THREAD-BASED CLOCK ENABLING IN A MULTI-THREADED PROCESSOR

摘要

A method and apparatus for controlling power consumption in a multi-threaded processor. In one embodiment, the processor includes at least one logic unit for processing instructions. The logic unit includes a plurality of positions, wherein each of the plurality of positions corresponds to at least one instruction thread. Clock signals may be provided to the logic unit via a clock gating unit. The clock gating unit is configured to inhibit a clock signal from being provided to a corresponding one of the thread positions when no instruction thread is active for that position. The inhibiting of the clock signal for an inactive thread position may reduce power consumption by the processor.