Good day.

The topic of our conversation within the framework of this article will be the TDP of the processor - what is it and “what is it eaten with”, as the Umka bear cub said in the cartoon of the same name :).

Explanation of the incomprehensible

This abbreviation, unknown to many, hides such a definition in English - thermal design power, and sometimes “point” is meant instead of the last word.

This is translated as "design requirements for heat dissipation."

What does this parameter mean? I'll start from the very beginning, so that it is clear even to those who are not familiar with computers.

As you know, almost all calculations on a PC are performed. From such hard work, it heats up and, accordingly, releases heat. So that it does not burn out, a cooling system is installed in the computer, designed specifically for a certain family of processors. So, what kind of heat dissipation is it designed for and indicates TDP.

What can be affected by the discrepancy between the requirements and real indicators? It is obvious. If the chip constantly overheats, at first it will stop performing only some of the tasks you have set, and shortly after that it will burn out. This is why the watts on the cooling system, that is, TDP, must equal (or even exaggerate) the performance of the processor.

How is the calculation done?

Let's say the specifications for the cooler indicate that it can handle a thermal power of 30 watts. This means that it is able to remove such heat under normal processor operating conditions (normal, not elevated!); an increase in temperature is expected only occasionally. I mean that the manufacturer initially assumes in what environment the CPU will be used (temperature, humidity, etc.) and, in accordance with this, sets the requirements for the cooling system.

Speaking in simple terms, TDP is the amount of heat that a percent emits (under normal operating conditions), indicated in arbitrary units.

By the way, please do not confuse TDP with processor power consumption, that is, the first parameter does not show the maximum power of the device, but says how much heat the cooler can remove.

It is not yet worth comparing the performance of one system with another. Because processor manufacturers set heat dissipation requirements differently. Firstly, the operating temperature in different models is different. And if for some it will be critical 100 ° C, for others - half as much.

Secondly, manufacturers usually list average TDPs for entire families of chips. But earlier devices consumed less energy than modern ones. Therefore, the maximum value is usually prescribed, which is suitable for everyone.

I will not list the requirements for each line of processors of different brands, so as not to litter the article with unnecessary information. If you are interested, search the Internet for specifications specific to your device. Here is an example of tables for i7: https://ark.intel.com

And here is a table of all AMD processors:

All in all. If you are looking for cooling for a protsik, then take a cooler with a TDP indicator with a small margin. Just in case.

That's all friends.

I tried to write as clearly and concisely as possible, I hope there will be no questions.

Remember that on this site you are always a welcome guest.

See you soon on its pages!

Reading time: 3 min

Many probably noticed on processors, video cards such a parameter as TDP. This parameter stands for thermal design power, and in Russian it refers to the requirement of the cooling system. Roughly speaking, if the TDP of the processor is 95 watts, then the cooling system must at least remove 95 watts of thermal energy. In the article, we will analyze in detail what it is tdp of the processor, what it is for, how to find out.

What is CPU TDP

What is the TDP of a processor? As you know, all operations on the computer are performed by the processor. From such a load, it does not heat up badly, and so that it does not burn out during operation, you need to install a cooling system, that is, in simple words, a cooler (fan with a radiator) that is mounted on the processor. Coolers for each processor family are different, so you can’t just take any and install it. Not only may the mount not fit, it may also not be able to cope with the heat generated by the processor, which will cause the processor to heat up and fail. And to understand what kind of cooler you need, just the same TDP parameter will help you.

Let's take a closer look at this parameter using the Intel Core i5-7400 processor as an example.

How to find out the tdp of the processor

Finding out the tdp of the processor, that is, the heat dissipation during its operation, is quite simple. This parameter is written in each store. We went to the first store in the search and go to the characteristics. There we see the "Thermal characteristics" section, where the TDP parameter we need is located.

From the data obtained, we can conclude that the TDP of the Intel Core i5-7400 processor is 65W. Now you need to choose a cooler for this processor. If the processor outputs 65 watts of thermal energy, then the power dissipation of the cooler should be at least 65 watts.

When choosing a cooler, the first thing you need to pay attention to is the socket on the motherboard. The socket is where the processor is inserted. You can find out the socket in the same place as TDP.

As you can see, we have socket 1151. Now it remains to find a cooler for socket 1151, with a power dissipation of at least 65 watts.

We find the Cooler Master XDream i117 cooler, which has the following characteristics:

The socket and power dissipation are suitable, so you can take such a cooler for this processor.

This parameter also serves for the correct selection of the power supply. After all, the power supply is selected on the basis of those components that will be installed. The higher the TDP value of the processor and video card, the more powerful the power supply must be.

Did you know that if the processor starts to warm up, it means that it's time to clean the system unit from dust and replace the thermal paste. If you are wondering how to apply thermal paste to the processor, then we recently discussed this.

Quite often, technical periodicals mention such characteristics of processors as TDP, crystal temperature, maximum power dissipation, etc. However, the general public is not sufficiently informed about what each term means and how to interpret it, reviews sometimes appear not quite correct interpretations of those or other results and, accordingly, erroneous conclusions. The article discusses the issues of heat dissipation using the example of Intel processors, as well as some features of the next generation CPUs.

As you know, every entity has two extremes. With regard to microprocessors, these are performance and power consumption, and the first parameter is better known to us, since it is given the most attention in the press, and the average PC user is much less aware of the second. This knowledge is divided into two parts - empirical and theoretical, while the latter most often come down to familiarity with the mysterious abbreviation TDP (Thermal Design Point or Thermal Design Power) and the corresponding unit of measure - watt. The term TDP does not have a well-established Russian equivalent, it can be translated as "thermal design power" of the processor. The concept of TDP is most often used to characterize the thermal (thermal) performance of a microprocessor (its "hotness": the lower the better), and other things being equal, a processor with a low TDP is preferred. In addition, this indicator serves another purpose - to intimidate the consumer. Like, this processor dissipates "a lot of watts", so its use in home or office conditions is impossible.

As will be seen later, everything is determined not by the magnitude of this power, but by how efficiently we can dissipate it. The PC user receives an empirical assessment "by ear" - the computer makes noise (which is most often associated with the processor cooling system), or visually - through the BIOS or using software supplied by the motherboard manufacturer. Unfortunately, reviewers usually do not pay due attention to these characteristics, namely: not just the mention of temperature values ​​in certain places of the board, but their correct interpretation. For example, if a PC user observes a processor temperature of 100 ° C in the utility readings, you should not despair - in fact, it is much lower. At such a high temperature, the processor simply could not function, because in case of overheating, which is this value, the CPU will simply stop. And this means that such a temperature cannot be reached even theoretically.

Actually, the main purpose of the proposed material is to explain what is hidden under the mentioned characteristics and how they should be correctly understood and used. All further considerations refer exclusively to Intel microprocessors.

First of all, let us recall some principles of power supply of microprocessors and the basics of thermodynamics in order to give an idea of ​​the range of tasks solved by the manufacturer.

The Intel microprocessor is powered by a VRD (Voltage Regulator Down) source, commonly known as a voltage converter. It converts the voltage of 12 V into the required voltage for the processor - about 1.5 V or less (Vcc - Voltage CPU Core, processor core voltage). In this case, the supply voltage on the 12 V bus with a current of 16 A (192 W), as indicated on the power supply, is converted into a supply voltage of 1.5 V, but with a current of 100 A (these figures are given solely to simplify mathematical calculations). In such a situation, of course, there is a loss of part of the power (in our case, for example, 42 W), since the converter has an efficiency of less than 100%. The final current of 100 A is supplied to the processor through several hundred pins - in the technical documentation, you can be surprised to find that most of the pins of the LGA775 socket are used to power the processor and ground.

The value of this part of the power is quite high. A 3 GHz CPU dissipates less than a 3.4 GHz CPU, but they both fall under a TDP of 95W! We will talk about the TDP parameter itself a little lower, the main thing for now is to understand that the maximum power dissipated by the processor is not the same as the TDP parameter.

The power leaving the processor is converted into heat, which must move elsewhere to equalize the heat balance. If the possibility of removing this heat from the processor was not provided, then the temperature of the CPU would rise rapidly and it would fail. Therefore, the heat generated by the processor (its crystal) must be taken away from the microcircuit and spent on an absolutely useless thing - heating the air in the room. For this, the Fan Heatsink Solution, or active cooling system, was invented. The modern design is shown in the figure (the fan is not shown there). The heat generated by the processor crystal (dark green in the figure) is removed from it in the following order: first it passes through the heat-conducting material of the microcircuit, then it enters the metal cover of the distributor (the main purpose of which is not mechanical protection of the crystal, as many believe, but uniform distribution of heat dissipated by the microprocessor crystal). After that, it moves to the so-called heat-conducting material, which is applied to the sole of the radiator and has different crystalline phases depending on the temperature (therefore, never try to remove the heat sink from the processor without first turning on the PC for 10-15 minutes, otherwise you can simply pull the processor out of the socket , especially when using Socket 478). Further, the heat enters the radiator and, with the help of a fan, goes outside the structure.

Let us recall once again that the main task of this design is to remove heat from the microprocessor and dissipate it in the surrounding space. Certain difficulties await us on this path, and the main one is related to ensuring the thermal efficiency of the device. It is a “layer cake”, each layer of which can both help and harm. Any material has its own characteristic of thermal resistance or, in Intel terminology, thermal efficiency (parameter Ψ in the documentation for the processor). This means that it will heat up, and as a result, heat can return to the processor die. Thermal resistance is measured in °C/W (less is better) and shows that when a thermal power of 1 W passes through a material, the temperature of the material will rise by this amount. For example, when one watt of thermal power passes through the radiator material with the parameter Ψ = 0.3 °C / W, its temperature will increase by 0.3 °C, at 100 W of thermal power, the heating will already be 30 °C. Adding to this value an ambient temperature of 40 ° C, without much effort we get as much as 70 ° C! And this means that sooner or later the processor will also heat up, which is exactly what we want to avoid, or at least minimize.

The author tried to evaluate the quality of thermal pastes common in the domestic market - it does not stand up to criticism. In all cases, their use resulted in the processor heatsink fan speed being 200-300 RPM faster than Intel's thermal interface material. The reason for this is the high value of thermal resistance. Of course, Intel does not release such material for its "boxed" products on its own, but when choosing a supplier, a thorough analysis is carried out in terms of price / performance. The materials with the best performance are expensive, and the same pattern applies to radiators. You can make it all copper and with a huge scattering surface area, but it will come out heavy, bulky and expensive. You can use an additional fan, the air flow from which will "blow off" the heat from the surface of the radiator - cheap, but noisy. There are other exotic ways - for example, water cooling, cryogenic installations. They are more efficient, but are unlikely to get into mass production because of the high price and low reliability.

Therefore, Intel uses a number of technical solutions that ultimately give the best balance. Finding the best cooling solution is always a compromise between cost, efficiency and reliability. The total thermal heat dissipation index is the sum of the thermal resistances of each of the elements of our “pie” that are encountered along the path of thermal power. And each element can significantly affect the final integral characteristic of the thermal efficiency of heat removal.

Learn more about TDP

TDP is a value that is used to calculate the thermal efficiency of a cooling system. The widely held belief that TDP determines the maximum power dissipation of an Intel processor is fundamentally wrong.

How is TDP used? The input data for calculating the thermal efficiency of the cooling system (and eventually developing its design) are the TDP value and the maximum operating temperature of the crystal T case max . It is measured at the point T case (see figure) - the geometric center on the surface of the heat distributor cover (note: T case is not the temperature of the crystal, as it is mistakenly believed). As an example, consider the TDP value of 95 W, which is currently used to calculate cooling systems for approximately 90% of Intel desktop processors. Tcasemax for them is approximately 70 °C (the exact value can be found in the SSpec database at support.intel.com using the SL code present on the chip label and processor carton). The formula for calculating thermal efficiency (thermal resistance) will look like this:

T case max = T ambient + TDP × Ψ,

where T ambient is the temperature of the "ambient",

Ψ = (T case max - T ambient) / TDP = (70 - 38) / 95 = 0.34 C / W.

As a result, we must design a cooling system with such thermal efficiency. And here begins the struggle between "good" (thermal efficiency) and "evil" (economical).

Imagine that we have developed such a system, now it needs to be tested. To do this, you will have to damage the surface of the cover of the heat distributor. A groove is made in it, in which one thermocouple is laid. Another is placed on the surface of the fan motor (in Fig. T ambient). With the first thermocouple we measure the temperature of the crystal, and with the second - the environment. We begin to gradually load the processor and see how our cooling system works. Upon reaching the threshold of 95 W, the temperature at the measuring point should not exceed 70 °C. The indicated power can be dissipated by only a few models out of 90% that fit “under the umbrella” of 95 W, the rest will never reach this value. For example, in the line of Intel Pentium 6×1 processors, all models dissipate up to 86 W, i.e., hypothetically, it can be assumed that this barrier will be overcome only starting from a core frequency of 3.8-4 GHz.

So, if during our measurements the temperature at this point exceeds T case max = 70 °C, something is wrong here. For example, we applied cheap thermal grease to the sole of the radiator. The question arises, how much can an Intel processor dissipate at a TDP of 95 watts. In principle, the top-end model of the family is capable of dissipating a little more, but this is only achievable by running a special Intel utility (it is not available to the general public), the task of which is to make all transistors on the processor work. With the help of commercial software, this result is almost impossible to achieve.

Now let's move on to the question of whether it is possible to use the sensor readings from the BIOS or specialized software to evaluate the efficiency of the cooling system. To do this, you need to understand what temperature the user sees in the BIOS settings or motherboard software. The fact is that there are two thermal sensors on the crystal itself. One thing, the TCC control sensor, we will temporarily forget. The second (in Fig. T diode) is a thermal diode, in which the anode and cathode are brought out to two contact pads of the processor in the LGA4 package (for the LGA775 socket). There are several models for using this sensor. For example, the board has a so-called current comparator and an ADC circuit that converts the difference between the currents of a reference and a specific sensor into a number and informs the user of this value through the BIOS or specialized software from the board manufacturer, after converting this value into temperature according to an existing template, which may be wrong. That is, when reading the number 12, which should correspond to a temperature of 40 ° C, we translate it into 47 ° C or, even worse, we read the number 16 from the sensor instead of 12, which corresponds to 70 ° C.

Thus, we see the so-called temperature of the crystal ... which has already been measured once, but in a different place and in a different way. This is where the greatest number of problems are hidden, here are a few of them. Firstly, the sensor shows the temperature in a particular place on the crystal, and if it is 100 °C at this point, this does not mean that the entire crystal has the same temperature. Its value, displayed on the monitor screen, largely determines the application software used. Namely: at 90% CPU load while playing DOOM, it will be 70 °C, and at the same 90% load in Photoshop - 55 °C. Those. the temperature at this point depends on which nearby CPU blocks are being used the most.

Secondly, the conversion circuit on the board may not be calibrated (most often the calibration correction is done through the BIOS) or simply fail, and the specialized software of the motherboard may be erroneously programmed for an incorrect value template. For these reasons, Intel strongly discourages the use of this sensor's values ​​(in BIOS or board software) to perform thermal validation work on assembled PCs. An example is , which examined the performance and thermal characteristics of the Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 processor on the Intel D975XBX motherboard. After taking a lot of temperature measurements with this (not recommended) sensor and getting higher values, the reviewer concluded that the maximum power dissipation of this CPU is 200 W, and not 130, as Intel claims.

Employees of one of the popular English-language Web resources faced a similar situation. When they saw that the sensor was showing abnormal temperatures of 100°C or more, they contacted Intel, and after unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem through a BIOS update (most often this eliminates abnormal readings), they had to replace the board. In addition, the experience of overclocking this processor (with an unlocked multiplier) suggests that with a standard cooling system, the Pentium Extreme Edition 955 can be overclocked to 4.2 GHz without core frequency modulation (more on that later). And it is worth recalling once again that 130 W is a design characteristic of the cooling system, not the processor. In other words, this was a confirmation of the manufacturer's recommendation not to use these values ​​for evaluating the efficiency of cooling systems.

The question arises: why such a sensor, where can it be used? Its main purpose today is to control the fan speed of the cooling system for the LGA775. The same circuit reads this sensor and, using the fourth wire of the cooling fan (connected to the motherboard), uses PWM modulation to control the fan speed. This scheme differs significantly from that used in the Socket 478 cooling system, where the fan was controlled by a temperature sensor located above the engine, under the fan cover marked with Intel. With such a scheme, it was necessary to take into account the inertia of the cooling system, and therefore the fan ran at a speed much higher than necessary, which means that the noise was higher. The temperature of the processor could rise sharply (point T diode), but we would only feel it after a long time - the temperature sensor, which is designed to immediately respond to all changes, is located at point T ambient . So I had to turn the fan at a speed of 2000, and not 1500 rpm.

On the LGA775, the T diode temperature control system instantly responds to temperature increases and increases the speed. As in the previous case, the board manufacturer may make a mistake in programming the control system and overclock the fan when it is not necessary. This problem with uncalibrated sensors or erroneous programming will be fixed in the next generation of Broadwater chipsets (i965), where the temperature reading and fan speed control circuitry is part of the system logic. In addition, the sensor(s) on the Conroe processor will become digital (the digital sensor scheme already works on the Intel Core Duo and is called DTS).

As an intermediate result, we note the following. The TDP of a processor is used as a starting point when calculating the thermal efficiency of the cooling system for that CPU. The use of a temperature sensor (T diode) for the fan speed control circuit is one of the most advanced mechanisms for reducing PC noise today, at least in terms of the processor cooling system. However, the readings from this sensor should not be used as an accurate estimate of the thermal efficiency of the processor cooling system and the thermal performance of the system.

The behavior of the CPU when overheating

We will separately consider how the Intel processor behaves when the cooling system cannot cope with heat removal. This is controlled by the second sensor on the CPU, which is completely autonomous and there is no access to it (in the figure it is T prochot). All threshold values ​​for it are "sewn up" at the factory at the manufacturing stage. There are two of them - T prochot and T thermtrip. When the sensor reaches the first value, the modulation of the processor core frequency starts. There are two schemes - TM2 and TM1. Most often, the board manufacturer decides which one to use, but Intel recommends using TM2 whenever possible. In this case, the processor multiplier changes to 12 (2.4 GHz for new samples) or 14 (2.8 GHz for old ones), and then the core supply voltage is reduced. When the temperature normalizes, the CPU returns to the nominal operating point in the reverse order. When the supply voltage is changed, the processor is available and working, while when the multiplier is changed, it becomes unavailable for 5 or 10 µs (depending on the model).

According to the TM1 scheme, the core frequency is modulated - out of 3 ms, the core is idle for 1.5 ms and works for 1.5 ms. She also has a software option to control the duty cycle. This scheme is used by utilities that reduce the noise of the cooling system. It is clear that you have to pay for this with performance, there are no miracles. The purpose of both schemes is simple: if the processor overheats, it must be slowed down, allowing it to cool down, which is better than immediately stopping work - you can at least save the files. As soon as the processor has cooled down and the sensor "felt" it, the TCC (Thermal Control Circuitry) circuit is turned off. Of course, a small hysteresis is added to avoid constant mode switching.

For TM2 and TM1, their inclusion manifests itself in the form of a slowdown in the system. If this does not correct the situation, the sensor immediately turns on the THERMTRIP circuit, all internal blocks of the processor are stopped and a signal is generated instructing the voltage converter (VRD) to stop supplying power to the CPU. The approximate value of the temperature at which this situation occurs is 90 °C. More recently, it has become possible to turn on TM1 / TM2 circuits when the VRD overheats: the processor slows down and starts to consume less, and the VRD can “take a break”. On the Pentium D, instead of the PROCHOT# signal line, FORCEPR# is used to activate the processor slowdown when the voltage converter overheats.

The presence of a separate sensor for the overheat control circuit creates a new group of problems. We can see the temperature T diode = 100 °C on the processor, and on the T prochot sensor it will reach only 70 °C, i.e., according to the readings of the first sensor, the processor should have stopped a long time ago, but it is still functioning. And again, everything is determined by the software profile, which can affect the readings of these sensors in different ways. The most annoying thing about this protection scheme is that it is disabled by default, and it is the motherboard BIOS's job to enable it. (Forgetfulness of the BIOS designer or his mistake can cost the owner of the PC dearly). The latest Conroe processors use the same sensors for both the fan speed control circuitry and the CPU's thermal management. This should eliminate the problem of inconsistent readings from the sensors. This scheme is implemented in Intel Core Duo (Yonah) - already mentioned DTS. The summary is simple: the developers of the processor are doing everything so that even if it overheats, it remains possible to continue working. Even in the event of catastrophic overheating, you don't have to worry - the CPU itself and a properly designed motherboard with the correct BIOS will not allow themselves to be burned.

Further is better

In conclusion, we will touch on one of the most important questions: what is Intel doing to reduce the power dissipation factor? There are two main ways. The first is to disable those processor blocks that are not currently in use at the microarchitecture level. This scheme is most actively used in mobile microprocessors. The second way is to make changes at the level of semiconductor materials. One of the main goals in the implementation of the 65 nm process technology was to reduce leakage currents, and this was achieved - their values ​​decreased hundreds of times. As a result, for example, we got dual-core microprocessors of the 900th models of the C-1 stepping, which “fit” in a 95 W thermal package at frequencies up to 3.4 GHz inclusive.

Naturally, the story would be incomplete without an attempt to look into the near future. Expected in Q3 this year is a desktop processor codenamed Conroe, which at launch will be the quintessence of Intel's power-efficient performance innovations. Expected 40% performance improvement (over Intel Pentium D 950) in SPECint_rate test and even higher gaming rating, while dissipating only 65W of thermal power, using more advanced fan speed control and thermal control circuitry.

The material presented in a number of places was deliberately simplified, but, we hope, has not lost its relevance. Detailed information on the thermal characteristics of Intel processors can be found at support.intel.com in the following documents: Thermal and Mechanical Design Guide (TMDG), Thermal Design Guidelines, Processor Datasheet, VRD Design Guide.

The main and main part of the computer is the processor or CPU. It is he who affects the performance and quality of your computer. When choosing a processor, you should be guided by what tasks you will solve on your computer: from simple ones (typing, accounting) to complex ones (AutoCAD, 3D modeling, computing server).

There are two companies on the market offering consumer and server processors - Intel and AMD.

At the moment, Intel offers processors on three main sockets:

• LGA1155 - Celeron, Pentium and Intel Core processors of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge families.
• LGA2011 - Intel Core and Xeon processors of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge-E families.
• LGA1150 - Intel Haswell Processors

AMD currently offers processors on three sockets:

• Socket FM1 - ​​AMD Fusion Family Processors
• Socket FM2 - AMD Trinity and AMD Richland processor families
• Socket FM2+ - processors of the Kaveri family
• Socket AM3+ - AMD Vishera Family Processors

Main characteristics of the CPU

Processor clock speed

Clock oscillations inside the processor are created by a special quartz crystal, which is energized - a clock resonator. Under the action of voltage in the crystal, electrical oscillations are formed. They are fed to a clock generator, which converts their pulses and transfers them to the data and address buses. Thus, the work of all components of the central processor, buses and RAM is synchronized.

Tick ​​is the smallest unit of measure for how long a processor is running. When exchanging data with other components, the processor can spend more than one cycle (most of them will be waiting cycles due to slower data buses and RAM microchips compared to the processor).

A higher clock frequency will be a significant bonus only with other equal parameters of the processors. In some cases, lower clocked processors outperform their "faster" opponents both in speed when performing certain tasks.

Number of cores and threads

The computing core of the processor is a separate crystal capable of executing a separate instruction stream. Today, PC processors carry at least two physical cores. Essentially, each core provides an additional parallel thread of computation and increases the overall performance of the processor. But that's in theory. In practice, less than half of the software supports multi-threaded computing (more than two computing threads are involved during operation).

Therefore, it is necessary to select a multi-core processor for specific tasks:

• 2 cores - Internet surfing, office and other non-resource-intensive applications, old or modern non-resource-intensive computer games.
• 4 cores - almost all computer games, music and video editors, some graphic editors
• More than 4 cores (6 and 8) - server software, 2D and 3D graphics packages, etc.

It is necessary to distinguish between two concepts - a physical core and a computational thread (logical core). With the advent of Hyper-threading technology from Intel, the number of computational threads (for the operating system - logical cores) increased by 2 times in relation to the physical cores. Each of the logical processors has its own set of registers and an interrupt controller, and the rest of the processor elements are common. When a pause occurs during the operation of one of the logical processors (cache miss, branch prediction error, waiting for the result of the previous instruction), then control is transferred to a thread in another logical processor. Thus, while one process is waiting, the processing resources of the physical processor are used to process another process. The performance increase with HT, although not twofold, is quite noticeable (on Pentium 4 - up to 30%, on Intel Core - from 20% to 50% depending on the model).

Perhaps in the future, computer games will switch to support 8-core systems. At the very least, next-generation game console manufacturers have already announced the use of eight-core solutions from AMD.

Process technology

In the production of semiconductor integrated circuits (in our case, CPU “stones”), photolithography and lithographic equipment are used. The resolution of this equipment determines the name of the specific technological process used.

Improving technology and reducing the size of semiconductor structures contribute to improving the characteristics (size, power consumption, cost) of products. This is of particular importance for processor cores (reducing power consumption and increasing performance).

Modern processors are manufactured according to technical processes:

• 45 nm - Intel Core i3, i5, i7; AMD Phenom II X2, X3, X4, X6; AMD Athlon II X2, X3, X4)
• 35 nm - Intel Sandy Bridge; AMD Bulldozer; AMD Piledriver; AMD Llano and Trinity APUs
• 28 nm - mobile processors Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos 5 Octa, NVIDIA Tegra 4
• 22 nm - Intel Ivy Bridge, Intel Haswell

Cache

Cache is an additional high-speed memory for storing copies of blocks of information from RAM, the probability of accessing which is high in the near future. There are caches of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels (L1, L2 and L3, respectively).

The 1st level cache has the fastest access time, but the smallest size, in addition, 1st level caches are often made multiported.

A level 2 cache is usually much slower than a level 2 cache, but it can be made much larger. The L2 cache works, usually at the frequency of the processor, which reduces the delay in data processing.

Level 3 cache is the largest cache in terms of volume and is quite slow, but it is still much faster than RAM.

Dissipated power (TDP)

TDP (thermal design power) is a value showing how much thermal power the processor cooling system should be designed to remove. TDP does not show the maximum theoretical heat dissipation of the processor, but the performance requirements of the cooling system.

TDP is designed for "normal" conditions, which can sometimes be violated. For example, in the event of a fan failure or improper cooling of the case itself. In this case, the processor gives a signal to turn off the computer or goes into throttling mode (throttling) when the processor skips part of the cycles.

At the moment, the hottest home processors from AMD are AMD Vishera (TDP - 125 W), Intel - Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition (TDP - 150 W), as well as several models based on LGA 2011 (Intel Xeon with a TDP of 135W).

Factor

The processor frequency is obtained by multiplying its reference frequency (usually, FSB - data bus frequency) by the "processor multiplier". In the technical characteristics of the processor, this coefficient is referred to as a multiplier.

Processor overclocking (increasing its clock frequency) can be done in two ways:

• Increase reference frequency (FSB)
• Increase multiplier value

In most models, the multiplier is locked (almost all models from Intel and budget models from AMD), and overclocking is possible only by increasing the frequency of the data bus. Models with an unlocked multiplier have the letter “K” in their name and are designed for overclocking. Overclocking of other processor models is done at your own risk, if the outcome is unsuccessful, you can burn both the processor and the processor socket on the motherboard, and at the same time lose warranty service.

Prices for models are averaged for BOX versions as of January 2014.

Up to 2000 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Celeron G1820 (LGA1150)
• Alternative– Intel Celeron G1610 (LGA1155)
• Alternative– AMD A4-5300 (Socket FM2)

From 2000 to 2500 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Pentium G3220 (LGA1150)
• Alternative– Intel Pentium G2030 (LGA1155)
• Alternative– AMD Athlon X2 370K (Socket FM2)

From 2500 to 3000 rubles:

• The best option– Pentium G3420 (LGA1150)
• Alternative– Athlon X4 750K (Socket FM2)
• Alternative– Pentium G2130 (LGA1155)

From 3000 to 3500 rubles:

• The best option– AMD FX-4130 (Socket AM3+)
• Alternative– AMD A8-5600K (Socket FM2)
• Alternative– AMD FX-4300 (Socket AM3+)

From 3500 to 4000 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Core i3-3220 (LGA1155)
• Alternative– AMD FX-4170 (Socket AM3+)
• Alternative– AMD A10-5800K (Socket FM2)

From 4000 to 4500 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Core i3-3240 (LGA1155)
• Alternative– AMD FX-6300 (Socket AM3+)
• Alternative– Intel Core i3-4130 (LGA1150)

From 4500 to 6000 rubles:

• The best option - AMD FX-8320 (Socket AM3+)
• Alternative - AMD FX-8120 (Socket AM3+)
• Alternative - AMD A10-6800K (Socket FM2)

From 6000 to 7500 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Core i5-4440 (LGA1150)
• Alternative - Intel Core i5-3450 (LGA1155)

From 7500 to 10000 rubles:

• The best option– Intel Core i5-4670K (LGA1150)
• Alternative - Intel Core i5-3570K (LGA1155)

Over 10,000 rubles:

• Best option ~10000– Intel Core i7-3770 (LGA1155)
• Best option ~11000– Intel Core i7-4771 (LGA1150)
• Best option ~12000– Intel Core i7-4770K (LGA1150)
• Alternative ~12000 – Intel Core i7-4820K (LGA2011)
• Best option ~20000– Intel Core i7-4930K (LGA2011)
• The best option over 30,000 rubles- Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition (LGA2011)

Office computer:

• Simple workstation- Intel Pentium G3220
• Productive workstation- Athlon X4 750K

Home computer:

• "For study"-Intel Core i3-3220
• Multimedia (video and 2D graphics processing and other multi-threaded calculations)- AMD FX-8320
• gaming computer- Intel Core i5-4670K
• Powerful gaming computer- Intel Core i7-4770K
• CAD and 3D modeling- Intel Core i7-4820K
• Power for the sake of power- Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition

Device. For example, if a CPU cooler is rated at 30W TDP, it should be able to dissipate 30W of heat under some given "normal conditions".

TDP shows no maximum theoretical heat dissipation of the processor, but only the performance requirements of the cooling system.

TDP is designed for certain "normal" conditions, which can sometimes be violated. For example, in the event of a fan failure or improper cooling of the case itself. At the same time, modern processors either give a signal to turn off the computer, or go into the so-called throttling mode (eng. throttling) when the processor skips part of the cycles.

Different chip manufacturers calculate TDP differently, so the value cannot be directly used to compare the power consumption of processors. The thing is that different processors have a temperature limit. If for some processors the temperature of 100°C is critical, then for others it can be only 60°C. To cool the second, a more efficient cooling system will be required, because the higher the temperature of the radiator, the more actively it dissipates heat. In other words, at a constant processor power, when using cooling systems of different performance, only the resulting crystal temperature will differ. It is never safe to say that a processor with a TDP of 100W consumes more power than a processor with a TDP of 5W from another manufacturer. It's a bit odd that TDP is often claimed for a die that spans an entire family of processors, regardless of processor clock speed, with lower models typically consuming less power and dissipating less heat than older ones.

Also, some experts decipher this term as a “thermal design package” (“thermal package”) - designing a device based on a temperature analysis of the structure.

Classification for Intel processors

• X - TDP over 75W
• E - TDP up to 45W
• T - TDP up to 35W
• P - TDP up to 25W
• L - TDP up to 17W
• U - TDP up to 10W
• SP - TDP up to 25W
• SL - TDP up to 17W
• SU - TDP up to 10W

• non-index models - TDP 95 W
• K - TDP 95<Вт для 4-ядерных моделей (индекс “K” отображает наличие у процессора разблокированного множителя)
• S - TDP 65W for 4-core models
• T - TDP 45W for 4-core models, 35W for 2-core models

Classification for AMD processors

• E - TDP up to 45W
• U - TDP up to 25W

ACP

With the release of the Barcelona-based Opteron 3G processors, AMD introduced a new power characteristic called ACP ( Average CPU Power, "average power consumption") of new processors under load.

AMD will also continue to specify the maximum power consumption level - TDP.

Notes

Literature

• Power and thermal management in the Intel® Core™ Duo processor section in Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology (Volume 10 Issue 02 Published May 15, 2006 ISSN 1535-864X DOI: 10.1535/itj.1002.03) .)

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See what "TDP" is in other dictionaries:

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tdp- Mit Thermal Design Power (Abkürzung: TDP, gelegentlich auch falsch: Thermal Design Point) wird in der Elektronikindustrie ein typischer Wert für die Verlustleistung eines Prozessors oder anderer elektronischer Bauteile bezeichnet, auf deren… … Deutsch Wikipedia