CoreFreq vs SMUDebugTool

CoreFreq is free Linux CPU-monitoring software with BIOS-like controls for 64-bit processors. It reads frequencies, ratios, performance counters, instructions per cycle, C-states, temperature, and documented core-voltage readings. The interface shows processor features, brand and architecture strings, plus a topology map including caches. Its driver exposes controls for Turbo Boost, power management, thermal limits, prefetchers, and hardware-controlled performance states. A daemon and command-line client provide monitoring views and JSON-encoded system information. Listed architectures include Intel and AMD families, Arm A64, RISC-V RV64, and PowerPC64 LE. Requirements include Linux kernel 3.3 or newer and GNU C Library. Installation can use source builds or packages for several distributions. The project is GPL-2.0 licensed and uses shared memory between its kernel module and user-space component. Some virtual machines may hide required registers. Driver signing is required when kernel signature verification is enabled. The interface renders best in ASCII or VT100 terminals.

SMUDebugTool has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.