METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ARTIFICALLY AND DYNAMICALLY LIMITING THE FRAMERATE OF A GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT
First Claim
1. A method for limiting the frame rate of a graphics processing unit, the method comprising:
- in a computer system comprising an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) and a discrete GPU, querying a current power source of the computer system to determine if the current power source has changed since a most recent power source query;
in the event the current power source has changed since the most recent power source query, determining if the computer system is being powered by a first power source of a plurality of power sources;
in the event the power source comprises the first power source of the plurality of power sources, determining if the discrete GPU is currently in operation; and
automatically limiting the frame rate of the discrete GPU if the frame rate is above a second threshold value in response to a determination that the discrete GPU is currently in operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to provide a method and system for applying automatic power conservation techniques in a computing system. Embodiments are described herein that automatically limits the frame rate of an application executing in a discrete graphics processing unit operating off battery or other such exhaustible power source. By automatically limiting the frame rate in certain detected circumstances, the rate of power consumption, and thus, the life of the current charge stored in a battery may be dramatically extended. Another embodiment is also provided which allows for the more effective application of automatic power conservation techniques during detected periods of inactivity by applying a low power state immediately after a last packet of a frame is rendered and displayed.
31 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for limiting the frame rate of a graphics processing unit, the method comprising:
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in a computer system comprising an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) and a discrete GPU, querying a current power source of the computer system to determine if the current power source has changed since a most recent power source query; in the event the current power source has changed since the most recent power source query, determining if the computer system is being powered by a first power source of a plurality of power sources; in the event the power source comprises the first power source of the plurality of power sources, determining if the discrete GPU is currently in operation; and automatically limiting the frame rate of the discrete GPU if the frame rate is above a second threshold value in response to a determination that the discrete GPU is currently in operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for limiting the frame rate of a graphics processing unit to reduce power consumption comprising:
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a plurality of graphics processing units comprising a first graphics processing unit and a second graphics processing unit, for rendering graphical output; a display device for displaying graphical output received from a currently operating graphics processing unit of the plurality of graphics processing units; a central processing unit for distributing a plurality of packets comprising a plurality of rendering instructions to currently operating graphics processing unit; a plurality of frame buffers respectively comprised in, and corresponding to, the plurality of graphics processing units for storing a plurality of graphics rendering instructions; and a plurality of power sources for providing an operating power source to the system, the plurality of power sources comprising a first power source and a second power source; wherein, in response to detecting a change in the operating power source from the first power source to the second power source, a frame rate of the second graphics processing unit is artificially limited to a threshold value if the second graphics processing unit is determined to be the currently operating graphics processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for reducing the rate of power consumption of a graphics processing unit, the method comprising:
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in a computer system comprising an integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) and a discrete GPU, receiving a packet of a plurality of packets corresponding to a first frame in a discrete GPU, the packet comprising a plurality of rendering instructions; determining if the packet is a flagged packet; in the event the packet is the flagged packet, determining a type of power source currently supplying power to the computer system; and in response to determining the type of power source currently supplying power to the computer system comprises a battery-operated power source, immediately achieving a low power state in the discrete GPU upon the GPU finishing rendering data based on the flagged packet. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification