their own products do offer power management features.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.