Techniques for controlling computing performance for power-constrained multi-processor computing systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12560992-B2
Application number	US-202217961435-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2022
Priority date	Jan 6, 2022
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of controlling power consumption in a multi-processor computing device, the method comprises: determining a target sound level for the multi-processor computing device; determining one or more candidate fan speed combinations for a first fan associated with a first temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device and a second fan associated with a second temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device based on the target sound level; determining a temperature error for one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or a third temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device based on the one or more candidate fan speed combinations and a measured temperature value for one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or the third temperature-controlled device; determining a value for a first power setting associated with the first temperature-controlled device based on the temperature error; and causing the first temperature-controlled device to perform one or more operations based on the value for the first power setting.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method of controlling power consumption in a multi-processor computing device, the method comprising:
determining a target sound level for the multi-processor computing device; in response to determining the target sound level, determining:
at least one candidate fan speed combination for a first fan associated with a first temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device and a second fan associated with a second temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device based on the target sound level, and
at least one device temperature threshold value based on the at least one candidate fan speed combination;
determining a temperature error for one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or a third temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device based on a difference between the at least one device temperature threshold value and a measured temperature value for the one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or the third temperature-controlled device; determining a value for a first power setting associated with the first temperature-controlled device based on the temperature error; and causing the first temperature-controlled device to perform at least one operation based on the value for the first power setting.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the temperature error for the temperature-controlled device comprises determining a set of device temperature threshold values for each of the at least one candidate fan speed combination.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising:
selecting a specific device temperature threshold value from the at least one set of device temperature threshold values; and determining the temperature error for the temperature-controlled device based on the measured temperature value for the temperature-controlled device and the specific device temperature threshold value.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein selecting the specific device temperature threshold value from the at least one set of device temperature threshold values comprises selecting a most restrictive device temperature threshold value included in each set of device temperature threshold values.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the specific device temperature threshold value comprises a temperature for the temperature-controlled device that is associated with either a change in a fan speed associated with the first fan or a change in a fan speed associated with the second fan.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the fan speed associated with the first fan and the fan speed associated with the second fan are both associated with the target sound level.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein determining the set of device temperature threshold values for a first candidate fan speed combination included in the at least one candidate fan speed combination comprises:
selecting a temperature-controlled device; and selecting the at least one device temperature threshold value for the temperature-controlled device from a fan-speed table associated with the temperature-controlled device based on the fan speeds associated with the first candidate fan speed combination.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein determining the set of device temperature threshold values for a first candidate fan speed combination included in the at least one candidate fan speed combination comprises determining whether a current fan speed associated with the first fan is greater than a first fan speed that is specified in the first candidate fan speed combination and is associated with the first fan.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein a set of device temperature threshold values for a first candidate fan speed combination included in the at least one candidate fan speed combination includes a separate value for each temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first temperature-controlled device comprises a graphics processing unit and the second temperature-controlled device comprises a central processing unit.

11 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:
determining a target sound level for a multi-processor computing device; in response to determining the target sound level, determining:
at least one candidate fan speed combination for a first fan associated with a first temperature-controlled device of the multi-processor computing device and a second fan associated with a second temperature-controlled device of the multi-processor computing device based on the target sound level, and
at least one device temperature threshold value based on the at least one candidate fan speed combination;
determining a temperature error for one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or a third temperature-controlled device included in the multi-processor computing device based on a difference between the at least one device temperature threshold value and a measured temperature value for the one of the first temperature-controlled device, the second temperature-controlled device, or the third temperature-controlled device; determining a value for a first power setting associated with the first temperature-controlled device based on the temperature error; and causing the first temperature-controlled device to perform at least one operation based on the value for the first power setting.

12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein determining the temperature error for the temperature-controlled device comprises determining a set of device temperature threshold values for each of the at least one candidate fan speed combination.

13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , further comprising:
selecting a specific device temperature threshold value from the at least one set of device temperature threshold values; and determining the temperature error for the temperature-controlled device based on the measured temperature value for the temperature-controlled device and the specific device temperature threshold value.

14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein selecting the specific device temperature threshold value from the at least one set of device temperature threshold values comprises selecting a most restrictive device temperature threshold value included in each set of device temperature threshold values.

15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the specific device temperature threshold value comprises a temperature for the temperature-controlled device that is associated with either a change in a fan speed associated with the first fan or a change in a fan speed associated with the second fan.

16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein determining the set of device temperature threshold values for a first candidate fan speed combination included in the at least one candidate fan speed combination comprises:
selecting a temperature-controlled device; and selecting the at least one device temperature threshold value for the te

Assignees

• Nvidia Corp

Inventors

• Dewey Thomas E
• Irwin Michael
• Lai Simon
• Li Sau Yan Keith

Classifications

• G05B13/028

  using expert systems only · CPC title

• G06F1/3287

  by switching off individual functional units in the computer system · CPC title

• G06F1/324

  by lowering clock frequency · CPC title

• G06F1/20

  Cooling means · CPC title

• G06F1/206 Primary

  comprising thermal management · CPC title