Dynamic power state determination of a graphics processing unit

• US 8,555,091 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2010
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Costales, Edward, Kubick, Robert F., N, Abdul R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Suryawanshi, Suresh
• Application Number:
  US12/912,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20110154069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3243 Power saving in microcontroller unit
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method and apparatus are provided to determine a first operating point and a second operating point associated with a graphics processing unit, automatically determine a plurality of voltage/frequency values between the first operating point and the second operating point, and define a plurality of power states of the graphic processing unit. One or more of the power states may be associated with one of the plurality of voltage/frequency values. Each of the plurality of voltage/frequency values may include both a voltage and a frequency.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a first operating point associated with a graphics processing unit using test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture;

determining a second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit using test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture;

reading, via a processor, the first operating point and the second operating point associated with a graphics processing unit;

automatically determining a plurality of voltage/frequency values between the first operating point and the second operating point, each of the plurality of voltage/frequency values including both a voltage and a frequency; and

defining a plurality of power-performance states of the graphics processing unit, one or more of the power-performance states associated with one of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the first operating point with a first power-performance state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is associated with a voltage that is less than a voltage associated with the first operating point and is associated with a frequency that is less than a frequency associated with the first operating point.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a second of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is associated with a voltage that is less than the voltage associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values and is associated with a frequency that is less than the frequency associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a difference between the frequency associated with the first operating point and the frequency associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is substantially equal to a difference between the frequency associated with the first of the plurality voltage/frequency value and the frequency associated with the second of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operating point and the second operating point are determined at a time of manufacture of the graphic processing unit.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit is stored in a first register associated with the graphics processing unit startup and the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit is stored in a second register associated with the graphics processing unit.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit comprises:

reading, at a time of startup, the first register.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

controlling a switching voltage regulator based on the one or more of the power-performance states.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after the determining a first operating point associated with a graphics processing unit using test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture, storing the first operating point in a first register of the graphics processing unit; and

after the determining a second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit using test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture, storing the second operating point in a second register of the graphics processing unit.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a medium storing program instruction that when executed by a processor cause the processor to;

determine a first operating point and a second operating point associated with a graphics processing unit;

automatically determine a plurality of voltage/frequency values between the first operating point and the second operating point, each of the plurality of voltage/frequency values including both a voltage and a frequency; and

define a plurality of power-performance states of the graphic processing unit, one or more power-performance states associated with one of the plurality of voltage/frequency values;

wherein the determine a first operating point and a second operating point associated with a graphics processing unit comprises;

read the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the first operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture; and

read the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the second operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a switching voltage regulator that is controlled based on the first operating point, the second operating point, and the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is associated with a voltage that is less than a voltage associated with the first operating point and is associated with a frequency that is less than a frequency associated with the first operating point.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a second of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is associated with a voltage that is less than the voltage associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values and is associated with a frequency that is less than the frequency associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a difference between the frequency associated with the first operating point and the frequency associated with the first of the plurality of voltage/frequency values is substantially equal to a difference between the frequency associated with the first of the plurality voltage/frequency value and the frequency associated with the second of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first operating point and the second operating point are determined at a time of manufacture of the graphics processing unit.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first operating point is stored in a first register associated with the graphics processing unit and the second operating point is stored in a second register associated with the graphics processing unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein determining the first operating point and determining the second operating point comprises:

reading, at a time of startup, the first register; and

reading, at the time of startup, the second register.

22. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the reading the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the first operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture comprises:

read the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the first operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and stored in a first register of the graphics processing unit; and

wherein the reading the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the second operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture comprises;

reading the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the second operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and stored in a first register of the graphics processing unit.

18. A system comprising:

a graphics processing unit;

test equipment to test the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and to determine a first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit;

test equipment to test the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and to determine a second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit;

a switching voltage regulator; and

a medium storing program instruction that when executed by a processor cause the processor to;

read the first operating point and the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit;

automatically determine a plurality of voltage/frequency values between the first operating point and the second operating point, each of the plurality of voltage/frequency values including both a voltage and a frequency; and

define a plurality of power-performance states of the graphic processing unit, one or more power-performance states associated with one of the plurality of voltage/frequency values.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first operating point and the second operating point are determined at a time of manufacture of the graphics processing unit.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the switching voltage regulator is controlled based on the one or more of the power-performance states.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the read the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the first operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture comprises:

read the first operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the first operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and stored in a first register of the graphics processing unit; and

wherein the read the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the second operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture comprises;

read the second operating point associated with the graphics processing unit after the second operating point is determined by test equipment that tests the graphics processing unit at a time of manufacture and stored in a first register of the graphics processing unit.