The Linux Kernel Power Problems On Older Desktop Hardware

When the single-core CPU with Hyper Threading is being pegged with the multi-threaded 7-Zip compression test, there is not any major difference in average power consumption across the tested kernels. If looking at the minimum points, however, it does show that with the 2.6.32/2.6.33 kernels the power consumption never drops as illustrated in the first test where these oldest tested kernels had an idle power consumption in the same range as the newer kernels when under a full load.

Not only is the 2.6.34 and later kernels good for consuming less power while idling for this older hardware, but the 2.6.34 kernel also improves the system performance significantly. With the 7-Zip results, the 2.6.34 and newer kernels have bumped up the performance by roughly 85% compared to the 2.6.32/2.6.33 releases.