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LongHaul
VIA LongHaul is a CPU speed throttling and power saving technology developed by VIA Technologies. By executing specialized instructions, software can exercise fine control on the bus-to-core frequency ratio and CPU core voltage. When the system first boots, the ratio and voltage are set to hardware defaults. While the operating system runs, a ''CPU driver'' controls the throttling according to how much load is put on the CPU. This fine control over the CPU's operating parameters brings LongHaul in contrast to other competing technologies, where a CPU is typically allowed to switch between only two states - one that is fast but power-consuming and one that is slow but uses less power. However LongHaul is considered similar to Transmeta's LongRun technology. There are 3 versions of LongHaul: * Version 1 only supports dynamic frequency scaling and is implemented in the Cyrix III Samuel (C5A) core and C3 Samuel 2 (C5B) stepping 0 core. * Version 2 adds voltage scaling and is im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Power Management
Power management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers, computer CPUs, computer GPUs and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive. In computing this is known as PC power management and is built around a standard called ACPI, this supersedes APM. All recent computers have ACPI support. Motivations PC power management for computer systems is desired for many reasons, particularly: * Reduce overall energy consumption * Prolong battery life for portable and embedded systems * Reduce cooling requirements * Reduce noise * Reduce operating costs for energy and cooling Lower power consumption also means lower heat dissipation, which increases system stability, and less energy use, which saves money and reduces the impact on the environment. Processor level techniques The power management for microprocessors can be done over the whole processor, or in spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynamic Frequency Scaling
Dynamic frequency scaling (also known as CPU throttling) is a power management technique in computer architecture whereby the frequency of a microprocessor can be automatically adjusted "on the fly" depending on the actual needs, to conserve power and reduce the amount of heat generated by the chip. Dynamic frequency scaling helps preserve battery on mobile devices and decrease cooling cost and noise on quiet computing settings, or can be useful as a security measure for overheated systems (e.g. after poor overclocking). Dynamic frequency scaling almost always appear in conjunction with dynamic voltage scaling, since higher frequencies require higher supply voltages for the digital circuit to yield correct results. The combined topic is known as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). Processor throttling is also known as "automatic underclocking". Automatic overclocking (boosting) is also technically a form of dynamic frequency scaling, but it's relatively new and usu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Processing Unit
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions in the program. This contrasts with external components such as main memory and I/O circuitry, and specialized processors such as graphics processing units (GPUs). The form, design, and implementation of CPUs have changed over time, but their fundamental operation remains almost unchanged. Principal components of a CPU include the arithmetic–logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that orchestrates the fetching (from memory), decoding and execution (of instructions) by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Load (computing)
In UNIX computing, the system load is a measure of the amount of computational work that a computer system performs. The load average represents the average system load over a period of time. It conventionally appears in the form of three numbers which represent the system load during the last one-, five-, and fifteen-minute periods. Unix-style load calculation All Unix and Unix-like systems generate a dimensionless metric of three "load average" numbers in the kernel. Users can easily query the current result from a Unix shell by running the uptime command: $ uptime 14:34:03 up 10:43, 4 users, load average: 0.06, 0.11, 0.09 The w and top commands show the same three load average numbers, as do a range of graphical user interface utilities. In Linux, they can also be accessed by reading the /proc/loadavg file. An idle computer has a load number of 0 (the idle process is not counted). Each process using or waiting for CPU (the ''ready queue'' or run queue) increments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Hardware Tuning
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. A computer system is a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system (main software), and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation. This term may also refer to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer network or computer cluster. A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems. Simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls are included, as are factory devices like industrial robots and computer-aided design, as well as general-purpose devices like personal computers and mobile devices like smartphones. Computers power the Internet, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VIA Nano
The VIA Nano (formerly Code name#Commercial code names in the computer industry, code-named VIA Isaiah) is a 64-bit CPU for personal computers. The VIA Nano was released by VIA Technologies in 2008 after five years of development by its CPU division, Centaur Technology. This new Isaiah 64-bit architecture was designed from scratch, unveiled on 24 January 2008, and launched on 29 May, including low-voltage variants and the Nano brand name. The processor supports a number of VIA-specific x86 extensions designed to boost efficiency in low-power appliances. History Unlike Intel and AMD, VIA uses two distinct development code names for each of its CPU cores. In this case, the codename 'CN' was used in the United States by Centaur Technology. Biblical names are used as codes by VIA in Taiwan, and Isaiah was the choice for this particular processor and architecture. It is expected that the VIA Isaiah will be twice as fast in integer performance and four times as fast in floating-po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VIA C7
The VIA C7 is an x86 central processing unit designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies. Product history The C7 delivers a number of improvements to the older VIA C3 cores but is nearly identical to the latest VIA C3 Nehemiah core. The C7 was officially launched in May 2005, although according to market reports, full volume production was not in place at that date. In May 2006 Intel's cross-licensing agreement with VIA expired and was not renewed, which was the reason for the forced termination of C3 shipments on March 31, 2006, as VIA lost rights to the socket 370. The C7 appears still to be found in the marketplace, for example, on the bargain-priced Everex TC2502, sold by Walmart with a Linux distribution preinstalled and on the HP Mini-Note. A 1 GHz C7 processor with 128kB of cache memory is used in VIA's own PX10000G motherboard which is based on the proprietary Pico-ITX form factor. The chip is cooled by a large heatsink that covers most of the boa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltage Scaling
Dynamic voltage scaling is a power management technique in computer architecture, where the voltage used in a component is increased or decreased, depending upon circumstances. Dynamic voltage scaling to increase voltage is known as overvolting; dynamic voltage scaling to decrease voltage is known as undervolting. Undervolting is done in order to conserve power, particularly in laptops and other mobile devices, where energy comes from a battery and thus is limited, or in rare cases, to increase reliability. Overvolting is done in order to support higher frequencies for performance. The term "overvolting" is also used to refer to increasing static operating voltage of computer components to allow operation at higher speed (overclocking). Background MOSFET-based digital circuits operate using voltages at circuit nodes to represent logical state. The voltage at these nodes switches between a high voltage and a low voltage during normal operation—when the inputs to a logic gat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VIA C3
The VIA C3 is a family of x86 central processing units for personal computers designed by Centaur Technology and sold by VIA Technologies. The different CPU cores are built following the design methodology of Centaur Technology. In addition to x86 instructions, VIA C3 CPUs contain an undocumented Alternate Instruction Set allowing lower-level access to the CPU and in some cases privilege escalation. Cores Samuel 2 and Ezra cores VIA Cyrix III was renamed VIA C3 with the switch to the advanced "Samuel 2" (C5B) core. The addition of an on-die L2 cache improved performance somewhat. As it was not built upon Cyrix technology at all, the new name was just a logical step. To improve power consumption and reduce manufacturing costs, Samuel 2 was produced with 150 nm process technology. The VIA C3 processor continued an emphasis on minimizing power consumption with the next die shrink to a mixed 130/150 nm process. "Ezra" (C5C) and "Ezra-T" (C5N) were only new revisions o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrix III
Cyrix III is an x86-compatible Socket 370 CPU. VIA Technologies launched the processor in February 2000. VIA had purchased both Centaur Technology and Cyrix. Cyrix III was to be based upon a core from one of the two companies. History The Cyrix III was launched in late February 2000. It was initially based on the Joshua core, and was available in two performance ratings of 500 and 533 MHz, with the PR500 being $84 per unit and the PR533 $99. National Semiconductor would be the producer of the chips. 650 and 677 MHz versions of the Cyrix III were available starting January of 2001. The 650 MHz version would cost $55 per chip while the 677 would be $60 and both were based on the Samuel core. The 700 MHz version of the Cyrix III was available on January 19, 2001. The price would be $62 per chip in bulk quantities. This was the last III chip released using the Samuel core, as the Samuel II was expected to be released in March. Just a month later in February 2001, Cyrix III chips ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LongRun
LongRun and LongRun2 are power management technologies introduced by Transmeta. LongRun was introduced with the Crusoe processor, while LongRun2 was introduced with the Efficeon processor. LongRun2 has since been licensed to Fujitsu, NEC, Sony, Toshiba, and NVIDIA Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to .... LongRun automatically adjusted the processor, moving between higher performance but higher power, and lower power but lower performance. The goals of the automation could be adjusted. One control offered processor frequency levels, and the ability to set a minimum and maximum "window", where the automatic controls would not adjust the speed outside of the window. A second control offered a target of either "economy" or "performance". Some versions offered a third con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmeta
Transmeta Corporation was an American fabless semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California. It developed low power x86 compatible microprocessors based on a VLIW core and a software layer called Code Morphing Software. Code Morphing Software (CMS) consisted of an Interpreter (computing), interpreter, a runtime system and a Binary translation#Dynamic binary translation, dynamic binary translator. x86 instructions were first interpreted one instruction at a time and profiled, then depending upon the frequency of execution of a code block, CMS would progressively generate more optimized translations. The VLIW core implemented features specifically designed to accelerate CMS and translations. Among the features were support for general speculation, detection of memory aliasing and detection of self modifying x86 code. The combination of CMS and the VLIW core allowed for the achievement of full x86 compatibility while maintaining performance and reducing power consumption. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
