Intel E8200 BX80570E8200A User Manual

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Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines  

A system designed to meet the thermal profile specification published in the processor 

datasheet greatly reduces the probability of real applications causing the thermal 

control circuit to activate under normal operating conditions. Systems that do not 

meet these specifications could be subject to more frequent activation of the thermal 

control circuit depending upon ambient air temperature and application power profile. 

Moreover, if a system is significantly under designed, there is a risk that the Thermal 

Monitor feature will not be capable of reducing the processor power and temperature 

and the processor could shutdown and signal THERMTRIP#.  

For information regarding THERMTRIP#, refer to the processor datasheet and to 
Section 

4.2.8 of this Thermal Design Guidelines. 

The Thermal Monitor feature and its thermal control circuit work seamlessly with ACPI 

compliant operating systems. The Thermal Monitor feature is transparent to 

application software since the processor bus snooping, ACPI timer, and interrupts are 

active at all times. 

In the event of a catastrophic cooling failure, the processor will automatically shut 

down when the silicon temperature has exceeded the TCC activation temperature by 

approximately 20 to 25° C. At this point the system bus signal THERMTRIP# goes 

active and power must be removed from the processor. THERMTRIP# activation is 

independent of processor activity and does not generate any bus cycles. Refer to the 

processor datasheet for more information about THERMTRIP#. 

The temperature where the THERMTRIP# signal goes active is individually calibrated 

during manufacturing and once configuration can not be changed.  

It may be useful to use the PROCHOT# signal as an indication of cooling system 

failure. Messages could be sent to the system administrator to warn of the cooling 

failure, while the thermal control circuit would allow the system to continue 

functioning or allow a normal system shutdown. If no thermal management action is 

taken, the silicon temperature may exceed the operating limits, causing THERMTRIP# 

to activate and shut down the processor. Regardless of the system design 

requirements or thermal solution ability, the Thermal Monitor feature must still be 

enabled to ensure proper processor operation. 

Multiple digital thermal sensors can be implemented within the package without 

adding a pair of signal pins per sensor as required with the thermal diode. The digital 

thermal sensor is easier to place in thermally sensitive locations of the processor than 

the thermal diode. This is achieved due to a smaller foot print and decreased 

sensitivity to noise. Since the DTS is factory set on a per-part basis there is no need 

for the health monitor components to be updated at each processor family