TapTechNews reported on May 11 that with each iteration, the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) standard introduces higher bandwidth and faster transfer rates, which also bring an increase in thermal output. Intel has recently released a Linux driver that leverages an open-source 'PCIe Bandwidth Controller' to limit heat by automatically regulating link speed once a certain temperature threshold is reached.
Intel engineer Ilpo Järvinen mentioned in his latest patch notes: 'This patch series only adds support for controlling PCIe link speeds. Controlling the link width could also be useful, but until PCIe 6.0 (L0p), there seems to be no mechanism in place, so this series does not introduce link width throttling.'
The new Linux driver focuses solely on link speed throttling to mitigate heat dispersion issues, a relatively straightforward and heavy-handed approach, which allows the operating system to dynamically lower the link rate of each port under high temperature loads, providing an optimized solution for heat management under load.