Improved power management for Pentium III PCs

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Jul 19, 2001

Two new PWM linear power system controllers from Intersil are optimised for the latest Pentium III desktop PCs conforming to Intel's VRM 8.5 standard for advanced power management.

Two new pulsewidth modulation linear power system controllers from Intersil are optimised for the latest Intel Pentium III-based desktop PCs conforming to Intel's VRM 8.5 standard for advanced power management.

The new Endura devices provide more efficient power control and protection for DC/DC conversion and are the first to integrate the power sequencing functions required by Intel's VRM 8.5 standard for voltage regulator modules.

They reduce component count and cost compared to competing solutions which require extensive external components.

Intersil's Endura ISL6523 is a dual PWM and dual linear controller and the ISL6524 is a single PWM, triple linear controller.

Both highly integrated devices provide power control and protection for four output voltages in VRM 8.5-compliant high-performance microprocessor and computer applications.

VRM 8.5 is an Intel specification for the latest Pentium III processors.

The specification governs the regulation of power delivered to the processor.

Intersil's new Endura power system controllers provide four regulated voltages, one each to the microprocessor core, AGTL+Bis, AGP Bus Power and the north/south bridge core.

They control the power up sequencing of these voltages in accordance with VRM 8.5 requirements.

The devices' linear regulator drives are compatible with both mosfet and bipolar series pass transistors.

Intersil's innovative rDS(ON) sensing topology enhances efficiency, improves transient response, and reduces overall bill-of-materials cost by eliminating the need for an external current sense resistor.

Fast PWM converter transient response delivers a high-bandwidth error amplifier and a full zero percent to one hundred percent duty ratio.

The ISL6523 and ISL6524 are both currently available in a 28-lead SOIC package.