SNAS264D April 2006 – February 2024 LM94
PRODUCTION DATA
PROCHOT is an output from a processor that indicates that the processor has reached a predetermined temperature trip point. At this trip point the processor can be programmed to lower its internal operating frequency and/or lower its supply voltage by changing the value of the 6 bit VID that it supplies to the VRD. The final VID setting and the rate at which it transitions to the new VID is programmable within the processor.
If PROCHOT is 100% throttled, it does not mean that the CPU is not executing, but it may mean that the CPU is about to encounter a thermal trip if the processor temperature continues to rise.
PROCHOT is also an input to some processors so that an external controller can force a thermal throttle based on external events.
PROCHOT is no longer asserted by the processor when the temperature drops below the predefined thermal trip point.
Oscillation around the trip point is avoided by the processor by requiring that the temperature be above/below the trip point for a predetermined period of time. A counter inside the processor is used to track this time and it has to be incremented to a max count for an above temperature trip and decremented to zero when below the trip temperature setting, to remove the trip.
The minimum time for PROCHOT assertion is time dependant on the FSB frequency. The minimum time that the processor asserts PROCHOT is estimated to be 187 µs.