The Inquirer spoke to Intel and got to hear that thermal design power (TDP) figures aren't comparable between chip vendors. In fact, Intel even admitted that it calculates TDP differently between its own product ranges, explaining that the TDP of its Atom and Core processors can't be directly compared because these chip series each use a different definition of TDP. To give an example, Intel shared that the Atom's TDP rating uses a more mainstream, consumption oriented workload than the TDP rating of the Core processor series.
CHIPMAKER Intel has said that it is not willing to disclose the workload details used to set its scenario design power (SDP) metric because its competitors do not disclose how they calculate TDP.
Intel courted controversy over Kirk Skaugen's CES 2013 presentation where he announced Ivy Bridge chips that hit 7W using Intel's SDP metric and compared them against Intel's more traditional TDP metric. The firm said that it won't publish the workload profile used to calculate SDP values, claiming that other chip vendors do not disclose how they calculate TDP.
Intel's claims that TDP values are not comparable is big news as many of those who cried foul over the firm's initial mistake - intentional or not - based their arguments on the premise that the TDP metric is calculated to the same standards throughout the industry. Not only did Intel say that chip vendors calculate TDP differently but the firm told The INQUIRER that it calculates TDP differently between its own product ranges, citing its Atom and Core processors as examples.
