Through its latest drivers we have been able to know that ARC graphics cards will use a function to save energy . We are talking about Intel using ASPM . A technology that is within the PCI Express standard and allows savings in the energy consumption of any device connected to said interface. What advantages does it bring?
One of the most important points in a graphics card is power management. Since we are not interested in the clock speed rise periods lasting longer than necessary. At the same time, it allows you to keep the clock speed low during periods of low graphics load and keep power consumption low. This last case becomes more relevant if we talk about laptops, although the management of the GPU consumption modes is really carried out by the operating system.
Well, Intel has decided to make its ARC Alchemist compatible with an optional PCI Express feature that is related to power saving. Which is crucial in order to save energy and have more efficient hardware. We have been able to know this through an update in the driver of its ARC Alchemist for the Linux kernel in its version 5.19. Which, due to its free code nature, requires the publication of changes due to the effect of the GPL license.
Intel adds ASPM L1 and L0 support to its ARC Alchemist graphics cards
Intel has added support for ASPM L1 and L0 for its ARC Alchemist graphics cards . This is an optional feature of the PCI Express standard and consists of placing the graphics card in low power mode or even sleep mode . Your advantage? It does not require the involvement of any application or the operating system to function normally again. So it is ideal in systems where we have two graphics at the same time, one integrated and one dedicated.
Well, Intel has achieved that in the case of its dedicated graphics cards , going from idle time to active time, or vice versa, lasts less than 1 microsecond . What does this translate to for users? Reduces energy consumption . The reason is that many users when using the Windows environment do not usually have the non-integrated graphics card active. It is clear that going from one situation to another requires a time in which consumption varies. Hence the importance of ASPM L1 and L0 latencies.
For you to understand this much better, you have to take into account that the processor only sends you a screen list. Which corresponds to the next frame that our eyes will see. So if we minimize a game, for example, until we maximize it, the GPU will not generate the frames. Another thing is that the action of the game continues.
How it will reduce consumption in games
Already at a more complex level, if the graphic load of a game is very low, then the graphic has periods of inactivity. The use of the ASPM L1 in the ARC Alchemist allows that during those periods of inactivity the consumption of the graph is reduced. Keep in mind that we are talking about periods of less than 1 microsecond and a frame lasts several milliseconds.
This is not an Intel-only feature, as many NVIDIA and AMD cards support this mode as it is a function of the PCI Express interface. However, it is not usually advertised. Of course, it has become one of the reasons why GPUs have become more efficient in recent years and, therefore, have been able to increase their performance per watt. So its support in Intel ARC should not surprise us.
