AMD PowerNow Technology

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AMD PowerNow!? Technology

• Mobile Marketing
• September 18th, 2002

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How to Reduce CPU Power Consumption
P Power consumption of CPU C Equivalent
capacitance of CPU, a constant for a certain
silicon design f CPU frequency V CPU voltage

• To reduce power consumption for a certain CPU
• f Reduce CPU frequency
• CPU do not need to run at max frequency all the
  time in most applications
• V Reduce CPU operating voltage
• Voltage can be dropped when frequency drops

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• Introduced in June 2000 with mobile K6-2 and
  K6-III processors
• AMD was the first to introduce dynamic (multiple
  operating states) power management solution
• Extends battery life by up to 50 without
  compromising performance
• Enables notebook to run cooler and quieter
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows 98SE, Me,
  NT4.0, 2000, and XP

All AMD Mobile Processors Support AMD PowerNow!
Technology
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AMD PowerNow!TM Technology Principle

• PowerNow! Technology enables CPU to
• Run at multiple performance states (frequency
  voltage combinations)
• Switch among multiple performance states
  dynamically (controlled by software), without
  having to reset CPU or change FSB frequency
• In actual systems, CPU can be controlled by
  software to change performance states
  dynamically, based on CPU utilization

Delivers performance on demand Minimizes power at
adequate performance
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Intel Enhanced SpeedStep? Technology

• What is Enhanced SpeedStep Technology
• Similar concept to AMD PowerNow! Technology
• Only two performance states
• Example Mobile Pentium 4-M 1.6GHz
• Maximum Performance Mode 1.6GHz _at_ 1.3V
• Battery Optimized Mode 1.2GHz _at_ 1.2V

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PowerNow!? and Enhanced SpeedStep? Comparison
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Advantage of PowerNow! over Enhanced SpeedStep

• PowerNow! offers more granularity
• Provides performance on demand
• Extends battery life (by up to 50) without
  compromising performance
• Enables notebooks to run cooler and quieter
• In many applications, CPU run at lower
  performance states most of the time
• The most sophisticated power management solution
  available

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Windows XP PowerNow! Support

• Windows XP support PowerNow! Natively, through a
  CPU driver
• PowerNow! CPU modes are now integral part of
  Windows XP Power Schemes

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Power Spec (TDP) Comparison
Note The clock speeds of Mobile Pentium 4-M are
normalized to reflect its relative performance
compared to Mobile Athlon XP.
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Power Savings on Mobile Athlon XP with PowerNow!,
Measured in Actual System
Tremendous Power Savings with PowerNow!
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Power Savings on Mobile P4-M with Enhanced
SpeedStep, Measured in Actual System
Some Power Savings with Enhance SpeedStep
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Power Savings Comparison PowerNow! vs.
Enhanced SpeedStep
AMD PowerNow! Technology is Much More effective
in CPU Power Saving than Intel Enhanced SpeedStep
Technology
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CPU Average Power Comparison With Power
Management
With PowerNow!, Mobile Athlon XP consumes less
power in typical mobile applications, even with
higher TDP
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DVD Playback Battery Life Extension with AMD
PowerNow! Technology(1.1GHz Mobile Athlon 4
Processor)
50Longer
Portable / Laptop Mode Variable voltage and
frequency
Always On1.1GHz _at_ 1.4V
See backup slides for system configuration
details
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DVD Playback CPU Power Consumption with AMD
PowerNow! Technology Enabled(1.1GHz Mobile
Athlon 4 Processor)
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DVD Playback CPU Power Consumption with AMD
PowerNow! Technology Disabled(1.1GHz Mobile
Athlon 4 Processor)
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System Configurations Test Method
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Mobile Athlon XP System Configurations
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Mobile P4-M System Configurations
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Test Software
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DVD Playback Mobile Athlon 4 System Configurations
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Backup
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CPU Average Power Comparison Without Power
Management
Without PowerNow!, Mobile Athlon XP consumes more
power in typical mobile applications, due to
higher TDP