README for powertop
REQUIREMENTS
You'll need to enable the following kernel options:
CONFIG_NO_HZ
CONFIG_HIGH_RES_TIMERS
CONFIG_HPET_TIMER
CONFIG_CPU_FREQ_GOV_ONDEMAND
CONFIG_USB_SUSPEND
CONFIG_SND_AC97_POWER_SAVE
CONFIG_TIMER_STATS
CONFIG_PERF_EVENTS
CONFIG_PERF_COUNTERS
CONFIG_TRACEPOINTS
CONFIG_TRACING
CONFIG_EVENT_POWER_TRACING_DEPRECATED
CONFIG_X86_MSR
ACPI_PROCFS_POWER
CONFIG_DEBUG_FS
And be sure to disable these:
CONFIG_IRQBALANCE
CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG
Not all of these are available on very recent kernels, so powertop
might fail to display some stats.
PRE-INSTALL
POST-INSTALL
RESOURCES
https://01.org/powertop/get-involved