3 ms·
Thanks for your reply. That makes sense. So would I be right to say that the problem is that the way power is delivered to individual transistors is getting to
by doctor_eval 5y ago
Thanks for your reply. That makes sense.
So would I be right to say that the problem is that the way power is delivered to individual transistors is getting too complex while the features are getting too small? The article started out by focussing on the total current at transistor voltages, but at 12 volts to the chip it’s just ~16 amps (still a lot!), spread across say 100 pins = 160mA per pin. Which isn’t as impressive as 200A. 200A is clearly not a wire you see going into a CPU.
It’s a shame that the article seems to have chosen to oversimplify the problem at the expense of helping us understand. The complexity of power delivery from the top of the chip looks fascinating, but it lost me at the outset with claims that wouldn’t pass muster with a high school electronics enthusiast.
- magicalhippo 5y ago> but at 12 volts to the chip It's the chip itself that needs 1-2V, so the buck converter is on the motherboard. So indeed 200A enters the chip. The linked GN article has a nice overview of the motherboard VRM layout. The AM4 socket has 1331 pins though, so with roughly a quarter of those sourcing current that's 0.6A per pin (the other half of the power pins sinks that current).