Intel L5238 AT80573JJ0676MT Data Sheet

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The Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5200 Series requires a thermal solution to 
maintain temperatures within its operating limits. Any attempt to operate the processor 
outside these operating limits may result in permanent damage to the processor and 
potentially other components within the system. As processor technology changes, 
thermal management becomes increasingly crucial when building computer systems. 
Maintaining the proper thermal environment is key to reliable, long-term system 
operation.

A complete solution includes both component and system level thermal management 
features. Component level thermal solutions can include active or passive heatsinks 
attached to the processor integrated heat spreader (IHS). Typical system level thermal 
solutions may consist of system fans combined with ducting and venting.

This section provides data necessary for developing a complete thermal solution. For 
more information on designing a component level thermal solution, refer to the Dual-
Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5200 Series Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines 
(TMDG).

The boxed processor will ship with a component thermal solution. Refer to 

for details on the boxed processor.

To allow the optimal operation and long-term reliability of Intel processor-based 
systems, the processor must remain within the minimum and maximum case 
temperature (TCASE) specifications as defined by the applicable thermal profile (see 

 and 

 for the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5200 Series, 

 and 

 for the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor X5200 Series, 

 and 

 for the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor L5200 Series, and 

 for the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor L5238. Thermal 

solutions not designed to provide this level of thermal capability may affect the long-
term reliability of the processor and system. For more details on thermal solution 
design, please refer to the Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5200 Series 
Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines (TMDG).

The Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5200 Series implements a methodology for 
managing processor temperatures which is intended to support acoustic noise 
reduction through fan speed control and to assure processor reliability. Selection of the 
appropriate fan speed is based on the relative temperature data reported by the 
processor’s Platform Environment Control Interface (PECI) bus as described in 

. If the value reported via PECI is less than T

CONTROL

, then the case 

temperature is permitted to exceed the Thermal Profile. If the value reported via PECI 
is greater than or equal to T

CONTROL

, then the processor case temperature must remain 

at or below the temperature as specified by the thermal profile. The temperature 
reported over PECI is always a negative value and represents a delta below the onset of 
thermal control circuit (TCC) activation, as indicated by PROCHOT# (see 

Processor Thermal Features). Systems that implement fan speed control must be 
designed to use this data. Systems that do not alter the fan speed only need to 
guarantee the case temperature meets the thermal profile specifications.