Reducing power in high-performance microprocessors

TLDR

Power consumption is a major challenge in high‑performance microprocessor design, driven by increasing complexity and speed that outpace voltage reduction and scaling benefits, prompting continuous innovation to meet design constraints. The paper provides an overview of power‑consumption issues in Intel CPUs and identifies future research priorities. It describes system and benchmarking factors, power‑source characteristics, past design techniques, and CAD tool limitations relevant to Intel CPUs. The study outlines key trends that are driving the heightened focus on low‑power design.

Abstract

Power consumption has become one of the biggest challenges in high-performance microprocessor design. The rapid increase in the complexity and speed of each new CPU generation is outstripping the benefits of voltage reduction and feature size scaling. Designers are thus continuously challenged to come up with innovative ways to reduce power, while trying to meet all the other constraints imposed on the design. This paper presents an overview of the issues related to power consumption in the context of Intel CPUs. The main trends that are driving the increased focus on design for low power are described. System and benchmarking issues, and sources of power consumption in a high-performance CPU are briefly described. Techniques that have been tried on real designs in the past are described. The role of CAD tools and their limitations in this domain will also be discussed. In addition, areas that need increased research focus in the future are also pointed out.