E
4.2.
AP-523
15
Supplying Power
The start of a power distribution system is the source of
power, or the power supply. The voltage required by the
Pentium Pro processor is probably not already available
from a standard supply and will need to be created as
Pentium Pro processor designs are developed. The new
voltage can be generated from an AC input (such as the
line voltage) or from another DC supply. Also, the
voltage can be created within a central power supply unit
and distributed, or created locally to the load. The many
tradeoffs involved are discussed here.
In order to maintain power supply tolerance, either local
regulation or a power supply with remote sense
capabilities is required. This is due to the higher current
requirements of the Pentium Pro processor. Typically
there is a DC loss over the power distribution system due
to the resistance of such things as cables, power planes,
and connectors. These are the first two components of
the complex model being discussed. They are shown in
Figure 12 as R
BOARD
and R
CABLE
.
+
-
C
HF
C
Bulk
L
Board
L
Cable
R
Cable
R
Board
CPU
Power
Supply
Figure 12. System Design Model
This loss can be represented as
D
V = I
′
R, where
D
V is
the voltage loss, I is the current and R is the effective
resistance of the distribution system. When the average
current is continuous, the power supply can be designed
to compensate for this loss by setting the voltage slightly
higher than the nominal value. This ensures that the
voltage at the farthest reaches of the system is still within
specification. However, when the current has the ability
to change significantly between a high and a low state
(i.e.
D
I is high),
D
V changes significantly as well. This
change in voltage can be represented as
D
V =
D
I
′
R.
This loss can become significant due to the tighter
tolerance specification of the Pentium Pro processor
requiring that the total
D
V at the CPU socket be within
5% of the nominal voltage.
Local regulation is the use of a supply or regulator near
the load to create the voltage needed. One practical
example of this is a local DC-to-DC converter. In this
application, a higher DC voltage is typically distributed
to the area where the load exists and then is converted to
a lower level using either a linear or a switching
regulator. By distributing a lower current at a higher
voltage, the unwanted losses (I x R) are minimized. (This
is done in high tension lines to distribute electricity from
the generating source to local residential use). More
importantly however, the voltage is regulated locally
which minimizes DC line losses by eliminating R
CABLE
and reducing R
BOARD
on the processor voltage.
If local regulation is not appropriate, then a power supply
with remote sense may be used. A power supply
typically regulates the voltage at its terminals before
cabling to the board. Again, changing distribution losses
based on the current demand make it difficult to hold a
tight tolerance at the load. A remote sense, shown in
Figure 13, solves this problem by running a separate
Power
Source
Load
Amps (Large
V)
μ
Amps (Small
V)
Figure 13. Remote Sense
connection from near the load to the feedback loop of the
power supply. This line will have very low current draw