Intel Q9450 Design Guidelines - Page 11

Introduction

Thermal and Mechanical Design Guidelines

11

1

Introduction

1.1

Document Goals and Scope

1.1.1

Importance of Thermal Management

The objective of thermal management is to ensure that the temperatures of all

components in a system are maintained within their functional temperature range.

Within this temperature range, a component is expected to meet its specified

performance. Operation outside the functional temperature range can degrade system

performance, cause logic errors or cause component and/or system damage.

Temperatures exceeding the maximum operating limit of a component may result in

irreversible changes in the operating characteristics of this component.

In a system environment, the processor temperature is a function of both system and

component thermal characteristics. The system level thermal constraints consist of the

local ambient air temperature and airflow over the processor as well as the physical

constraints at and above the processor. The processor temperature depends in

particular on the component power dissipation, the processor package thermal

characteristics, and the processor thermal solution.

All of these parameters are affected by the continued push of technology to increase

processor performance levels and packaging density (more transistors). As operating

frequencies increase and packaging size decreases, the power density increases while

the thermal solution space and airflow typically become more constrained or remains

the same within the system. The result is an increased importance on system design

to ensure that thermal design requirements are met for each component, including

the processor, in the system.

1.1.2

Document Goals

Depending on the type of system and the chassis characteristics, new system and

component designs may be required to provide adequate cooling for the processor.

The goal of this document is to provide an understanding of these thermal

characteristics and discuss guidelines for meeting the thermal requirements imposed

on single processor systems using the Intel

®

Core™2 Extreme quad-core processor

QX6000 series, Intel

®

Core™2 Quad processor Q6000 series, Intel

®

Core™2 Quad

processor Q9000 and Q8000 series, and Intel

®

Core™2 Extreme processor QX9650.

The concepts given in this document are applicable to any system form factor. Specific

examples used will be the Intel enabled reference solution for ATX/uATX systems. See

the applicable BTX form factor reference documents to design a thermal solution for

that form factor.

Section	Page
1 Introduction	11
1.1 Document Goals and Scope	11
1.1.1 Importance of Thermal Management	11
1.1.2 Document Goals	11
1.1.3 Document Scope	12
1.2 References	13
1.3 Definition of Terms	14
2 Processor Thermal/Mechanical Information	17
2.1 Mechanical Requirements	17
2.1.1 Processor Package	17
2.1.2 Heatsink Attach	19
2.1.2.1 General Guidelines	19
2.1.2.2 Heatsink Clip Load Requirement	19
2.1.2.3 Additional Guidelines	20
2.2 Thermal Requirements	20
2.2.1 Processor Case Temperature	20
2.2.2 Thermal Profile	21
2.2.3 TCONTROL	23
2.3 Heatsink Design Considerations	24
2.3.1 Heatsink Size	25
2.3.2 Heatsink Mass	25
2.3.3 Package IHS Flatness	26
2.3.4 Thermal Interface Material	26
2.4 System Thermal Solution Considerations	27
2.4.1 Chassis Thermal Design Capabilities	27
2.4.2 Improving Chassis Thermal Performance	27
2.4.3 Summary	28
2.5 System Integration Considerations	28
3 Thermal Metrology	29
3.1 Characterizing Cooling Performance Requirements	29
3.1.1 Example	31
3.2 Processor Thermal Solution Performance Assessment	31
3.3 Local Ambient Temperature Measurement Guidelines	32
3.4 Processor Case Temperature Measurement Guidelines	34
4 Thermal Management Logic and Thermal Monitor Feature	35
4.1 Processor Power Dissipation	35
4.2 Thermal Monitor Implementation	35
4.2.1 PROCHOT# Signal	36
4.2.2 Thermal Control Circuit	36
4.2.2.1 Thermal Monitor	36
4.2.2.2 Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2)	37
4.2.3 Operation and Configuration	38
4.2.4 On-Demand Mode	39
4.2.5 System Considerations	39
4.2.6 Operating System and Application Software Considerations	40
4.2.7 THERMTRIP# Signal	40
4.2.8 Cooling System Failure Warning	40
4.2.9 Digital Thermal Sensor	41
4.2.10 Platform Environmental Control Interface (PECI)	42
5 Intel® Thermal/Mechanical Reference Design Information	43
5.1 ATX Reference Design Requirements	43
5.2 Validation Results for Reference Design	45
5.2.1 Heatsink Performance	45
5.2.2 Acoustics	46
5.2.3 Altitude	47
5.2.4 Reference Heatsink Thermal Validation	47
5.2.5 Fan Performance for Active Heatsink Thermal Solution	48
5.3 Environmental Reliability Testing	49
5.3.1 Structural Reliability Testing	49
5.3.1.1 Random Vibration Test Procedure	49
5.3.1.2 Shock Test Procedure	49
5.3.2 Power Cycling	51
5.3.3 Recommended BIOS/Processor/Memory Test Procedures	51
5.4 Material and Recycling Requirements	51
5.5 Safety Requirements	52
5.6 Geometric Envelope for Intel® Reference ATX Thermal Mechanical Design	52
5.7 Reference Attach Mechanism	53
5.7.1 Structural Design Strategy	53
5.7.2 Mechanical Interface to the Reference Attach Mechanism	54
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 and Tuning	62

Intel Q9450 Design Guidelines - Page 11

Introduction - quad core

Page 11 highlights