Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

Saturday, June 4th, 2005
I've previously blogged that my new Tablet PC is very slow and that the CPU utilization jumps to 100% and stays there - even at idle.

Lately, I've been experimenting with the speed settings for the M4. What I've found so far is that much of the sluggishness goes away at the high power setting. At the high-power setting, CPU utilization drops to about 12-15% at idle.  While this is an improvement - when the Tablet is plugged in - it is not an acceptable solution when on battery. (Besides, when I'm at full power, the not-so-quiet fan stays on full-time.)

Given the connection to the speed setting I now wonder if this is not an end-user software issue, but an issue with the CPU throttling or the tablet OS. based on the CPU utilization and some intuition, the problem appears have something to do with the Ink Recognition - at least that's where I see it the most, meaning that I can writing something and then the system will freeze until I tap. Then, everything works fine. [Note: This has been going on all week - long before I installed the ActiveWords beta this evening.] Other than this slowdown issue, I'm getting closer to YABHTU. In fact, If I could solve this, I would probably be there.

Of course, it could also be me and my expectations for how a productivity tool should perform. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable.

I'm still having fun and I'll keep trying to find a solution. At least, for now, I have an interim work-around.

Thanks to those of you who have sent tips and utilities. I'll work these and post as soon as I learn something new.

Posted at 23:36:00, PST in  Tablet PC 

Discussion/Comments (5):

Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

How much physical Ram do you have installed?

How much video Ram did you get on your GFORCE?

and have you optimized the GPU?

I am waiting on my M4 with 128meg gforce and your Blog has been quite insightful-I am a contract programmer analyst who started with a computer based Fine Art degree? (Commercial Art in '90 w/ macs)

This machine seemes to meet my right and left brain. I have a few more questions

How does this tablet perform as artistic tool?-Do you have any friends who use such a device?

and what software do they prefer? I just purchaed Bauhaus Mirage 1.5 (it got here before my tablet ;o)

thanks for such a great blog

PS you and your wife should host a gadget show on G-4 Tech TV you guys are entertaining.

jmny

Posted at 06/05/2005 7:59:18 by jmny6411

Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

I'm still in the midst of decision making for my Tablet PC purchase. Your specs are pricier than what I plan to buy, but posts have been really helpful. Thank you.

One small mild mannered mini-geek comment: Sometimes some CPU's just don't play well with others. Just because Toshiba will sell it to you and they can squeeze it into the Tablet, doesn't necessarily mean it will work smoothly with all the other parts (hard and soft) you've got lined up. An experience with a desktop slowing, freezing, and ultimately crashing over time came from the simplest reason: CPU thought it was too good for the rest of the hardware.

As lowly as the pre-configured machines Toshiba puts out are (who can possible survive with only 512MB?), they probably only tested that configuration for major bugs and glitches. Hopefully, Toshiba has actually tested more than that, but since you aren't hearing anything from them directly to help you out... maybe they haven't?

But, as I noted earlier - I'm not a real geek, just a minature version.

Laura

Posted at 06/06/2005 13:05:30 by Laura Howard

Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

Are you aware of the ink/memory leak problem with Tablet PC's? It's a fairly well known issue and my Tablet was encountering the same thing you seem to be encountering. I use a batch file I found on the web called 'clearink.bat' to clear up the memory leak issue.

You can find the code here:

{ Link }

Hope this helps!

Posted at 06/07/2005 21:22:44 by Eric Shotwell

re: Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

Thanks, Eric. I have read about a memory link connected to Ink, but I did not see ny news about a fix. I'll look into this link.

Thanks,

Eric

Posted at 06/08/2005 11:00:12 by Eric Mack

Tecra M4 Speed Issue - getting closer ... I hope

Hi, Eric.

Sorry if I'm late, but I read something about a Microsoft WinXP Tablet OS patch/update addressing a speed problem....

Have your heard about it?

By the way, I intend to buy a Tecra M4. My goal: not a tablet at all, just a foldable 14' screen with M4 resolution, in order to read documents and eletronic magazines in bed or couch (slates with 12' and 1024x768... no thanks, tho I was very impressed eith the M205).

Probably, due to weight, I would remove batery and DVD player while in bed...

Will I be happy with the M4?

thanks, you have a nice blog!

gb

Posted at 10/10/2005 18:42:53 by GB


Discussion for this entry is now closed.

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