Thermal Metrology; Processor Thermal Features; Thermal Monitor; Thermal Monitor 2 - Intel Q9300 - Core 2 Quad 2.5 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Quad-Core Processor Datasheet

Thermal Specifications and Design Considerations
5.1.2

Thermal Metrology

The maximum and minimum case temperatures (T
Table 5-1. This temperature specification is meant to help ensure proper operation of
the processor.
measurements should be made. For detailed guidelines on temperature measurement
methodology, refer to the appropriate Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines (See
Section 1.2).
Figure 5-5. Case Temperature (T
5.2

Processor Thermal Features

5.2.1

Thermal Monitor

The Thermal Monitor feature helps control the processor temperature by activating the
thermal control circuit (TCC) when the processor silicon reaches its maximum operating
temperature. The TCC reduces processor power consumption by modulating (starting
and stopping) the internal processor core clocks. The Thermal Monitor feature must
be enabled for the processor to be operating within specifications. The
temperature at which Thermal Monitor activates the thermal control circuit is not user
configurable and is not software visible. Bus traffic is snooped in the normal manner,
and interrupt requests are latched (and serviced during the time that the clocks are on)
while the TCC is active.
When the Thermal Monitor feature is enabled, and a high temperature situation exists
(i.e., TCC is active), the clocks will be modulated by alternately turning the clocks off
and on at a duty cycle specific to the processor (typically 30-50%). Clocks often will not
be off for more than 3.0 microseconds when the TCC is active. Cycle times are
processor speed dependent and will decrease as processor core frequencies increase. A
small amount of hysteresis has been included to prevent rapid active/inactive
transitions of the TCC when the processor temperature is near its maximum operating
temperature. Once the temperature has dropped below the maximum operating
temperature, and the hysteresis timer has expired, the TCC goes inactive and clock
modulation ceases.
With a properly designed and characterized thermal solution, it is anticipated that the
TCC would only be activated for very short periods of time when running the most
power intensive applications. The processor performance impact due to these brief
Datasheet
Figure 5-5 illustrates where Intel recommends T
) Measurement Location
C
37.5 mm 37.5 mm
) for the processor is specified in
C
thermal
C
Measure T Measure T at this point at this point
C C
(geometric center of the package) (geometric center of the package)
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