Crusoe Themal Issues
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| The TM3120 is different thermally then its' sister processor, and uses a special heatsink to keep itself cool. A nice gold-coloured one at that! |
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Crusoe Thermal Issues
During the launch of Crusoe its thermal capabilites were
highly priased. Running at an average of 1 watt, it was to have the coolest die
temp of anything out there. New thermal images of the TM3120 bring the Crusoe
back into the land of mear mortals. While still running at amazingly cool
temperatures compared with a Pentium III at similar clock speeds, the Crusoe
still comes equiped with a good ol' heatsink. For some of us, the site of a
heatsink makes the mind ponder the possibilities of overclocking the Crusoe...
That is still a ways away for the moment however.
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| This Crusoe based laptop is shown running at a
highest temp of between 31-32 degrees Celsius, cooler them the AC-adapter
powering it. |
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The thermal image above would seem to introduce a
significant difference in operating temperatures between Transmeta's
TM5400 and TM3120 Crusoe processor's. The Image to the left displays the
TM5400 running a DVD. In that situation the processor was show running at
a temperature of 48.2 degree Celsius.
This newest image (above) shows the TM3120 with a die
temp of 79.9 degrees Celsius. Almost a 30 degree difference. Unfortunately
the conditions surrounding the thermal images are not known, so enclosures
may be accountable for this newest range of thermal
values.
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In a previous article, we commented on the four holes
surrounding the TM3120 processor. Clearly they were meant for a heatsink.
With the thermal image showing the TM3120 running at a die temp just
below 80 degrees Celsius, a method of dissipating that heat is a
necessity.
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| The outline on the PCB
alludes towards the placement of FormFactors MicroSpring socket. Probalby
intended for the higher-end TM5400, the socket would allow processors to
quickly be upgraded to a different model. As well, "Soldering the BGA
to the mobile PC motherboard runs counter to the industry's "build to
order" business model. Using the MicroSpring socket allows customers to
rapidly transition to new Crusoe Processor models and reduce import
tariffs." |
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