17936809. On-Demand Regulation of Memory Bandwidth Utilization to Service Requirements of Display simplified abstract (ATI TECHNOLOGIES ULC)

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On-Demand Regulation of Memory Bandwidth Utilization to Service Requirements of Display

Organization Name

ATI TECHNOLOGIES ULC

Inventor(s)

Ashish Jain of Austin TX (US)

Shang Yang of Markham (CA)

Jun Lei of Markham (CA)

Gia Tung Phan of Markham (CA)

Oswin Hall of Markham (CA)

Benjamin Tsien of Santa Clara CA (US)

Narendra Kamat of Santa Clara CA (US)

On-Demand Regulation of Memory Bandwidth Utilization to Service Requirements of Display - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17936809 titled 'On-Demand Regulation of Memory Bandwidth Utilization to Service Requirements of Display

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes systems, apparatuses, and methods for prefetching data by a display controller in order to sustain a desired quality of service for a display during performance-state changes of a memory subsystem.

  • Display controller prefetches data in advance of memory performance-state changes
  • Memory clock frequency is changed during performance-state changes
  • Memory accesses may be temporarily blocked during changes
  • Bandwidth reduction circuitry in clients temporarily reduces memory bandwidth to accommodate prefetching

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in various display systems where memory performance-state changes may impact display quality, such as in gaming consoles, virtual reality systems, and high-resolution displays.

Problems Solved

1. Ensures a desired quality of service for the display during memory performance-state changes 2. Optimizes memory bandwidth usage to accommodate prefetching and maintain display performance

Benefits

1. Improved display quality and performance during memory changes 2. Efficient use of memory bandwidth for prefetching data 3. Enhanced user experience with smoother transitions and reduced latency

Potential Commercial Applications

Optimizing display performance in gaming consoles, virtual reality systems, high-resolution displays, and other applications where memory performance-state changes can impact user experience.

Possible Prior Art

One potential prior art in this field is the use of caching techniques in computer systems to improve data access speeds and system performance. Caching mechanisms have been used in various systems to store frequently accessed data closer to the processor, reducing latency and improving overall system performance.

Unanswered Questions

How does this technology impact power consumption in display systems?

This article does not address the potential impact of prefetching data on power consumption in display systems. Prefetching data may require additional processing and memory resources, which could lead to increased power consumption. Further research is needed to understand the power implications of this technology.

What are the potential security implications of prefetching data in display systems?

The article does not discuss the security implications of prefetching data in display systems. Prefetching data could potentially expose sensitive information to unauthorized access or compromise system security. Future studies should investigate the security risks associated with prefetching data in display controllers.


Original Abstract Submitted

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for prefetching data by a display controller. From time to time, a performance-state change of a memory are performed. During such changes, a memory clock frequency is changed for a memory subsystem storing frame buffer(s) used to drive pixels to a display device. During the performance-state change, memory accesses may be temporarily blocked. To sustain a desired quality of service for the display, a display controller is configured to prefetch data in advance of the performance-state change. In order to ensure the display controller has sufficient memory bandwidth to accomplish the prefetch, bandwidth reduction circuitry in clients of the system are configured to temporarily reduce memory bandwidth of corresponding clients.