Geek idea

[ciphergoth]

may be unoriginal or wrong.

Processors can be damaged by getting too hot, so they have processor fans. Modern fan assemblies include a thermometer so they can adjust the fan speed to keep the processor at a constant temperature.

However, another thing that can damage processors is sudden changes in temperature. Suppose a processor is working flat out and the fan is going full whack. If the processor suddenly stops doing work and so generates much less heat, the fan won't slow down until after the sudden drop in temperature.

So really, motherboards should monitor the power consumption of processors as well as their temperature, so that sudden changes in workload can be responded to quickly to prevent sudden changes in temperature and so prolong the life of the processor.

Comments

[vampwillow]

if there was *only* a fan then I'd agree with you, but the heatsink evens out / slows down the rate of change, so 'sudden' changes will never happen.

[martling.livejournal.com]

Agreed - I don't think you'd end up varying dT/dt by more than a factor of 2-3 with typical setups, and I think there's already a pretty large margin from rates that would be a problem, even with regard to long term chip lifetime.

I think it's still worth looking at the idea though, but with a view to optimising power usage over both the fan and CPU, for laptops.