Intel Patents Fan Speed Control to Cool CPUs

[Guest]

Minimizing power consumption (i.e. battery powered equipment) means minimizing power consumption of the system under a certain operating condition. I can't see how this can be patented.

 

[elbert]

I don't think Intel can enforce this patent as it depends in part on a produced not created by Intel. While they can patent anything to do with their processors. I don't see fan makers letting them get royalties off their products. Any money gain though royalties is subject to fan makers demanding their cut. This patient is evidence that Intel is foolishly wasting money.

I dont see this being any better than AMD's C&Q averaged best step down or Intel's current for average users. Possible only of advantage in large scale servers where thermals cost are of great importance.

 

[__-_-_-__]

come and get me intel. I've this system implemented on my pc.

 

[A Bad Day]

[citation][nom]goldengoose[/nom]I think the difference is this will focus on saving power and changing based on power going to CPU as well as tempreture. slight difference in just changing based on current tempreture. Means it can combat incomming heat increases.[/citation]

Now the question is, will Intel use this patent to edge out their competition?

 

[dreadlokz]

Am I getting it right? so it could lower the cpu performance for better temps and lower power comsumption? no ty!

 

[alextheblue]

[citation][nom]caedenv[/nom]So now that they are getting out CPUs that hardly need a fan (even my i7 stays plenty cool unless under a heavy load at low fan settings, and even then the dinky stock cooler was adequate... though I still replaced it) they are finally getting to the point where there is really intelligent fan control. Where was this tech back in the days of the P3 and P4 CPUs where even the entry level offerings could cook you a nice breakfast and warm the water for your shower in the morning?[/citation]Your "dinky stock cooler" is still MUCH better than the stock cooler in the P3 and most of the P4 era. P3s actually didn't dissipate all that much heat. A P3 with a modern cooler (and maybe an integrated heatspreader) would be pretty chill, even at those ancient processes.

Anyway, this design isn't about cutting back fan speeds. It's about what is best for maximum efficiency. It might actually result in your fan running FASTER in some scenarios compared to your existing "dumb" temperature-controlled variable speed configuration. The idea is that keeping the processor at ideal temperatures can help keep leakage under control, which results in overall better power efficiency.

This is NOT about making the fan quieter or the CPU run slower. It's actually a good idea, although don't expect miraculous gains in power consumption. For a laptop though, every bit helps. For a desktop I couldn't really care less.

 

[madjimms]

[citation][nom]willard[/nom]I guess your righteous indignation prevented you from actually reading the article. Because if you had, you'd have seen that Intel isn't patenting controlling fan speed, it's patenting calculating the optimal power usage split between a fan and CPU to produce the lowest temperatures possible in low voltage, low fan speed chips.I think I need to stop expecting posters on Tom's to use their brains when the word "patent" shows up in an article.[/citation]
So its better because they're patenting a math problem? Lets patent the calculator!