Technology trends in computer architecture and their impact on power subsystems

The consumers of servers, desktop, and notebook computers focus their purchasing decisions on the features and cost of the equipment. In this environment, the customer seldom sees the power subsystem as a feature, but rather a required component that is not an integral part of the purchase decision. However, from the viewpoint of a company like Dell that drives features and integrates them into systems, improved power technology can be an enabler of features that are important to customers. This paper focuses on the high-level trends in computer architecture and the drivers of these trends. A survey of the microprocessor, graphics, memory, and I/O subsystems provides a computer systems company viewpoint on the trends in the computing market that will drive increasing demands for power. The trends discussed here span the main subsystems that make up the system-level architecture of a computer.