Co-thermal Control System for CPU and GMCH Throttling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cooling systems for computer systems face challenges in efficiently managing heat dissipation across different components, leading to potential overheating and damage, as they often rely on generic throttling methods that do not account for varying cooling needs of individual components like the CPU and GMCH.
Innovation Solution
A co-thermal control system that uses a table-based rule generator to determine proportional responses to thermal conditions, allowing for selective throttling of computer hardware components based on their specific thermal, power, and utilization conditions, ensuring that both CPU and GMCH are cooled efficiently within their thermal design power budgets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If generic throttling methods are used to manage heat dissipation, then system safety is improved, but component performance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating thermal management strategies for different components (CPU vs. GMCH) based on their specific thermal conditions and cooling needs. Instead of uniform throttling, the system independently monitors and controls each component's thermal state, allowing selective performance reduction only where necessary to maintain safety while preserving overall system productivity.
2Device complexity
If different components share a cooling system, then device complexity is reduced, but thermal management precision is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the thermal management control into independent components for CPU and GMCH, each with its own thermal sensor and control logic. This allows a shared physical cooling system to be managed with precision through logical segmentation, enabling independent thermal monitoring and control decisions for each component without requiring separate physical cooling systems.
3Reliability
If throttling is triggered at conservative temperature thresholds, then component reliability is improved, but system productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where thermal sensors continuously monitor component temperatures, and the control system responds dynamically based on real-time thermal conditions. This allows the system to maintain reliability by activating throttling only when thermal thresholds are approached, while maximizing productivity during normal operating conditions through continuous adaptive control rather than conservative static thresholds.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for selecting a computer hardware component of a computing system to throttle based on a selection policy is disclosed. A co-thermal control system may receive a first signal indicating a first condition for a plurality of computer hardware components has occurred. The co-thermal control system may choose a course of action at least partially based upon the first signal using a table-based rule generator. The co-thermal control system may output instructions to participating components for the course of action.