TWI421666B - A display card with overclocking function and the overclocking method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Overclockable display card and overclocking method

The invention relates to an overclockable display card and an overclocking method thereof, in particular to a method for detecting the working state of a display card and automatically performing overclocking through a circuit and a component on the display card.

For the early days of the computer, since most of them used a monochrome screen, and the main function was only the processing of text, numbers or data, the requirements for the display card were not very high. However, with the continuous development and advancement of computer technology, the powerful processing performance enables the computer to display not only the graphics, but also the complex images or graphics. Moreover, as the image and graphic data processed by the computer become more realistic and complicated, the application of the display card in the computer becomes more and more important. In particular, for today's popular online games or multimedia information, in order to pay attention to the vivid picture, in addition to the colorful and complex, it will generally be presented in 3D images. Therefore, in order to make the picture more smooth, today's computer players often need to select a display card with more functions or better performance to enhance the ability of the computer to play high-definition video and audio data.

In addition, in order to further improve the operational performance of the display card, many commercially available display cards have an overclocking function, so that the user can adjust the working state of the display card according to the needs of the computer operation. However, in the current way of overclocking various display cards, there are still considerable disadvantages.

Taking the most common display card overclocking method as an example, the multiplier circuit is mainly built in the graphics processing unit (GPU) of the display card, and the overclocking circuit is controlled by the computer software to perform overclocking work. However, since the driver of the general display card does not have the function of overclocking, in order to achieve overclocking in this way, the user needs to install other overclocking software on the computer, and then implement the overclocking software to achieve the desired. Overclocking effect. In addition to the need to install additional software, when executing related programs, overclocking software obviously takes up resources of the computer system and reduces the operating efficiency of the entire computer.

In addition to overclocking through software, another way of overclocking is to modify the BIOS settings of the display card to achieve the effect of overclocking the display card. Since the basic input/output program of the display card is specified in the BIOS setting of the display card, by modifying the settings, various devices on the display card, such as a graphics processing chip, a display memory, and the like, can be controlled and managed. However, using the BIOS overclocking method, each time you want to modify or adjust the working frequency, you need to reboot the computer and enter the BIOS setting screen to modify the related settings. This overclocking method is obviously inconvenient for the user.

Therefore, how to achieve the effect of pure hardware automatic overclocking through the circuit design of the display card itself, to eliminate the shortcomings of software overclocking occupying computer system resources, and eliminating the trouble of needing to reboot to modify the BIOS settings has become a current manufacturer. The focus of research and development.

In view of this, the main object of the present invention is to provide an overclockable display card. The main components of the display card include a graphics processing unit, a current voltage conversion circuit, a logic determination circuit, and a clock generation circuit. The graphics processing unit can provide a driving signal, and the current voltage conversion circuit detects the operating current of the graphics processing unit and converts the operating current into a voltage signal. The logic judging circuit judges the load state of the graphics processing unit according to the driving signal and the voltage signal, and generates a control signal. The clock generation circuit outputs a clock signal to the graphics processing unit according to the control signal.

Moreover, the present invention also provides a display card overclocking method in which the display card has a graphics processing unit. The display card overclocking method includes at least the following steps. First, it is determined that the data processed by the graphics processing unit is 2D graphics data or 3D graphics data. Next, the voltage signal of the graphics processing unit is detected. When the graphics processing unit processes the 3D graphics data, the operating state of the graphics processing unit is determined to be a heavy load or a light load according to the voltage signal. And, when the operating state is a heavy load, an overclocked clock signal is input to the graphics processing unit.

Referring to FIG. 1, this figure shows an overclockable display card 1 provided by the present invention. The main components of the display card include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 10, a current-voltage conversion circuit 11, a logic determination circuit 12, and a clock generation circuit 13.

The graphics processing unit 10 is mainly used to process related operations of graphics data, and can be used to input 2D or 3D graphics data according to the driver used. Line processing. The graphics processing unit 10 can externally provide a driving signal for displaying the data processed by the graphic data as 2D or 3D. The current-voltage conversion circuit 11 is configured to detect an operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 and convert the operating current into a voltage signal.

The logic determining circuit 12 responds to the current-voltage converting circuit 11 and the graphics processing unit 10, respectively, and determines the load state of the graphics processing unit 10 based on the received driving signal and voltage signal. When the load state is a heavy load state, the logic judging circuit 12 generates and outputs an overclocking control signal.

The clock generation circuit 13 is responsive to the logic determination circuit 12 and outputs a clock signal to the graphics processing unit 10 based on the control signal. Wherein, whether the graphics processing unit 10 enters an overclocking state can be controlled by whether the output clock signal is an overclocked clock signal.

In an embodiment, the display card 1 further includes an analog/digital conversion circuit 14 connected between the current voltage conversion circuit 11 and the logic determination circuit 12 for receiving the voltage signal transmitted by the current voltage conversion circuit 11. And converting the voltage signal to a digital signal. In this arrangement, the logic determining circuit 12 can receive the digital signal and the driving signal according to the analog/digital conversion circuit 14 and the graphics processing unit 10, respectively, and according to the received driving signal and digital signal, The load state of the graphics processing unit 10 is comprehensively judged.

In a preferred embodiment, the logic determining circuit 12 determines whether the data processed by the graphics processing unit 10 is 2D graphics data or 3D graphics data according to the driving signal output by the graphics processing unit 10. In general, when the processed data is 2D graphics data, since the load of the graphics processing unit 10 is relatively light, it can be regarded as a light load state. That is, at When processing 2D graphics data, there is no need for overclocking for the graphics processing unit 10.

As for when the data processed by the graphics processing unit 10 is 3D graphics data, the actual load state of the graphics processing unit 10 is determined depending on the fineness or complexity of the processed graphics. Therefore, when the graphics processing unit 10 processes the 3D graphics data, the logic determination circuit 12 determines whether the operational state of the graphics processing unit 10 is a heavy load or a light load based on the voltage signal output by the current-voltage conversion circuit 11.

That is, the actual operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 is detected by the current-voltage conversion circuit 11. When the operating current is large, the converted voltage signal is large, and the operation of the graphics processing unit 10 is relatively heavy. It should be considered a state of heavy load. In contrast, if the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 is small, the converted voltage signal will also be small, and the load of the graphics processing unit 10 can be reflected as not being too heavy, and can be regarded as a light load state.

In addition, since the voltage signal outputted by the current-voltage conversion circuit 11 is an analog signal, in order to increase the accuracy of the load state determination, the voltage signal is first converted into a digital signal through the analog/digital conversion circuit 14. Then, it is transmitted to the subsequent logic judging circuit 12 to perform logic analysis and judgment of the load state.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the relevant logic analysis and judgment, please refer to FIG. 2, which shows the logical judgment mode adopted by the present invention in an embodiment. The logic factor x represents the graphic data processed by the graphics processing unit 10 as 2D or 3D graphics data. That is, the type of material being processed by the graphics processing unit 10 is determined by the drive signal input to the logic determination circuit 12. When processed as 2D graphics data, logic can be derived The factor x = 0, as for the processing of 3D graphics data, the logic factor x = 1.

As for the logic factor (y, z), it is used to represent the digital signal input by the analog/digital conversion circuit 14. That is, it is used to reflect the magnitude of the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10. Wherein, when the digital signal exceeds a predetermined threshold, a value of a logic factor (y, z) = (1, 1) is obtained, which represents that the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 is large. Conversely, when the digital signal is lower than the preset threshold, a value of a logic factor (y, z)=(1, 0) or (0, 1) is obtained, which represents the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10. small.

In this way, when the logic judging circuit 12 obtains the logic factor (x, y, z) = (1, 1, 1), the display graphics processing unit 10 is processing the 3D graphics data, and its operating current is relatively large. It is a state of heavy load.

Once the logic judging circuit 12 determines that the operation state of the graphics processing unit 10 is a heavy load, an overclocking control signal is generated and output, and the overclocking control signal is transmitted to the clock generating circuit 13. Subsequently, the clock generating circuit 13 generates an overclocked clock signal according to the received overclocking control signal, and outputs it to the graphics processing unit 10 to cause the graphics processing unit 10 to enter an overclocking operating state.

As for the logic decision circuit 12, when the operation state of the graphics processing unit 10 is determined to be a light load, the overclock control signal is not output. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the clock generation circuit 13 outputs a preset clock signal according to the input preset control signal, so that the graphic processing unit maintains the preset working state.

In a preferred embodiment, the display card 1 further includes a switch 15 connected between the logic determining circuit 12 and the clock generating circuit 13 for controlling the output of the control signal. The switch 15 is disposed on the display card 1, and when the display card 1 is mounted on the computer motherboard, the switch 15 is just It will be exposed on the computer case, which can provide the user with the function of overclocking by pressing the switch 15 when overclocking is required. Once the user presses the switch 15, the overclocking control signal generated by the logic determining circuit 12 can be transmitted to the clock generating circuit 13, thereby adjusting and outputting the overclocked clock signal.

Referring to FIGS. 3-7, this partial diagram shows the related circuit design of the display card 1 in an embodiment of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 3 is a circuit related to the current-voltage conversion circuit 11 and the analog/digital conversion circuit 14. Among them, the element EU511 and the peripheral circuit are used for current/voltage conversion, and the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 is converted into a voltage signal. As for the component EU514 and the peripheral circuit, it is used to convert the analog voltage signal into a digital signal. FIG. 4 shows the related circuit of the logic judging circuit 12. Through the component EMU1252 and the peripheral circuits, the driving signal transmitted from the graphics processing unit 10 and the digital signal transmitted from the analog/digital conversion circuit 14 can be logically analyzed and judged. To determine whether to output an overclocking control signal. Figure 5 shows the component U1202 and the peripheral circuitry that make up the switch 15. Figure 6 shows the buttons used to connect to switch 15, including component EJ503 and peripheral circuitry. Figure 7 shows the circuit of the clock generation circuit 13, including the element EU515 and peripheral circuits.

Referring to FIG. 8, this figure shows the physical structure of the display card 1 provided by the present invention. In an embodiment, as described above, a side button 16 of the display card 1 is provided with a button 17 coupled to the circuit of the switch 15 to provide a user press to select to enable or disable the overclocking function of the display card 1. When the display card 1 is installed in a computer, its side panel 16 is exposed to the rear side panel of the computer casing to expose the button 17. At this time, if the user feels that the display card 1 may have an overclocking requirement, just press the button 17 to turn on the switch 15, You can let the display card 1 enter the state of automatic overclocking. At this time, the display card 1 automatically determines the operating state of the display card 1 according to the functions of the above-mentioned circuits, and determines whether or not to overclock.

In addition, referring to FIG. 9, the present invention also provides an overclocking method for a display card. As described above, the display card 1 has a graphics processing unit 10 for processing related operations of graphics data, and externally providing driving signals for displaying the graphics data processed by the graphics data as 2D or 3D graphics data. The overclocking method of the display card mainly includes the following steps. First, step S20 is performed to determine whether the data processed by the graphics processing unit is 2D graphics data or 3D graphics data. Subsequently, step S22 is performed to detect the voltage signal of the graphics processing unit 10. Next, step S24 is performed. When the graphics processing unit 10 processes the 3D graphics data, it is determined according to the voltage signal that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a heavy load or a light load. Further, in step S26, when the operation state is a heavy load, an overclocked clock signal is input to the graphics processing unit 10.

In an embodiment, the above step S20 further includes the following steps. Step S200: detecting a driving signal of the graphics processing unit 10, step S202: determining, according to the driving signal, the data processed by the graphics processing unit 10 as 2D graphics data or 3D graphics data. As for the above step S22, the method further includes the step S220: detecting the operating current of the graphic processing unit 10, and the step S222: converting the operating current to the voltage signal.

Further, in the overclocking method of the display card, after performing the above step S22, the following steps can be further performed. First, step S224 is performed to convert the voltage signal into a digital signal. Next, step S226 is performed. When the graphics processing unit 10 processes the 3D graphics data, the operating state of the graphics processing unit 10 is determined to be a heavy load or a light load according to the digital signal. Re-enter In step S228, when the operating state is light load, a predetermined clock signal is input to the graphics processing unit 10.

Referring to Figure 10, this figure shows the operational flow of the display card 1 of the present invention. As described above, when the display card 1 is mounted on the computer motherboard, the button 17 on the display card 1 is exposed outside the computer casing, allowing the user to press to turn the overclocking function of the display card 1 on or off. Therefore, in the present invention, the first action of the automatic overclocking process of the display card 1 is determined by the user whether or not the automatic overclocking switch is turned on (S30). If the user does not turn on the automatic overclocking switch or turns off the switch through the button, the graphic processing unit 10 is input with a preset clock signal (S31), so that the graphic processing unit 10 processes the map according to the preset clock signal. Like (S32).

If the user selects to turn on the automatic overclocking switch, when the graphics processing unit 10 processes the image (S32), the display card 1 further determines whether the processed data is 3D graphics data (S33). If it is determined to be 3D graphics data, the operating current of the graphics processing unit 10 is detected and converted into a voltage signal to further determine whether the voltage signal is higher than a predetermined value (S34). On the contrary, if it is determined that the processor of the graphics processing unit 10 is not the 3D graphics material, the graphics processing unit 10 is input with the preset clock signal (S31).

On the other hand, if it is determined in the flow S34 that the voltage signal is higher than a predetermined value, the frequency of the clock signal input to the graphics processing unit 10 can be increased in accordance with the voltage signal to realize the overclocking function (S35).

The invention has considerable advantages. First of all, since the display card provided by the present invention completely achieves the effect of hardware overclocking by the circuit on the display card, the user can achieve the required overclocking effect without installing any overclocking software on the computer. Also because there is no need to install any super Frequency software, so it does not take up the resources of the computer system, thereby reducing the overall computer operating efficiency.

Secondly, the overclocking is performed by using the display card of the present invention, and it is not necessary to modify the BIOS setting of the display card. Therefore, when the user decides whether to enable the overclocking function, the user does not need to reboot the computer to modify the BIOS settings.

Moreover, since the display card of the present invention uses the buttons exposed to the computer casing to turn on/off the function of automatic overclocking, the user is quite convenient in use. At any time, as long as the user feels that the display card may have overclocking requirements, the automatic overclocking function of the display card can be easily turned on by pressing the button.

In addition, the display card provided by the present invention can automatically determine the working state of the display card and determine whether to overclock by automatically detecting the operating current and the driving signal by using the related circuit design. Therefore, as long as the working state of the display card is under light load, the preset clock signal is restored and the overclocking state is not entered. Once the working state is heavy load, the overclocked clock signal can be input immediately and automatically, and the overclocking state is entered. In this way, in addition to ensuring the best performance of the graphics card, and can achieve energy-saving effects.

The present invention has been described above by way of a preferred example, and it is not intended to limit the spirit of the invention and the inventive subject matter. Modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Display card ‧‧1

Graphic processing unit ‧‧10

Current and voltage conversion circuit ‧‧11

Logical judgment circuit ‧‧12

Clock generation circuit ‧‧13

Analog/digital conversion circuit ‧‧14

Analog/digital conversion circuit ‧‧14

Switch ‧‧15

Side panel ‧‧16

Button ‧‧17

Figure 1 shows the functional block diagram of the display card provided by the present invention; Figure 2 shows the logic judgment mode adopted by the present invention. Figure 3 shows the circuit of the current-voltage conversion circuit and the analog/digital conversion circuit; Figure 4 shows the logic judgment circuit. Figure 5 shows the components constituting the switch and the peripheral circuits; Figure 6 shows the button components and peripheral circuits connected to the switch; Figure 7 shows the components of the clock generation circuit and peripheral circuits; Figure 8 shows the present invention A physical structure diagram of the display card is provided; FIG. 9 shows a display card overclocking method provided by the present invention; and FIG. 10 shows an operation flow of the display card in the present invention.

Display card ‧‧1

Graphic processing unit ‧‧10

Current and voltage conversion circuit ‧‧11

Logical judgment circuit ‧‧12

Clock generation circuit ‧‧13

Analog/digital conversion circuit ‧‧14

Analog/digital conversion circuit ‧‧14

Switch ‧‧15

Claims (13)

An overclockable display card comprising: a graphics processing unit for providing a driving signal; a current voltage conversion circuit for detecting an operating current of the graphics processing unit, and converting the operating current to a voltage signal; and a logic determining circuit Determining a load state of the graphics processing unit based on the driving signal and the voltage signal, and generating a control signal; and a clock generating circuit that outputs a clock signal to the graphics processing unit according to the control signal. The display card of claim 1, further comprising a analog/digital conversion circuit coupled to the current voltage conversion circuit for converting the voltage signal into a digital signal. The display card of claim 2, wherein the logic determining circuit is respectively coupled to the analog/digital conversion circuit and the graphics processing unit, and determines a load state of the graphics processing unit according to the driving signal and the digital signal. The display card of claim 1, further comprising a switch respectively connected to the logic determining circuit and the clock generating circuit for controlling the output of the control signal. The display card of claim 1, wherein the logic determining circuit determines that the data processed by the graphics processing unit is 2D graphics data or 3D graphics data according to the driving signal output by the graphics processing unit. Such as the display card of claim 5, wherein the graphic The data processed by the processing unit is 3D graphics data, and the logic determining circuit determines, according to the voltage signal, that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a heavy load or a light load. The display card of claim 6, wherein the logic determining circuit determines that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a heavy load, and the control signal generated is an overclocking control signal. The display card of claim 7, wherein the clock generation circuit outputs an overclocked clock signal according to the overclocking control signal, so that the graphics processing unit enters an overclocking operation state. The display card of claim 6, wherein when the logic determining circuit determines that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a light load, the clock generating circuit outputs a preset clock signal to cause the graphics processing The unit maintains the preset working state. A display card overclocking method, wherein the display card has a graphics processing unit, the method comprising the following steps: determining, by a logic determining circuit, the data processed by the graphics processing unit as 2D graphics data according to a driving signal provided by the graphics processing unit Or 3D graphics data; using a current voltage conversion circuit to detect the operating current of the graphics processing unit, and converting the operating current into a voltage signal; when the graphics processing unit processes the 3D graphics data, the logic determining circuit is based on the voltage signal Determining that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a heavy load or a light load; when the operating state is a heavy load, a clock generating circuit is the graphic The processing unit inputs an overclocked clock signal. The display card overclocking method of claim 10, wherein after the step of detecting the voltage signal of the graphics processing unit, the method further comprises the step of converting the voltage signal into a digital signal. The display card overclocking method of claim 11, wherein when the graphics processing unit processes the 3D graphics data, the logic determining circuit determines, according to the digital signal, that the operating state of the graphics processing unit is a heavy load or a light load. The display card overclocking method of claim 10, wherein the clock generating circuit inputs a predetermined clock signal to the graphics processing unit when the operating state is a light load.