The effect of increasing IC power has traditionally been more expensive packaging, heatsinks, fans, and larger power supplies. Intel's Pentium processor is an example of the change in market sensitivity to power dissipation. Today, Intel is still losing potential customers to lower power PC Notebook processors long after floating-point accuracy questions have been forgotten. IC power management requires the inclusion of power with timing and area, as parameters managed throughout the design process. Few companies choose an IC process without looking at power efficiency, and power budgets are in virtually every IC specification.
Design reviews are the right time to question implications of design changes on power.
Once the design is fixed by timing optimization and routing, even inserting a few gates can force rework of an entire floorplan. Architectural design-stage goals must include a power budget. There are now tools available for ASIC and full-custom IC power analysis at many different levels. Design reviews can include results from power analysis tools at the algorithm and architectural level. Power efficient design is within reach.