Power Management

Which describes thermal throttling?

  1. AStopping the fan to cool the chip
  2. BRaising chip temperature to speed up processing
  3. CLowering frequency and voltage when the chip gets too hot, reducing heat to protect it from damage
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Answer: C. Lowering frequency and voltage when the chip gets too hot, reducing heat to protect it from damage

When on-chip temperature sensors exceed a set threshold, the power-management circuitry or OS lowers frequency and voltage to bring heat within the cooling capacity. Performance drops, but chip failure and shortened lifetime are prevented. Thin laptops and smartphones slow down partway through sustained heavy work because of this throttling. If temperature keeps rising anyway, the system finally shuts down for protection.

  • A. Stopping the fan would make it hotter.
  • B. Higher temperature does not speed things up.
  • C. Correct. It trades performance for safety.
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More Power Management questions

  1. Some CPU power limits let the chip run above the long-term average limit (close to TDP) for short periods. Why does this work?
  2. What is the most suitable use of features such as Intel RAPL that let software measure CPU and memory power and set caps?
  3. Which describes ACPI, used in PCs and similar systems?
  4. In smartphone SoCs combining high-performance and efficient cores, why does running light work on the efficient cores use less energy?
  5. Which describes the idea behind adaptive voltage scaling (AVS)?