Using a measure of the amount of processing required by a data block to set the performance of the apparatus processing the data blocks

摘要

Disclosed is a method for setting the performance control parameter of a data processing apparatus. The apparatus processes a data stream of data blocks. The method of setting the control parameter comprises the steps of performing an initial process on a block and from a result of the process deriving a complexity measure that indicates the amount of processing needed by the block. The control parameter is then set to a predicted value using the complexity measure and the data block is then processed. The control parameter could be the processor frequency and/or voltage, and may be set in dependance of a target time and/or power level. The complexity measure may also depend on a result obtained from processing a preceding block, said result may be a processing time. The data blocks may comprise an image field and frame. The complexity measure may be derived from the features of an image rendering display and may include a count of constituent items. The apparatus may be a graphics co-processor and the images may be 3D. The control parameter may be set by an estimate of the number of memory accesses needed per frame.