Developed by ImmerSoft
Reviewed by PC Counselor
Note: This review will be updated with any new changes in the program.
Last Updated: October 13, 2004 12:36 PM -0700
XCPUScalar is an overclock utility that will allow users to take control of the processor changing the way it works normally. The term of Overclock should not be employed when we are talking about the ARM 250 and 255 processors also known for XScale, because what this and other utilities do in the reality is changing the default OEM settings to other settings that also work with these processors. According to OEMs and Intel, the default settings are more stable but the settings used by this program have been tested by many users already and seem to work as stable as the default settings.
Once you have installed XCPUScalar you will see two new icons in your PPC: One located in the Start\Program windows and another located in Start\Settings.
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The Icon in the Program Windows acts as a launcher and can be used to create a shortcut in the \Windows\StartUp folder so the application is ran after each soft reset automatically. The Icon in the Settings Screen is really the main program. You can run the program either by clicking on the icon in the Program Screen or the icon in the Settings Screen.
After running the program the first screen that you can see is the Speed Screen.
In that screen you can change the CPU speed to one of the allowed speeds: 100, 200, 300, 400, 472 and 500 MHZ. All these speeds are safe speeds. If the Auto Scale is unchecked the processor speed will be set to the speed selected using the slider. If the Auto Scale option is marked the speed of the CPU will be taken from the Advanced screen.
By using the Refresh Speed Bar you will have the slider moved automatically to show you what is the current processor speed. The Task Bar CPU Meter will place an icon in the Task Bar while the Tray Icon from the Options Menu will place an Icon in the bottom bar of your Today Screen.
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The adjust option in the Speed Window allows you to move the Task Bar Icon to the desired position.
The Advance Screen can be used only if you have the Auto Scale checked in the Speed Screen. This screen allows you to change the processor speed in accordance with the CPU Load. In that way you can have your CPU running at 100 MHz while you are reading an ebook, activity where the CPU Load is low and have the CPU running at 472 MHz while playing a movie. In that way you can increase a little bit your battery life. In my case I have my Scale option set to use two speeds: 200 MHz when the pda is idle or running a program where the CPU load is less than 15% and 472 MHz when the CPU Load is more than 16%.
The Meters Screen gives you some useful information about different PPC parameters like the battery level, the free space available in your Memory, etc.
XCPUScalar also provides with System Menu where you can find options to soft reset your pda, lock keys, toggle the display mode and power off your device.
This Overclock utility is the perfect tool for a user that does not want to be involved in any kind of speed test, a user that want to have an easy to use tool and at the same time a safe tool.
Note: After I wrote this review a new version 2.2 was released fixing the only Cons I found in this program (you had to recheck the auto scale option after each soft reset) and added a new feature: support to "Minimize on Start, so you can now put your XCPUScalar shortcut icon thats in the programs folder, in the StartUp folder and XCPUScalar will auto start with your selected options on soft reset while minimized. You can choose not to display any icons at all, and it will come up in stealth mode with no gui, it won't show at all in you running processes list either, but it will be there autoscaling in the background using the settings you specified."
Taking in consideration these changes I decided to re evaluate this product from 4 1/2 to 5 from 5.
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Buy it Now