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The new Intel 430TX PCIset is built around Intel’s Dynamic Power Management Architecture (DPMA) which lets portable or desktop computer makers offer products with a wide range of power management features.
Computer users on-the-go need mobile solutions with battery life to last the entire trip. Your portable computer supplier, with the help of DPMA, can develop products that consume less power and are more efficient - meaning you’re more productive.
Likewise, new uses for home and business stationary computers require that your PC is always available at a moments notice. With DPMA, computer manufacturers will offer systems that can be quickly accessed manually by you, or automatically by the newest communications, entertainment, or network management applications. Your computer will be a available to answer the phone, gather the latest scores, or receive a new software update - without the heat, noise and costly electricity bills that result from leaving it always powered on.
Let’s take a closer look at how DPMA extends portable battery life and enables desktop PCs that are always available.
BUILT-IN POWER MANAGEMENT
Included in the DPMA is unique hardware control logic that monitors the computer system for activity. When no activity is found, the Intel PCIset turns itself off, greatly reducing the amount of power consumed. Only a small portion of the PCIset remains on to look for new activity. When more action takes place (say you move the mouse or strike a key) the Intel PCIset reactivates before the data arrives (faster that speeding data!?). The 430TX can turn itself off between very short periods of inactivity - even between keystrokes of the fastest typist. As a result, the Intel PCIset is using up to 75% less power than our earlier generation PCIsets which means it’s using less of your battery.
What do you need to implement built-in power management?
If your system contains an Intel 430TX PCIset with DPMA, built-in power management occurs automatically. No special software or hardware is needed from your system vendor. Because this control happens behind the scenes, you won’t see any effect on your applications.
USER CONTROLLED POWER MANAGEMENT
DPMA contains all the logic necessary for your portable or desktop computer maker to provide you with a wide array of power management control. Function keys, applets or power buttons can instruct the 430TX and BIOS to put the computer in many different sleep modes after a user defined period of inactivity. Likewise, many different functions can signal your PC that it’s time to wake up - timers, mouse or keyboard input, modem signal, etc. The tools that your computer maker provide will allow you to set up your power management environment to fit your usage patterns.
What do you need to implement user-controlled power management?
It is very difficult for the typical consumer to piece together all of the elements of power management control. This is best left to notebook and desktop PC makers who can ensure that all the software and hardware elements are present and working together. Because the 430TX enables a wide variety of options, system vendors’ implementations will each be different. The following are the pieces necessary to for a PC manufacturer to deliver user controlled power management. Each are currently available from notebook and system manufacturers.
User Controlled Power Management Pieces
Every notebook PC vendor currently offers complete systems that provide user controlled power management. Because power saving- is essential in mobile environments, user controlled power management is a baseline feature. Consult your portable computer users manual for more information on controlling power management.
Some desktop system manufacturers provide user controlled power management to enable power savings or support "always on" functionality for applications such as phone answering. Consult your system manufacturer or computer users manual to determine if your computer supports user control of power management. If you are running Windows* 95, go to Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel. In the Control Panel, choose the Power icon. If the Power icon (battery behind a power cord) is missing, your system is not power managed or has not been configured for user directed power management.
Look for increasing power management capability from system vendors as new 430TX based products are announced.
** FOR ADVANCED USERS ONLY **
When configuring a system with a 430TX based motherboard with a power management aware BIOS, a certain level of user directed power management can be controlled directly through BIOS setup. Consult your motherboard manufacturer for instructions on accessing the BIOS setup screen and setting control parameters.
OS DIRECTED POWER MANAGEMENT
The 430TX’s Dynamic Power Management Architecture supports the future of platform power management by enabling operating system control of power management. In January ’97, Intel, Toshiba, and Microsoft introduced the Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI). This interface makes specific hardware status information available to the operating system (O/S) so that the O/S can make intelligent power management decisions.
Today’s user directed power management relies on timers to signal when to turn off a system component - forcing a trade-off between power efficiency and the intrusion of wake-up latencies. ACPI eliminates this trade-off by taking the guesswork out of power management. ACPI allows the operating system to turn system hardware and peripherals on or off based on the specific needs of the applications running on the system. No longer will your screen turn off in the middle of a presentation, or your data connection be lost due to system inactivity.
What do you need to implement OS directed power management?
While the Intel 430TX PCIset delivers the hardware basis for operating system directed power management, the full solutions requires several other pieces that are not yet available. As with all power management initiatives, putting all the pieces together is very complex and best left to notebook and desktop system vendors. All of the following are needed for a complete ACPI implementation. Consult your PC vendor or component supplier for more information on the availability of each piece.
| The OS Directed Power Management Pieces | The Delivery Timeframes |
| A PC designed around the Intel 430TX PCIset which implements an ACPI specific front panel suspend button | Available NOW -- Some PC manufacturers have systems that are designed for ACPI.(If you have any questions regarding whether a system you’re evaluating for purchase is designed for ACPI support, contact the system vendor.) |
| An ACPI aware BIOS | Available in computer systems and motherboards later this year – contact your PC’s manufacturer to see if it has an ACPI aware BIOS. |
| An ACPI operating system | Available by the end of 1997 – contact your favorite operating system software vendor or PC manufacturer for more information. |
| ACPI aware applications and peripherals | These will take ACPI even further by allowing control of add-on peripherals based on specific needs of software applications. The first peripherals and applications are expected to become available late ’97, with a wide variety expected to become available in 1998. |
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