Is a power managment driver needed for PC? and not laptops

pintree3 · 13 Jun 2013

Since I first bought Win 7 a few years ago along with my new PC, Windows Action Center prompts me with installing a power management driver. Isn't such a driver for laptops only? Why have it on a PC? If it is needed then the link it provides is for, "AMDCoolnQuiet_Utility_V21801_XPVistaWin7.zip" according to my understanding of this it's mainly if I want to install the CoolnQuiet utility which I do not seem to need, nor is recommended for my MB and more importantly it doesn't really seem to be power management anyways. Any suggestions? thanks.
---> Added changes the above: I researched it anew and it showed me that "Cool n Quiet" is for PCs. And once again I installed it to remind me why it didn't work last time. It installed correctly with no difficulties but once I opened it I got a window which said, "This CPU doesn't support Cool & Quiet function." Which now begs the questionS why is windows sending me to this link? Why does it install it then if my CPU can't support it? or stranger still, seeing that my CPU is "Intel Core i5 760" and it is supposed to be able to support it--even though the technology is by AMD (and not Intel). What do I do now? Overall I am confused here. If anyone can shed some light I would appreciate it.

bobafetthotmail · 16 Jun 2013

AMD coolnquiet is a power-saving utility/technology if you have an AMD CPU, I have it for example as I have an AMD CPU.
More than saving power it's useful to keep fan noise in check by keeping the CPU and other stuff cool by other means. 99.99% of the power used by the computer ends up as waste heat. Less power used means less heat, which in turn means fans can go slower and be quieter when the CPU/GPU isn't going at 100%.

Seems like Action Center is misfiring, you don't need that utility, but your board has an EPU, a physical component on your board (I have one as well) put there to optimize power usage, and it does need a driver to work.
So, go here
click on utilities and download and install the one called "ASUS EPU-4 Engine" which is the one for your board.

In the Overview of your board this feature is described as

System Level Energy Saving
The new ASUS EPU - the world´s first power saving engine, has been upgraded to a new six engine version, which provides total system power savings by detecting current PC loadings and intelligently moderating power in real-time. With auto phase switching for components (which includes the CPU, VGA card, memory, chipset, drives and system fan), the EPU automatically provides the most appropriate power usage via intelligent acceleration and overclocking - helping save power and money.

pintree3 · 16 Jun 2013

Thanks bob. ur a godsend. I truly appreciate it. There a few things i need to figure out now, after having installed it (for ex. It doesn't recognize my VGA card and the ASUS website link provided card names unfound in the search at the AMD/ATI website itself making me question both why AMD wouldn't have such listings or why ASUS decided to look at model numbers differently--heck and they're both originating form the same country--Taiwan).

Should I need further help I will let you know.
Once again thanks

bobafetthotmail · 16 Jun 2013

When I tried to make my EPU work with my card (as in my specs) I found this. If you notice, all links that still work point to VGA cards made by ASUS.
Since even when I installed VGA doctor as said in the last line there it kept telling me that it didn't know my card, I have the sneaking suspicion that only ASUS cards have the chips to talk with the EPU.
CPU and the rest work fine though.

Oh well.

Leave that utility on Auto for best of both worlds.

Also if you leave the PC idle for a while it should now go in AI nap mode, or maybe not. I have installed the AI suite too (same link as above, inside the utilities) an it's a nice little thing, maybe AI nap is from it + the EPU, or just for some older boards.

description snatched from somewhere else:
Minimize noise and power consumption when temporarily away!
With AI Nap, users can instantly snooze your PC without terminating the tasks. System will continue operating at minimum power and noise when user is temporarily away. It keeps downloading files or running applications in quietest state while youÂ´re sleeping. Simply click keyboard or mouse, you can swiftly wake up the system in few seconds.