Nvidia Corporation

David Haley

Andrew R Bell

Boris Landwehr

Gabriele Gorla

Hans Wolfgang Schulze

Xiang Sun

Qi Lin

James Stephen Fields, Jr

Chad Plummer

Seungkug Park

Darryl Moore

Carlo Galutera

The disclosure provides a cooling solution that evaluates the thermal environment of a computer component based on transient thermal responses of the computer component. The transient thermal responses are generated by measuring the temperature rise of the computer component over a designated amount of time for multiple 'good' assemblies and multiple “bad” assemblies to determine a duration and allowable temperature rise needed to set a pass/fail criteria for different failure modes of cooling devices. A cooling device may not be operating as designed due to damage, needed maintenance, missing thermal interface material (TIM), improper installation, etc. From the transient thermal responses, a thermal problem, such as a malfunctioning fan, can be determined and a corrective action can be performed.

Thermal environment evaluation and compensation for computer components

A printed circuit board assembly comprises: a printed circuit board (PCB); an integrated circuit (IC) package that is mounted on the PCB and includes a first surface and a bare IC die disposed on the first surface; and a vapor chamber coupled to the first surface of the IC package.

Printed circuit board assembly with integrated vapor chamber

A graphics subsystem includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a blower, and a heat sink. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is integrated into the PCB. The PCB is shortened to occupy a portion of the width of the graphics subsystem. The heat sink is coupled to the PCB and/or GPU similarly occupies just a portion of the width of the graphics subsystem. The blower is disposed adjacent to the PCB and heat sink and configured to occupy the full height of the graphics subsystem. The blower is further configured to intake air from both the top side of the graphics subsystem and the bottom side of the graphics subsystem. In this configuration, the blower provides an elevated air flow rate in order to facilitate cooling of the PCB and/or GPU.

Blower design for a graphics processing unit

A graphics subsystem includes a printed circuit board (PCB), a set of one or more fans, and a heat sink. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is integrated into the PCB. The PCB is shortened to occupy a portion of the width of the graphics subsystem. The heat sink is coupled to the PCB and/or GPU and configured to extend beyond an edge of the PCB, thereby occupying a larger portion of the width of the graphics subsystem compared to the PCB. A first fan is disposed partially or fully beyond the edge of the PCB and is configured to direct air through the portion of the heat sink that extends beyond the edge of the PCB, along a first airflow path, and out of the graphics subsystem. A second fan is configured to direct air through the heat sink, along a second airflow path, towards the GPU.

Blow-through axial fan for a graphics processing unit

A fan control module configured to control the speed of a fan receives a signal that indicates the power used by a graphics processing unit (GPU) and a signal that indicates the GPU temperature. Whenever the GPU power exceeds a power threshold level, but the GPU temperature is below a temperature threshold level, the control module turns the fan on and causes the fan to operate at a minimum speed. Whenever the GPU temperature is above the temperature threshold, the control module causes the fan speed to increase with increasing temperature, regardless of power. The control module turns the fan off only when both the GPU temperature is below the temperature threshold and the GPU power is below the power threshold. Although the algorithm is discussed in conjunction with a GPU, the algorithm can be implemented with any type of processor or subsystem that needs to be fan-cooled.

Techniques for reducing fan cycling

This disclosure describes an electronics device that effectively removes heat from the SoC, which increases its efficiency and extends its useful life by spreading heat in the thermally conductive plate before transferring it across the interface. Surface area is a significant factor in TIM thermal performance, so this increases the performance substantially when using the same type of TIM pad. This device allows the use of lower performance TIM pads that resolve the issues of high die pressure and non-resilient behavior of high thermal conductivity TIMs. Additionally, the device mechanically isolates the SoC from the heatsink, which reduces stress and provides improved thermal performance.

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Beaverton, OR, United States of America

David Haley