IBM Intel Xeon E5606 81Y9324 User Manual

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temperature is calibrated on a part-by-part basis and normal factory variation may 
result in the actual TCC activation temperature being higher than the value listed in the 
register. TCC activation temperatures may change based on processor stepping, 
frequency or manufacturing efficiencies.

NOTE: There is no specified correlation between DTS temperatures and processor case 
temperatures; therefore it is not possible to use this feature to ensure the processor 
case temperature meets the Thermal Profile specifications.

The Adaptive Thermal Monitor feature provides an enhanced method for controlling the 
processor temperature when the processor silicon reaches its maximum operating 
temperature. Adaptive Thermal Monitor uses Thermal Control Circuit (TCC) activation 
to reduce processor power via a combination of methods. The first method 
(Frequency/VID control) involves the processor adjusting its operating frequency (via 
the core ratio multiplier) and input voltage (via the VID signals). This combination of 
reduced frequency and VID results in a reduction to the processor power consumption. 
The second method (clock modulation) reduces power consumption by modulating 
(starting and stopping) the internal processor core clocks. The processor intelligently 
selects the appropriate TCC method to use on a dynamic basis. BIOS is not required to 
select a specific method (as with previous-generation processors supporting TM1 or 
TM2). 

The Adaptive Thermal Monitor feature must be enabled for the processor to be 
operating within specifications. The temperature at which Adaptive Thermal 
Monitor activates the Thermal Control Circuit is not user configurable and is not 
software visible. Snooping and interrupt processing are performed in the normal 
manner while the TCC is active.

With a properly designed and characterized thermal solution, it is anticipated that the 
TCC would only be activated for very short periods of time when running the most 
power intensive applications. The processor performance impact due to these brief 
periods of TCC activation is expected to be so minor that it would be immeasurable. An 
under-designed thermal solution that is not able to prevent excessive activation of the 
TCC in the anticipated ambient environment may cause a noticeable performance loss, 
and in some cases may result in a T

C

 that exceeds the specified maximum temperature 

which may affect the long-term reliability of the processor. In addition, a thermal 
solution that is significantly under-designed may not be capable of cooling the 
processor even when the TCC is active continuously. Refer to the Intel® Xeon® 
Processor 5500/5600 Series Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines for information on 
designing a compliant thermal solution.

The duty cycle for the TCC, when activated by the Thermal Monitor, is factory 
configured and cannot be modified. The Thermal Monitor does not require any 
additional hardware, software drivers, or interrupt handling routines.

The processor uses Frequency/VID control whereby TCC activation causes the 
processor to adjust its operating frequency (via the core ratio multiplier) and input 
voltage (via the VID signals). This combination of reduced frequency and VID results in 
a reduction to the processor power consumption.

This method includes multiple operating points, each consisting of a specific operating 
frequency and voltage. The first operating point represents the normal operating 
condition for the processor. The remaining points consist of both lower operating