Intel QX9770 Design Guidelines - Page 21

Processor Thermal/Mechanical Information

Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines

21

2.3.3

Thermal Interface Material

Thermal interface material application between the processor IHS and the heatsink

base is generally required to improve thermal conduction from the IHS to the

heatsink.

Many thermal interface materials can be pre-applied to the heatsink base

prior to shipment from the heatsink supplier and allow direct heatsink attach, without

the need for a separate thermal interface material dispense or attach process in the

final assembly factory.

All thermal interface materials should be sized and positioned on the heatsink base in

a way that ensures the entire processor IHS area is covered.

It is important to

compensate for heatsink-to-processor attach positional alignment when selecting the

proper thermal interface material size.

When pre-applied material is used, it is recommended to have a protective application

tape over it.

This tape must be removed prior to heatsink installation.

2.4

System Thermal Solution Considerations

2.4.1

Chassis Thermal Design Capabilities

The Intel liquid cooling thermal solution assumes that chassis delivers a maximum T

A

at the inlet of the processor heat exchanger (refer to Section

5.1.1). Table 1 shows

the T

A

requirements for the ALCT and the similar BTX solutions.

Table 1.

Heatsink Inlet Temperature of Intel Reference Thermal Solutions

Topic

ATX ALCT

BTX Liquid Cooling

Heatsink Inlet

Temperature

38 °C

35.5 °C

2.4.2

Improving Chassis Thermal Performance

The heat generated by components within the chassis must be removed to provide an

adequate operating environment for both the processor and other system

components.

Moving air through the chassis brings in air from the external ambient

environment and transports the heat generated by the processor and other system

components out of the system.

The number, size and relative position of fans and

vents determine the chassis thermal performance, and the resulting ambient

temperature around the processor.

The size and type (passive or active) of the

thermal solution and the amount of system airflow can be traded off against each

other to meet specific system design constraints.

Additional constraints are board

layout, spacing, component placement, acoustic requirements and structural

considerations that limit the thermal solution size.

For more information, refer to the

ATX Thermal Design Suggestions

or

microATX Thermal Design Suggestions

or

Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) System Design Guide v1.0

documents available

on the

http://www.formfactors.org/

web site.

In addition to passive heatsinks, fan heatsinks and system fans are other solutions

that exist for cooling integrated circuit devices.

For example, ducted blowers, heat

Section	Page
1 Introduction	9
1.1 Document Goals and Scope	9
1.1.1 Importance of Thermal Management	9
1.1.2 Document Goals	9
1.1.3 Document Scope	10
1.2 References	11
1.3 Definition of Terms	11
2 Processor Thermal/Mechanical Information	13
2.1 Mechanical Requirements	13
2.1.1 Processor Package	13
2.1.2 Heatsink Attach	15
2.1.2.1 General Guidelines	15
2.1.2.2 The Pump Assembly Clip Load Requirement	15
2.1.2.3 Additional Guidelines	16
2.2 Thermal Requirements	16
2.2.1 Processor Case Temperature	16
2.2.2 Thermal Profile	17
2.2.3 TCONTROL	18
2.3 Heatsink Design Considerations	19
2.3.1 Heatsink Size	20
2.3.2 Package IHS Flatness	20
2.3.3 Thermal Interface Material	21
2.4 System Thermal Solution Considerations	21
2.4.1 Chassis Thermal Design Capabilities	21
2.4.2 Improving Chassis Thermal Performance	21
2.4.3 Summary	22
2.5 System Integration Considerations	22
3 Thermal Metrology	23
3.1 Characterizing Cooling Performance Requirements	23
3.1.1 Example	25
3.2 Processor Thermal Solution Performance Assessment	26
3.3 Local Ambient Temperature Measurement Guidelines	26
3.4 Processor Case Temperature Measurement Guidelines	29
4 Thermal Management Logic and Thermal Monitor Feature	31
4.1 Processor Power Dissipation	31
4.2 Thermal Monitor Implementation	31
4.2.1 PROCHOT# Signal	32
4.2.2 Thermal Control Circuit	32
4.2.3 Thermal Monitor 2	33
4.2.4 Operation and Configuration	34
4.2.5 On-Demand Mode	35
4.2.6 System Considerations	35
4.2.7 Operating System and Application Software Considerations	36
4.2.8 THERMTRIP# Signal	36
4.2.9 Cooling System Failure Warning	36
4.2.10 Digital Thermal Sensor	37
4.2.11 Platform Environmental Control Interface (PECI)	38
5 Intel Thermal/Mechanical Reference Design Information	39
5.1 Validation Results for the ATX Reference Design	39
5.1.1 Heatsink Performance	40
5.1.2 Acoustics	40
5.1.3 Altitude	41
5.1.4 Reference Heatsink Thermal Validation	41
5.1.5 Fan Motor Performance	42
5.1.6 Pump Motor Performance	43
5.2 Environmental Reliability Testing	44
5.2.1 Structural Reliability Testing	44
5.2.1.1 Random Vibration Test Procedure	44
5.2.1.2 Shock Test Procedure	45
5.2.2 Power Cycling	46
5.2.3 Reliability Testing	46
5.2.3.1 Tubing Material Selection	48
5.2.3.2 Reservoir Sizing	48
5.2.3.3 Reliability Test Results	50
5.2.4 Recommended BIOS/CPU/Memory Test Procedures	51
5.3 Material and Recycling Requirements	52
5.4 Safety Requirements	52
5.5 Geometric Envelope for Intel Reference ATX Thermal Mechanical Design	52
5.6 Reference Attach Mechanism	54
5.7 Socket and Voltage Regulation Cooling Strategy	55
6 Intel® Quiet System Technology (Intel® QST)	57
6.1 Intel® Quiet System Technology Algorithm	57
6.1.1 Output Weighting Matrix	58
6.1.2 Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID)	58
6.2 Board and System Implementation of Intel® Quiet System Technology	60
6.3 Intel® QST Configuration & Tuning	62

Intel QX9770 Design Guidelines - Page 21

Thermal Interface Material, 2.4 System Thermal Solution Considerations

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