System and method to reduce power consumption when conveying data to a device

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for moving data from a memory in a computing system to an I/O device. A system includes a processor, memory, I/O controller, and power management circuitry. An application stores data in the memory that is to be ultimately conveyed to an I/O device. The I/O controller is configured to convey the data to an I/O device according to a service interval. The I/O controller is configured to fetch a first data item from the memory stored by the application, and prefetch one or more additional data items from memory. The first data and prefetched data are stored in a locally accessible buffer of the I/O controller. The I/O controller is then configured to convey each of the first data and one or more data items from the buffer to the I/O device at regular intervals of time during a given period of time, prior to initiating a fetch of additional data from the memory. During the given period of time, the power management circuitry is configured to cause at least the memory to enter a reduced power state.