"Computer Chips to be Hotter than the Sun?"

baggio248 · 02-21-2004, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Intel's CTO: "Pentium PC May Need the Power of a Nuclear Reactor"

Heat dissipation of the latest Intel processors, such as high end Pentium 4 and Pentium 4 E, has become a widely discussed issue. Reasons and consequences of astonishingly high thermal levels Intel’s chips achieve is probably something the industry is looking at pretty thoroughly, as the general trend for semiconductors’ evolution is increase of heat dissipation, which rises necessity of cooling the chips down that also a problem itself. Intel seems to understand the difficulty very well, as the company’s Chief Technology Officer Patrick Gelsinger talked on the matter during IDF show.

“If unchecked, the increasing power requirements of computer chips could boost heat generation to absurdly high levels,” said Patrick Gelsinger, Intel’s CTO is reported to have said.

“By mid-decade, that Pentium PC may need the power of a nuclear reactor. By the end of the decade, you might as well be feeling a rocket nozzle than touching a chip. And soon after 2010, PC chips could feel like the bubbly hot surface of the sun itself,” Gelsinger continued, according to a Reuters report.

Meanwhile semiconductor makers implement thinner and tinier process technologies, due to increase transistor count as well as some other factors, modern general purpose processors along with graphics processors and communications processors consume loads of power and dissipate a lot of heat.

Intel’s latest Pentium 4 E processors have up to 103W thermal guideline for 3.20GHz and 3.40GHz versions and the figure is likely to increase throughout the year when faster speed bins are introduced. Although the main issue with Intel’s processors made at 90nm nodes seems to be process related, high core frequencies and complex design also drive chips temperatures up. Future processors from Advanced Micro Devices are also likely to dissipate about 105W in 8-12 months from now, sources close the Sunnyvale, California-based company said.

“We need a fresh approach,” Gelsinger said. “We need an architectural paradigm shift.”

Generally speaking, the Chief Technology Officer of the world’s biggest chipmaker has just outlined his company’s intention to review the approach of chip design. It is not fully clear when the consumers are going to experience the revamped way of developing CPUs – sometimes in mid-decade, or sometimes around the year 2010 or so, but the purpose itself is very positive.

gear02 · 02-21-2004, 04:25 PM

umm...yeah...i don't think so

Bires · 02-21-2004, 04:28 PM

got|hyperbole?

sbp · 02-21-2004, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkFury
Hotter than the sun? Hmmm... Must be an AMD product.

the AMD fans will appreciate that.

Airencracken · 02-21-2004, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sbp
the AMD fans will appreciate that.

Wouldn't the fans cool it down?

OUCH!

bachviet · 02-21-2004, 11:54 PM

It's hot but it ain't goin' to be hot like the sun.

ribitch · 02-22-2004, 09:06 AM

Time to move from x86 to PowerPC. The XserveG5 uses a 90nm 970 which generates 24.5W at 2GHz.

The 130nm 970, currently used by Apple in its Power Mac G5 desktop line, consumes 51W at 1.8GHz.

Dell is using that new chip in that XPS (?) laptop. That sucker must get hot as hell. I wonder how the cases are going to start holding up with all of that heat.

gear02 · 02-22-2004, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ribitch
Time to move from x86 to PowerPC. The XserveG5 uses a 90nm 970 which generates 24.5W at 2GHz.

The 130nm 970, currently used by Apple in its Power Mac G5 desktop line, consumes 51W at 1.8GHz.

Dell is using that new chip in that XPS (?) laptop. That sucker must get hot as hell. I wonder how the cases are going to start holding up with all of that heat.

With all due respect...

Shut up.

Burzhui · 02-22-2004, 01:12 PM

you're also forgeting the new form factor that's comming out... thing should run cooler

ribitch · 02-22-2004, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Burzhui
you're also forgeting the new form factor that's comming out... thing should run cooler

BTX will improve cooling, but it still produces 100W of heat. smaller die size will help this, but 100W is still a buttload of heat.

Bires · 02-22-2004, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ribitch
Time to move from x86 to PowerPC.

Ya. That line's about as old as paradigm shift.

bachviet · 02-22-2004, 09:34 PM

PowerPC??? Not in my lifetime.

02-21-2004, 04:28 PM	#3
Bires Admiral Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 5,064	got\|hyperbole? __________________ Five years...

02-21-2004, 11:54 PM	#6
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	It's hot but it ain't goin' to be hot like the sun. __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

02-22-2004, 09:06 AM	#7
ribitch Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,672	Time to move from x86 to PowerPC. The XserveG5 uses a 90nm 970 which generates 24.5W at 2GHz. The 130nm 970, currently used by Apple in its Power Mac G5 desktop line, consumes 51W at 1.8GHz. Dell is using that new chip in that XPS (?) laptop. That sucker must get hot as hell. I wonder how the cases are going to start holding up with all of that heat. __________________ http://ribitch.com/ipod.html

02-22-2004, 01:12 PM	#9
Burzhui hot in velour pants Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: New York City Posts: 9,198	you're also forgeting the new form factor that's comming out... thing should run cooler __________________ ____________________ IF A FAT GIRL FALLS IN THE WOODS DO THE TREES LAUGH?

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02-21-2004, 04:25 PM	#2
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	umm...yeah...i don't think so

02-22-2004, 09:34 PM	#12
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	PowerPC??? Not in my lifetime.

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