Power: A First-Class Architectural Design Constraint

  • Authors:
  • Trevor Mudge

  • Affiliations:
  • -

  • Venue:
  • Computer
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

With Internet use growing exponentially and information technology consuming about 8 percent of power in the US, limiting power consumption presents a critical computing issue. If the IT component continues to grow exponentially without check, it will soon require more power than all other uses combined. Concurrent with the rapid growth in power consumption, an alarming growth in the chip die's power density has been noted. For example, despite process and circuit improvements, the Alpha model 21364's power density has reached approximately 30 watts per square centimeter-- three times that of a typical hot plate. Obviously, trading high power for high performance cannot continue. Reducing power consumption will require adding architectural improvements to process and circuit improvements. Thus, elevating power to a first-class constraint must be a priority early in the design stage when architectural tradeoffs are made as designers perform cycle-accurate simulation.