APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REDUCING POWER CONSUMPTION OF A PROCESSOR BY ESTIMATING ENGINE LOAD
First Claim
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1. A method for reducing power consumption of at least one processor, the at least one processor is associated with at least one queue for storing instructions, the method comprising:
- providing a series of instructions stored in the at least one queue;
estimating a short or long term load associated with the series of instructions;
selecting a clock rate out of a plurality of clocking rates based on in part the estimated short or long term load; and
clocking the at least one processor at the selected clock rate.
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Abstract
A computer system has a processor and a queue for storing instructions for execution by the processor. The processor is capable of being clocked at a plurality of different clock frequencies. In one embodiment, the clocking frequency is determined by estimating a short or long term load associated with the stored instructions. In another embodiment, the clocking frequency is determined by analyzing a set of the stored instructions.
23 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for reducing power consumption of at least one processor, the at least one processor is associated with at least one queue for storing instructions, the method comprising:
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providing a series of instructions stored in the at least one queue;
estimating a short or long term load associated with the series of instructions;
selecting a clock rate out of a plurality of clocking rates based on in part the estimated short or long term load; and
clocking the at least one processor at the selected clock rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for reducing power consumption of at least one processor, the system comprising:
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at least one queue having stored instructions;
a controller that estimates a short or long term load associated with a series of instructions stored in the at least one queue and selects a clock rate for a clock out of a plurality of clocking rates based on in part the estimated short or long term load; and
the clock clocking the at least one processor at the selected clock rate. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for reducing power consumption of at least one processor, the at least one processor is associated with at least one queue storing instructions for execution by the at least one processor, the method comprising:
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estimating a load by at least analyzing a set of instructions stored in the at least one queue;
selecting a clock rate out of a plurality of clocking rates based on in part the estimated load; and
clocking the at least one processor at the selected clock rate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for reducing power consumption of at least one processor, the system comprising:
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a clock adjustment device that estimates a load by at least analyzing a set of instructions stored in at least one queue and selects a clock rate for a clock out of a plurality of clocking rates based on in part the estimated load;
wherein the clock adjustment device controls the clock such that the at least one processor is clocked at the selected clock rate. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification