Power requirements for the VGL-M can easily exceed 13 Watts under some conditions. Since the PMC spec defines maximum power at 7.5 Watts, the VGL-M is pushing the envelope. These fans typically reduce the Voodoo3 temperature by 30 degrees C. The VGL-M fits mostly within the standard PMC envelope, except the side 2 heat shield which exceeds the height limit by 2.5mm. It does not, however, cross the inter-board separation. Heat dissipation of the PMC can be monitored and controlled dynamically.
Power dissipation is linear with both core voltage and clock frequencies.
A digital potentiometer allows control of the Voodoo3 core voltage, and software control is provided for memory and processor clocks. Two programmable thermal sensors provide real-time status of the local temperature, and support interactive environmental control. These drivers only support the Voodoo3 graphics accelerator. No turn-key drivers or applications are available for the Bt835 video capture chip or the Bt868 color encoder, although driver source code for NT and Linux is available from this web site and various independent developers.