{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.amd-powernow","code":"thing-q265054","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q265054/","name":"AMD PowerNow!","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QTY"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A dynamic frequency and voltage scaling technology from AMD for its processors, introduced for mobile chips in 2000 and also implemented in server processors under the PowerNow! name; related desktop technology used the Cool'n'Quiet branding. PowerNow! lowers clock speed and voltage when demand is low to save power and reduce heat, controlled through operating system power management interfaces such as ACPI; it is a counterpart to Intel SpeedStep.","purpose":"Let an agent explain AMD PowerNow! and how dynamic frequency scaling works, relay its history and operating system support from public documentation, and distinguish it from related AMD and Intel technologies.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Frequency and voltage scaling","ACPI P-states","AMD-specific","Successor technologies"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What PowerNow! is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is AMD PowerNow!, and how does it scale frequency and voltage?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about PowerNow!, Cool n Quiet or a modern AMD power feature?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"mechanism","name":"Mechanism","description":"Mechanism.","findings":[{"id":"mechanism-finding","name":"Mechanism","description":"Mechanism.","questions":[{"text":"How do P-states and ACPI let the operating system control scaling?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits dynamic frequency scaling?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Support and configuration.","layers":[{"id":"support","name":"Support","description":"OS support.","findings":[{"id":"support-finding","name":"Support","description":"Support.","questions":[{"text":"How do Windows, Linux and BSD support AMD scaling, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"tuning","name":"Tuning","description":"Tuning.","findings":[{"id":"tuning-finding","name":"Tuning","description":"Tuning.","questions":[{"text":"How can users balance power and performance with governors and settings?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits CPU frequency governor?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"compare","name":"Compare","description":"Comparison.","layers":[{"id":"intel","name":"Intel","description":"Versus SpeedStep.","findings":[{"id":"intel-finding","name":"Intel","description":"Intel.","questions":[{"text":"How does PowerNow! compare with Intel SpeedStep?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"successors","name":"Successors","description":"Successors.","findings":[{"id":"successors-finding","name":"Successors","description":"Successors.","questions":[{"text":"What replaced PowerNow! in later AMD processors?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the successor technology?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and impact.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did PowerNow! develop from 2000 onward?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of AMD processors?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"impact","name":"Impact","description":"Energy impact.","findings":[{"id":"impact-finding","name":"Impact","description":"Impact.","questions":[{"text":"How much do such technologies save in energy and heat, as measured?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits computer energy efficiency?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain how dynamic frequency and voltage scaling works on processors of this family.","Report and adjust power management settings on machines the agent administers."],"mustNot":["Change power or voltage settings on a machine it does not administer.","Disable thermal protection or push settings beyond the manufacturer's limits.","Present power saving figures without stating the workload and hardware they apply to."],"requiresHuman":["Changing power management on servers that run services others depend on."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Power management cuts energy use and emissions across millions of machines.","Wrong settings can overheat hardware or degrade services people rely on."],"affectedParties":["Users of the computer","Operators of server fleets"]},"owners":{"steward":"The owner of the computer; the manufacturer documents the feature.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q2027240","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"dynamic frequency scaling","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"AMD","type":"related","note":"the processor company"},{"target":"ACPI","type":"related","note":"processor performance states"},{"target":"SpeedStep","type":"related","note":"from Intel"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.amd-powernow","Wikidata: Q265054 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q265054)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["introduced: 2000 year - mobile Athlon and K6"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["AMD dynamic frequency and voltage scaling","PowerNow! for mobile, Cool n Quiet for desktop, later P-state technologies","Intel SpeedStep is the competitor; Turbo Core boosts rather than reduces","Not a visible object; a processor feature exposed in firmware and OS settings."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the technology","relay history and support","describe configuration in general terms","distinguish related technologies"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Performance loss from misconfigured scaling","Driver and firmware support gaps","Stale information on successors"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ACPI specification for processor power states","No regulation of the technology itself"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Reducing processor power use under light load.","PowerNow! for mobile processors","Cool n Quiet for desktop processors","Optimized Power Management for servers","modern AMD P-state and CPPC-based scaling"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q265054: AMD PowerNow!","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q265054","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: PowerNow!","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerNow%21","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should Cool n Quiet be a separate entry?","How should AMD documentation be linked?","How should OS driver support be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q265054/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q265054/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T02:31:45Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}