While a packaged processor’s measured power specs must necessarily account for all circuitry in the package, processor core power specifications are based on simulations—vendors are free to delete or ignore any number of power-dissipating functions when reporting power numbers. Many factors will greatly affect the power specifications listed on the processor core’s spec sheet, including the target fabrication technology (both the lithography size and the process), the cell library used to generate the core, and the execution activity imposed on the processor during power simulation. Consequently, caution and judicious reading of the vendor data sheets are called for when comparing the power numbers for competing processor IP. Rarely will you find apples to compare to apples from the data sheets alone.

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