Method and apparatus for controlling power to a processing unit
US8635480B1 · kind B1 · utility
4Cited by
2References
15Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 26, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jan 21, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D30/50
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a computer system with multiple processing units, power to one or more of the processing units is turned off while the other processing units remain powered on. The processing unit that is powered off may be a GPU on a graphics adapter card, and power to this GPU is controlled by turning on and off the power supplied through a voltage regulator. With this configuration, power to the GPU on the graphics adapter card can be turned off when it is not in use or when it is being used for graphics processing that another graphics processor can handle.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.