METHOD TO CONTROL THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE VECTOR LANES FOR POWER EFFICIENCY

摘要

The vector data path is divided into smaller vector lanes. The number of active vector lanes is controllable on the fly by the programmer to match the requirements of the executing program, and inactive vector lanes are powered down by the CPU to increase power efficiency of the vector processor.

主权项

1. A method of reducing power consumption by a vector processor, comprising the steps of:
dividing the vector data path into a plurality of narrower vector lanes; determining the number of active vector lanes; powering down the inactive vector lanes.