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From: davis@unc.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Power vs Number of Circuits (was Re: Cray Research walkout)
Message-ID: <1449@unc.cs.unc.edu>
Date: Wed, 30-Sep-87 08:35:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.1449
Posted: Wed Sep 30 08:35:59 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Oct-87 00:55:22 EDT
References: <622@winchester.UUCP> <2083@sfsup.UUCP> <954@edge.UUCP> <5270@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Lines: 12
Summary: More chips take more power (maybe)

In article <5270@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (MikeMeyer) writes:
> ...I suspect
> going to multi-chip cpus lets you get the same speed with less heat.

The pad drivers for high speed integrated circuits use a significant
amount of the power supplied to the chip.  Although a multi-chip cpu
would have more cooling area, it also would have a lot more power
hungry pad drivers.  I suspect Cray's conservative approach to
implementation hardware is more responsible for the selection of
multi-chip cpu's than cooling considerations.

Mark (davis@cs.unc.edu)