Enhancing Power Efficiency by Integrating Processor Performance Metrics with Power Supply Phase Control
Enhancing Power Efficiency by Integrating Processor Performance Metrics with Power Supply Phase Control
S. Kawaguchi
Abstract
The processor is the most power-consuming device in a computer, yet it often operates under light load conditions for extended periods. During these times, the processor's power supply also experiences a light load, which significantly decreases its efficiency. Therefore, maintaining high efficiency across a wide range of conditions, including light load, is crucial. Previously, an adaptive power efficiency control method was proposed that links real-time power control to the processor's logical data processing workload, optimizing the configuration to achieve the highest possible power efficiency. While this method has shown the potential to improve CPU power efficiency in some programs, processor power fluctuations vary depending on the computing system, and the characteristics of power load differ according to the program being executed. In this study, the processor power supply efficiency improvement under more fluctuating power loads was experimentally verified by applying the proposed method during the execution of various types of programs. The results confirmed that the proposed method can enhance power efficiency and reduce power loss.
