Patent Publication Number: US-2010115300-A1

Title: Method and device for adjusting clock frequency and operating voltage of computer system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly to a computer system having a function of adjusting the clock frequency and the operating voltage. The present invention also relates to a method for adjusting the clock frequency and the operating voltage of a computer system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For enhancing the performance of a computer system, the user may change the BIOS (basic input output system) settings of the computer system. For example, through the BIOS settings, the operating voltage or the clock frequency of a motherboard is adjustable. As known, overclocking is the process of forcing a computer component to run at a higher clock rate than it was designed or designated by the manufacturer; and a dynamic voltage scaling process to increase voltage is known as overvoltage. 
     That is, through the BIOS settings, the operating voltage or the clock frequency of a specified component on the motherboard is adjustable. The specified component includes for example a central processing unit (CPU), a front side bus (FSB) or a memory. After operating voltages and clock frequencies of these specified components are set via the BIOS setup menu, the set parameters should be stored in the BIOS. Until the computer system is reset, the set parameters are loaded into the BIOS to implement the overvoltage or overclocking processes. According to the set parameters, the clock generator or the voltage regulator of the computer system is correspondingly controlled, so that these specified components could be operated at the desired operating voltages or clock frequencies. 
     For achieving the optimal performance of the computer system, the parameters are continuously changed through the BIOS settings and then the computer system is re-started until desired parameters are obtained. As known, the process of changing the BIOS settings is very time-consuming and inefficient. 
     For facilitating the user to adjust the operating voltage or the clock frequency, the motherboard manufacturer usually provides a frequency and voltage adjusting program. When the frequency and voltage adjusting program is executed under the operating system, the operating voltage or the clock frequency of a specified component could be adjusted. By executing the frequency and voltage adjusting program to adjust the parameters according to the practical requirements, the computer system does not need to be reset. 
     Generally, the performance of the computer system is deteriorated during the frequency and voltage adjusting program is executed. In addition, the user fails to realize whether the parameters obtained by executing the frequency and voltage adjusting program are sufficient to achieve the optimal performance of the computer system. For realizing the performance of the computer system, benchmark software needs be executed after the parameters are obtained. 
     Moreover, in order to prevent adverse influence on the performance of the computer, the frequency and voltage adjusting program needs to be disabled while the benchmark software is executed. If the performance is not satisfied, the frequency and voltage adjusting program and the benchmark software will be successively executed in order to achieve the optimal performance of the computer system. 
     Recently, a frequency and voltage adjusting device is mounted on a motherboard of the computer system. By controlling the frequency and voltage adjusting device, the power user could quickly and arbitrarily adjust the operating voltage or the clock frequency of a specified component without deteriorating the performance of the computer system. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a motherboard having a frequency and voltage adjusting device according to the prior art. The frequency and voltage adjusting device is used for adjusting the operating voltage or the clock frequency of a specified component on a motherboard. The specified component includes for example a central processing unit (CPU), a front side bus (FSB) or a memory. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a central processing unit (CPU)  110 , a north bridge (NB) chip  120 , a south bridge (SB) chip  130 , a memory  140 , a graphic processing unit (GPU)  150  and a basic input output system (BIOS)  132  are mounted on the motherboard  100 . The north bridge chip  120  is connected with the CPU  110 , the south bridge chip  130 , the memory  140  and the GPU  150 . The BIOS  132  is connected with the south bridge chip  130 . A clock generator  160  is also disposed on the motherboard  100  for generating various clock signals such as front side bus (FSB) clock signals, north bridge (NB) clock signals or the like. For example, the FSB clock signals are transmitted to the CPU  110 , and the NB clock signals are transmitted to the north bridge chip  120 . A voltage regulator  190  is also disposed on the motherboard  100  for providing various operating voltages such as CPU core voltage (Vcore) to the CPU  110 . 
     For clarification and brevity, only the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) are illustrated in  FIG. 1 . It is noted that, however, those skilled in the art will readily observe that the operating voltages and clock frequencies of other components on the motherboard  100  could be adjusted by the frequency and voltage adjusting device as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The frequency and voltage adjusting device comprises an adjustable unit  170 , a control circuit  180  and a display unit  176 . The control circuit  180  is connected with a standby voltage source (not shown) of the computer system. In addition, the control circuit  180  is connected with the clock generator  160 , the voltage regulator  190  and the south bridge chip  130  via a system management bus (SM bus). The control circuit  180  is also connected with the adjustable unit  170  and the display unit  176 . 
     The control circuit  180  comprises a signal processing unit  182  and a display processing unit  184 . The adjustable unit  170  comprises a joystick  172 , which is fixed on the motherboard  100 . An example of the display unit  176  is a small scale display device. 
     When the adjustable unit  170  is controlled by the user, a frequency-increasing signal or a frequency-decreasing signal is transmitted to the signal processing unit  182  of the control circuit  180 . According to the frequency-increasing signal or the frequency-decreasing signal, the signal processing unit  182  will control the clock generator  160  to change the clock frequency by an increment Δf 1  or a decrement Δf 2 . For example, when the joystick  172  of the adjustable unit  170  is once turned to the right, the clock frequency is increased by one increment Δf 1 . Whereas, when the joystick  172  of the adjustable unit  170  is once turned to the left, the clock frequency is decreased by one decrement Δf 2 . In an example, the frequency of the FSB clock signal of the computer system is 266 MHz, the frequency increment Δf 1  is 3.3 MHz, and the frequency decrement Δf 2  is 3.3 MHz. If the clock frequency is continuously increased by ten increments, the frequency of the FSB clock signal is adjusted to be 300 MHz (i.e. 266+10×(3.3)=300). If the clock frequency is continuously decreased by ten decrements again, the frequency of the FSB clock signal is adjusted to be 266 MHz (i.e. 300−10×(3.3)=266). 
     Similarly, when the adjustable unit  170  is controlled by the user, a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal is transmitted to the signal processing unit  182  of the control circuit  180 . According to the voltage-increasing signal or the voltage-decreasing signal, the signal processing unit  182  will control the voltage regulator  190  to change the CPU core voltage (Vcore) by an increment ΔV 1  or a decrement ΔV 2 . 
     After the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) has been changed by the control circuit  180 , the parameters associated with the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be refreshed and then stored in the BIOS  132  through the south bridge chip  130 . At the same time, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be processed by the display processing unit  184  of the control circuit  180  and then shown on the display unit  176 . In other words, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) could be realized via the display unit  176  without deteriorating the performance of the computer system. 
     When the benchmark software is executed in the computer system, the frequency-increasing signal, the frequency-decreasing signal, the voltage-increasing signal or the voltage-decreasing signal is generated by controlling the adjustable unit  170 . According to the performance result of the computer system, the benchmark software is executed to achieve the optimal performance of the computer system. 
     The frequency and voltage adjusting device, however, still has some drawbacks. For example, the joystick  172  of the adjustable unit  170  is fixed on the motherboard  100 . Generally, the motherboard  100  is installed within the computer case of the computer system after the parameters associated with the clock frequency or operating voltage are determined. In a case that the user intends to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage, the computer case needs to be disassembled. The process of disassembling the computer case is very troublesome. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a frequency and voltage adjusting method for adjusting a clock frequency or an operating voltage of a first component of a computer system. Firstly, a control function of a computer keyboard is enabled. Then, an initiating signal is generated by the computer keyboard. After the initiating signal is received, a control key of the computer keyboard is depressed to generate a frequency-increasing signal, a frequency-decreasing signal, a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal. The clock frequency is increased according to the frequency-increasing signal. The clock frequency is decreased according to the frequency-decreasing signal. The operating voltage is increased according to the voltage-increasing signal. The operating voltage is decreased according to the voltage-decreasing signal. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system having frequency and voltage adjusting functions. The computer system includes a motherboard, a control circuit and a computer keyboard. The motherboard includes a first component, a clock generator and a voltage regulator. The clock generator generates a clock frequency to the first component. The voltage regulator outputs an operating voltage to the first component. The control circuit is connected with the clock generator and the voltage regulator. The computer keyboard is connected with the control circuit for generating a frequency-increasing signal, a frequency-decreasing signal, a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal. Under control of the control circuit, the clock frequency generated by the clock generator is adjusted according to the frequency-increasing signal or the frequency-decreasing signal, and the operating voltage outputted by the voltage regulator is adjusted according to the voltage-increasing signal or the voltage-decreasing signal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a motherboard having a frequency and voltage adjusting device according to the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a computer system having frequency and voltage adjusting functions according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a computer system having frequency and voltage adjusting functions according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     The present invention provides a method and a device for adjusting the clock frequency or operating voltage of a specified component without the need of disassembling the computer case. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a computer system having frequency and voltage adjusting functions according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the computer system of  FIG. 2 , a clock frequency and an operating voltage of a specified component are adjustable. An example of the specified component includes but is not limited to a CPU, a front side bus (FSB) or a memory. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a central processing unit (CPU)  310 , a north bridge (NB) chip  320 , a south bridge (SB) chip  330 , a memory  340 , a graphic processing unit (GPU)  350  and a basic input output system (BIOS)  332  are mounted on the motherboard  300 . The north bridge chip  320  and the south bridge chip  330  are collectively referred as a chipset. The north bridge chip  320  is connected with the CPU  310 , the south bridge chip  330 , the memory  340  and the GPU  350 . The BIOS  332  is connected with the south bridge chip  330 . A clock generator  360  is also disposed on the motherboard  300  for generating various clock signals such as front side bus (FSB) clock signals, north bridge (NB) clock signals or the like. For example, the FSB clock signals are transmitted to the CPU  310 , and the NB clock signals are transmitted to the north bridge chip  320 . A voltage regulator  390  is also disposed on the motherboard  300  for providing different operating voltages such as CPU core voltage (Vcore) to the CPU  310 . 
     For clarification and brevity, only the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) are illustrated in  FIG. 2 . It is noted that, however, those skilled in the art will readily observe that the operating voltages and clock frequencies of other components on the motherboard  300  could be adjusted by the frequency and voltage adjusting device as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     In this embodiment, a control circuit  380  is connected with a keyboard  210  through a connecting port  200 . An example of the connecting port  200  includes but is not limited to a universal serial bus (USB) port or a PS/ 2  connector. In addition, the control circuit  380  is connected with the clock generator  360 , the voltage regulator  390  and the south bridge chip  330  via a system management bus (SM bus). The control circuit  380  comprises a signal processing unit  382  and a display processing unit  384 . The signal processing unit  382  is connected with the keyboard  210 . The display processing unit  384  is connected with a display unit  376 . An example of the display unit  376  is a small scale display device. 
     For adjusting the clock frequency or operating voltage during normal operations of the computer system, the BIOS  332  should be set to enable the adjusting function so that the keyboard  210  could be used to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage. 
     Before the enabling action, the function of using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage is disabled. That is, when the computer system is introduced to the market, the user fails to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage by using the keyboard  210  without setting the BIOS  332 . During normal operations of the computer system, a key signal is transmitted from the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380  to the south bridge chip  330  in response to any key-press of the keyboard  210 , operated as the conventional keyboard. 
     For using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage, the computer system is booted and then the control function of using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage is enabled through the BIOS  332 . 
     For preventing from erroneous operations, an initiating signal is generated by the keyboard  210  when a specific key (e.g. the F1 function key) has been depressed for a certain period (e.g. over 3 seconds). After the initiating signal is received by the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380 , the user could operate the direction key (i.e. the left/right/up/down keys) to generate a frequency-increasing signal, a frequency-decreasing signal, a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal. 
     In other words, after the initiating signal is received by the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380  and the direction key is depressed by the user, the signal processing unit  382  will not generate a corresponding key signal to the south bridge chip  330 . When the direction key is once depressed, the signal processing unit  382  will control the clock generator  360  to change the clock frequency by an increment Δf 1  or a decrement Δf 2 . Similarly, when the direction key is once depressed, the signal processing unit  382  will control the voltage regulator  390  to change the CPU core voltage (Vcore) by an increment ΔV 1  or a decrement ΔV 2 . 
     Moreover, after the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) has been changed by the control circuit  380 , the parameters associated with the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be refreshed and then stored in the BIOS  332  through the south bridge chip  330 . At the same time, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be processed by the display processing unit  384  of the control circuit  380  and then shown on the display unit  376 . In other words, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) could be realized via the display unit  376  without deteriorating the performance of the computer system. 
     From the description in the first embodiment, the clock frequency or operating voltage is adjusted by using the computer keyboard of the computer system without the need of disassembling the computer case. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic functional block diagram illustrating a computer system having frequency and voltage adjusting functions according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the computer system of  FIG. 3 , a clock frequency and an operating voltage of a specified component are adjustable. An example of the specified component includes but is not limited to a CPU, a front side bus (FSB) or a memory. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , a central processing unit (CPU)  310 , a north bridge (NB) chip  320 , a south bridge (SB) chip  330 , a memory  340 , a graphic processing unit (GPU)  350  and a basic input output system (BIOS)  332  are mounted on the motherboard  300 . The north bridge chip  320  is connected with the CPU  310 , the south bridge chip  330 , the memory  340  and the GPU  350 . The BIOS  332  is connected with the south bridge chip  330 . A clock generator  360  is also disposed on the motherboard  300  for generating various clock signals such as front side bus (FSB) clock signals, north bridge (NB) clock signals or the like. For example, the FSB clock signals are transmitted to the CPU  310 , and the NB clock signals are transmitted to the north bridge chip  320 . A voltage regulator  390  is also disposed on the motherboard  300  for providing various operating voltages such as CPU core voltage (Vcore) to the CPU  310 . 
     For clarification and brevity, only the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) are illustrated in  FIG. 3 . It is noted that, however, those skilled in the art will readily observe that the operating voltages and clock frequencies of other components on the motherboard  300  could be adjusted by the frequency and voltage adjusting device as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     In this embodiment, a control circuit  380  is connected with a keyboard  210  through a connecting port  200 . An example of the connecting port  200  includes but is not limited to a universal serial bus (USB) port or a PS/2 connector. In addition, the control circuit  380  is connected with the clock generator  360 , the voltage regulator  390  and the south bridge chip  330  via a system management bus (SM bus). The control circuit  380  comprises a signal processing unit  382  and a display processing unit  384 . The signal processing unit  382  is connected with the keyboard  210  and an adjustable unit  370 . The display processing unit  384  is connected with a display unit  376 . An example of the display unit  376  is a small scale display device. The adjustable unit  370  comprises a joystick  372 , which is fixed on the motherboard  300 . 
     The function of using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage is disabled before the enabling action through the BIOS  332 . That is, when the computer system is introduced to the market, the user fails to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage by using the keyboard  210 . During normal operations of the computer system, a key signal is transmitted from the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380  to the south bridge chip  330  in response to any key-press of the keyboard  210 . 
     Before the enabling action, the adjustable unit  370  could be controlled by the user to transmit a frequency-increasing signal or a frequency-decreasing signal to the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380 . According to the frequency-increasing signal or the frequency-decreasing signal, the signal processing unit  382  will control the clock generator  360  to change the clock frequency by an increment Δf 1  or a decrement Δf 2 . Similarly, the adjustable unit  370  could be controlled by the user to transmit a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal to the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380 . According to the voltage-increasing signal or the voltage-decreasing signal, the signal processing unit  382  will control the voltage regulator  390  to change the CPU core voltage (Vcore) by an increment ΔV 1  or a decrement ΔV 2 . 
     For using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage, the control function of using the keyboard  210  to adjust the clock frequency or operating voltage should be enabled through the BIOS  332  during the booting of the computer system. 
     For preventing from erroneous operations, an initiating signal is generated by the keyboard  210  when a specific key (e.g. the function key “F1”) has been depressed for a certain period (e.g. over 3 seconds). After the initiating signal is received by the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380 , the user could operate the direction key (i.e. the left/right/up/down keys) to generate a frequency-increasing signal, a frequency-decreasing signal, a voltage-increasing signal or a voltage-decreasing signal. 
     In other words, after the initiating signal is received by the signal processing unit  382  of the control circuit  380  and the direction key is depressed by the user, the signal processing unit  382  will not generate a corresponding key signal to the south bridge chip  330 . When the direction key is once depressed, the signal processing unit  382  will control the clock generator  360  to change the clock frequency by an increment Δf 1  or a decrement Δf 2 . Similarly, when the direction key is once depressed, the signal processing unit  382  will control the voltage regulator  390  to change the CPU core voltage (Vcore) by an increment ΔV 1  or a decrement ΔV 2 . 
     Moreover, after the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) has been changed by the control circuit  380 , the parameters associated with the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be refreshed and then stored in the BIOS  332  through the south bridge chip  330 . At the same time, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal or the CPU core voltage (Vcore) will be processed by the display processing unit  384  of the control circuit  380  and then shown on the display unit  376 . In other words, the clock frequency of the FSB clock signal and the CPU core voltage (Vcore) could be realized via the display unit  376  without deteriorating the performance of the computer system. 
     From the description in the second embodiment, the clock frequency or operating voltage could be adjusted by using the adjustable unit  370  after the computer case is disassembled. Alternatively, the clock frequency or operating voltage could be also adjusted by using the computer keyboard  210  of the computer system without the need of disassembling the computer case. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.