When we buy a new graphics card, it is not only sold in the form of a GPU and its VRAM mounted on a PCB with the rest of the components, but also with a cooling system. For the design of the various components, it is necessary for the manufacturers to know the TDP of the GPU and the VRAM to create an efficient cooling system.
The same is true for CPUs, which are launched in the market with a set of new heatsinks, either air-cooled or liquid-cooled, when changing their socket. In this case, the TDP also plays an important role. However, it is not only essential in these two cases, it is also essential for the creation of systems that can reduce the temperature of RAM memory and even SSD disks.
However, it is often confused with hardware power consumption, when in fact, despite the fact that there is an indirect relationship between the two concepts. This is why it is crucial to clarify a series of points in order to clear up this confusion.
What is Thermal Design Power?
TDP or Thermal Design Power is generally used as a synonym for the power consumption of a processor, however we must take into account today CPUs and GPUs have methods of reducing power consumption depending on processor workload. The reason for the confusion is that in the history of hardware, power reduction mechanisms are relatively recent.
The answer to the question is therefore: the level of consumption below the maximum workload level. This value is relevant for creating cooling systems for a processor or graphics card. However, it should be clarified that thermal design power is not a parameter achieved after the processor has finished, which is why the acronym stands for thermal design power.
And it is that the thermal design power is something that is decided during the design phase of the processor and that is, along with the size of the chip and the list of characteristics that it will have, one of the first things which are decided during the design. Moreover, it is a feature directly related to the type of graphics card or processor being designed at that time.
How is the TDP calculated?
The thermal design power is given directly by the manufacturer, so we don’t really have to worry about that. We can say that the TDP is derived in a simplified way from the following formula:
(tCas (°C) – tAmbient (°C)) / (HSF Θca)
Or:
- tCase The greater the heat transfer between the processor and its case, the better the material used to dissipate the heat.
- also T is the ambient temperature, which should be provided by the refrigeration system. By this we do not mean the temperature of the environment, but rather the small space in which the material is located.
- HSF-Θca is the minimum temperature per watt on the heatsink. So the higher this value, the less heat dissipation will be needed in a processor.
In the same way that the design of new processors, graphics cards, RAM memories and the rest of the components seek to incorporate greater performance per watt, we also find that the TDP of the various elements has increased over time, requiring the development of new and increasingly advanced cooling systems to match the new processors.
The relationship between Boost and Thermal Design Power
One of the quirks of today’s CPUs and GPUs is the ability to achieve much higher clock speeds than they were originally designed for. They are called Boost or Turbo speeds, they achieve this by using a different voltage channel. So when the load on the processor reaches certain stress points, in order to get rid of the accumulated work, what is done is to use a second higher voltage, which will allow us to achieve higher clock speeds , but this will also result in higher thermal design power.
The counterpart to this is that the processor does not support such consumption for a long time due to the increase in temperature. That’s why these sudden changes in clock speed are done over a very short period of time where you make the voltage change, increase the clock speed, hold for a brief moment at the highest peak, but drop down and back more late at the original voltage.
For all this we must clarify one point, the TDP even during the Boost period is also important for the cooling system and, therefore, the expulsion of heat. Por lo que ese pequeño periodo de subida en la velocidad de reloj también se tiene que tener en cuenta a la hora de diseñar el sistema térmico que rodea a procesador, tarjeta gráfica y muchas veces incluso un sistema entero como puede ser un portátil ou una video game console.
What is the base power of the Intel processor?
The answer to this is very simple, it is the TDP of an Intel CPU when it is in PL1 mode and therefore at normal speed. PL2, on the other hand, refers to the level of consumption during the Turbo or Boost period. So, technically, we are in a rebranding maneuver, so when Intel refers to processor base power, it is referring to processor power consumption under normal conditions. Instead, the so-called maximum turbo power refers to the TDP during the period when the clock speed is temporarily increased.
In other words, Processor Base Power is not some kind of new technology, nor a hardware feature. Otherwise, it’s really a marketing maneuver to associate certain core concepts and technologies with certain specific brands. The reason is that if we talk about Processor Base Power, it will always be from the perspective of Intel processors and when the user searches for what this combination of words means, it will lead him exclusively to processors of this brand. So in short Processor Base Power is nothing more than the TDP of the processor and, therefore, the heat it gives off, but only at its usual clock rate and not at the little speed boosts we have already explained.
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