Vasudevan Srinivasan

An innovative approach to dynamic platform and thermal management for Mobile platforms

Modern Mobile platforms are increasingly complex in terms of power management feature set with the advent of Turbo Boost Technology and other features. Trend has been to develop advanced methodologies related to power and thermal management, adaptive fan speed technologies, optimal power sharing etc. Managing these technologies in an optimized and coordinated manner is becoming increasingly complex if they exist independent of each other on the same platform. In this paper we discuss and investigate an efficient and innovative approach in the form of Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework (DPTF) to solve complex power and thermal management issues on a computing platform. This technology uses software and hardware touch points that allows quick and efficient deployment of sophisticated power and thermal management solutions on Intel Mobile platforms. We explain the benefits of DPTF using a platform level thermal management solution called Dynamic Power Performance Management (DPPM) highlighting the benefits of DPPM. We also discuss standardized hardware interfaces for easier and efficient accessibility to power and thermal features of a device.

Ultrabook™: Doing more with less

Mobile Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) place great emphasis on creating unique system designs to differentiate themselves in the mobile market. Intel Corporations introduction of the Intel Ultrabook™ segment and low power processors provides a path for innovation and thinking “outside the box” of the traditional notebook PC. This paper will highlight 3 innovative examples of doing more with less with Configurable TDP, Configurable Tj, and Fan Speed Optimization for battery life.

Platform power control as a method to optimize power delivery requirements

A scheme of firmware-based platform power management is presented as means of guaranteeing operation within AC adaptor constraints. This paper provides the design, prototype, and validation of a new approach to maximize the power/performance of a platform within a given maximum platform power delivery limit. This scheme allows the platform designer to trade-off power delivery requirements with other vectors such as cost, weight and performance. In this example, the cost and size of the platform power delivery sub-system is optimized rather than designing to the worst case platform power. For portable platforms this could greatly reduce the size and weight of the AC/DC adaptor without compromising system performance. Additionally, suggestions on how to extend this power management method to additional board components are outlined.