Dell Wyse 3040 Thin Client User Guide

Thermal management on Wyse 3040 thin client

This section provides information about thermal management in Wyse 3040 thin client. The following components control the Intel Cherry Trail SOC (System on chip) from a thermal performance on the thin client:

• SOC Inbuilt Thermal Control Logic

• Intel Turbo Boost

The Intel Cherry Trail SOC has inbuilt thermal control that prevents overheating of the thin client. When the temperature of the SOC crosses a preset value (PL1), the CPU speed drops to a lower speed to cool down the SOC and prevent overheating. The PL1 value is set in the BIOS.

Intel Turbo Boost allows the processor cores to work more than the rated operating frequency. Intel Turbo Boost is activated when the operating system requires a frequency higher than the rated frequency of the processor. The performance and frequency of Intel Turbo Boost Technology depends on the following factors:

• Type of workload

• Number of active cores

• Estimated current consumption

• Estimated power consumption

• Processor temperature

When the processor operates below the permissible limit and the workload needs additional performance, the processor frequency dynamically increases until the upper limit of frequency is reached. Intel Turbo Boost Technology manages the power and temperature to maximize frequency and energy efficiency. Intel Turbo Boost Technology allows the processor to operate at a power level that is higher than its TDP configuration and data sheet specified power for short durations to maximize performance. The CPU cores are not managed by the Intel Turbo Boost that can be enabled or disabled in the BIOS settings. When enabled, the dynamic overclocking occurs in the operating system. When disabled, the dynamic overclocking does not occur.

The BIOS on Wyse 3040 thin client has PL1 set to 2.2 W and the SOC thermal sensor triggers a CPU throttle when the temperature of the SOC exceeds 83º C. This indicates that when the GPU/CPU combined workload exceeds 2.2 W or temperature exceeds 83º C, the SOC starts throttling the CPU speed to 480 Mhz. After throttling if the temperature drops, the CPU goes back to the normal speed of 1.44 GHz.

When the Intel Turbo Boost is enabled, the BIOS could increase the speed of the CPU cores to a higher speed temporarily depending on the operating system workload. The thermal limits of the SOC are increased. When this happens, the CPU speed drops to 480 Mhz to protect the SOC from overheating. This throttling happens as soon as the thermal limit is reached.

When the Intel Turbo Boost is not enabled, there is no over clocking of the CPU. When the operating system is under normal workloads, the SOC continues to work without any issues. However, if there is a sustained operating system rating workload that heats up the SOC, the CPU speed drops to 480 Mhz as soon as the thermal limit is reached.

On the Wyse 3040 thin client, Intel Turbo Boost is enabled by default in the BIOS settings. Intel Turbo Boost is a standard Dell BIOS feature and is supported in either Enabled or Disabled mode on the ThinOS and ThinLinux operating systems.