Thermal Throttling via Integrated Sensor and Localized Bandwidth Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance computing devices generate excessive heat, leading to thermal throttling issues that can reduce memory bandwidth below user expectations, compromising performance and user satisfaction.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a thermal throttling technique that uses temperature sensors to monitor junction temperatures and adjust memory bandwidth through algorithms with multiple thresholds or PID controllers, ensuring thermal management aligns with power budgets and performance guarantees, thereby maintaining acceptable thermal characteristics while meeting user performance expectations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heat dissipation measures (heat sinks, heat pipes, fans) are used to manage thermal characteristics, then temperature control is improved, but device compactness is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensor is integrated within the electronic component package itself, nesting the sensing function inside the existing structure. This eliminates the need for external heat dissipation components while maintaining thermal monitoring capability, thus preserving device compactness while managing temperature characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic component performs self-thermal-management by using an integrated temperature sensor to monitor its own junction temperature and triggering thermal throttling when thresholds are exceeded. This self-service approach eliminates the need for external thermal management hardware, maintaining compactness while controlling temperature.
2Temperature
If CPU throttling is applied to avoid excessive temperatures, then temperature control is improved, but overall computing performance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of system-wide CPU throttling, the patent applies thermal management locally to specific electronic components (such as memory devices) that have integrated temperature sensors. This localized approach allows the CPU to maintain full performance while only the overheated component undergoes thermal throttling, preserving overall computing performance while controlling local temperatures.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal management system is segmented into component-level independent control units, each with its own temperature sensor and throttling logic. This segmentation allows selective thermal throttling of individual components rather than forcing system-wide performance reduction, thus maintaining overall productivity while managing local thermal conditions.
3Temperature
If memory bandwidth is reduced for thermal management, then temperature control is improved, but user satisfaction is compromised due to performance drops below expectations
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal throttling system dynamically adjusts memory bandwidth based on real-time temperature conditions rather than applying static reduction. The bandwidth is modulated proportionally to the degree of overheating, allowing the system to maintain high bandwidth when temperatures are acceptable and only reduce bandwidth when necessary, thus balancing thermal management with user-perceived performance and satisfaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements closed-loop feedback by continuously monitoring junction temperature via integrated sensors and adjusting memory bandwidth in response to temperature thresholds. This feedback mechanism ensures thermal management actions are taken only when actually needed, avoiding unnecessary performance degradation and maintaining user satisfaction while achieving thermal control goals.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a computing device configured to implement thermal throttling of a component of the computing device. The computing device includes an electronic component and a temperature sensor thermally coupled to the electronic component. The computing device also includes a thermal management controller to receive a temperature measurement from the temperature sensor and generate a throttling factor for the electronic component. If the temperature measurement is greater than a specified threshold, the throttling factor is to reduce performance of the electronic component to be at least the performance guarantee for the electronic component.