Thermal Specifications
6 Thermal Specifications
6.1
Package Thermal Specifications
The Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 series require a thermal solution to maintain
temperatures within its operating limits. Any attempt to operate the processor outside
these operating limits may result in permanent damage to the processor and
potentially other components within the system. As processor technology changes,
thermal management becomes increasingly crucial when building computer systems.
Maintaining the proper thermal environment is key to reliable, long-term system
operation.
A complete solution includes both component and system level thermal management
features. Component level thermal solutions can include active or passive heatsinks
attached to the processor integrated heat spreader (IHS). Typical system level thermal
solutions may consist of system fans combined with ducting and venting.
This section provides data necessary for developing a complete thermal solution. For
more information on designing a component level thermal solution, refer to the Dual-
Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Series Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines.
Note:
The boxed processor will ship with a component thermal solution. Refer to Chapter 8,
“Boxed Processor Specifications”for details on the boxed processor.
6.1.1
Thermal Specifications
To allow the optimal operation and long-term reliability of Intel processor-based
systems, the processor must remain within the minimum and maximum case
temperature (TCASE) specifications as defined by the applicable thermal profile (refer to
Table 6-1, Table 6-4 and Table 6-7; Figure 6-1, Figure 6-2 and Figure 6-3). Thermal
solutions not designed to provide this level of thermal capability may affect the long-
term reliability of the processor and system. For more details on thermal solution
design, please refer to the processor thermal/mechanical design guidelines.
The Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 series implement a methodology for
managing processor temperatures, which is intended to support acoustic noise
reduction through fan speed control and to ensure processor reliability. Selection of the
appropriate fan speed is based on the temperature reported by the processor’s Thermal
Diode. If the diode temperature is greater than or equal to Tcontrol (refer to
Section 6.2.6), then the processor case temperature must remain at or below the
temperature specified by the thermal profile (refer to Figure 6-1, Figure 6-2 and
Figure 6-3). If the diode temperature is less than Tcontrol, then the case temperature
is permitted to exceed the thermal profile, but the diode temperature must remain at
or below Tcontrol. Systems that implement fan speed control must be designed to take
these conditions into account. Systems that do not alter the fan speed only need to
guarantee the case temperature meets the thermal profile specifications.
Intel has developed two thermal profiles, either of which can be implemented with the
Dual-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5000 series. Both ensure adherence to Intel reliability
requirements. Thermal Profile A (refer to Figure 6-1, Figure 6-2; Table 6-2 and
Table 6-5) is representative of a volumetrically unconstrained thermal solution (that is,
industry enabled 2U heatsink). In this scenario, it is expected that the Thermal Control
Circuit (TCC) would only be activated for very brief periods of time when running the
most power intensive applications. Thermal Profile B (refer to Figure 6-1 and
Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Series Datasheet
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