Intel Pentium 4 Processor on 90 nm Process Datasheet
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Thermal Specifications and Design Considerations
Thermal Specifications and Design
Considerations
5
5.1
Processor Thermal Specifications
The processor requires a thermal solution to maintain temperatures within operating limits as set
forth in
Section 5.1.1. Any attempt to operate the processor outside these operating limits may
result in permanent damage to the processor and potentially other components within the system.
As processor technology changes, thermal management becomes increasingly crucial when
building computer systems. Maintaining the proper thermal environment is key to reliable, long-
term system operation.
A complete thermal solution includes both component and system level thermal management
features. Component level thermal solutions can include active or passive heatsinks attached to the
processor Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS). Typical system level thermal solutions may consist of
system fans combined with ducting and venting.
For more information on designing a component level thermal solution, refer to the Intel
Pentium 4 Processor on 90 nm Process Thermal Design Guidelines.
Note: The boxed processor will ship with a component thermal solution. Refer to
Chapter 7 for details on
the boxed processor.
5.1.1
Thermal Specifications
To allow for the optimal operation and long-term reliability of Intel processor-based systems, the
system/processor thermal solution should be designed such that the processor remains within the
minimum and maximum case temperature (TC) specifications when operating at or below the
Thermal Design Power (TDP) value listed per frequency in
Table 26. Thermal solutions not
designed to provide this level of thermal capability may affect the long-term reliability of the
processor and system. For more details on thermal solution design, refer to the Intel Pentium 4
Processor on 90 nm Process Thermal Design Guidelines.
The Pentium 4 processor on 90 nm process introduces a new methodology for managing processor
temperatures that is intended to support acoustic noise reduction through fan speed control.
Selection of the appropriate fan speed is based on the temperature reported by the processor’s
Thermal Diode. If the diode temperature is greater than or equal to Tcontrol, then the processor case
temperature must remain at or below the temperature as specified by the thermal profile. If the
diode temperature is less than Tcontrol, then the case temperature is permitted to exceed the thermal
profile, but the diode temperature must remain at or below Tcontrol. Systems that implement fan
speed control must be designed to take these conditions into account. Systems that do not alter the
fan speed only need to guarantee the case temperature meets the thermal profile specifications.