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92-534: Intel Core is a line of multi-core (with the exception of Core Solo and Core 2 Solo) central processing units (CPUs) for midrange , embedded, workstation, high-end and enthusiast computer markets marketed by Intel Corporation . These processors displaced the existing mid- to high-end Pentium processors at the time of their introduction, moving the Pentium to the entry level. Identical or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for

184-404: A big.LITTLE core includes a high-performance core (called 'big') and a low-power core (called 'LITTLE'). There is also a trend towards improving energy-efficiency by focusing on performance-per-watt with advanced fine-grain or ultra fine-grain power management and dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (i.e. laptop computers and portable media players ). Chips designed from the outset for

276-484: A 32-bit address bus , permitting up to 4 GB of RAM to be accessed, far more than previous generations of system architecture allowed. 32-bit designs have been used since the earliest days of electronic computing, in experimental systems and then in large mainframe and minicomputer systems. The first hybrid 16/32-bit microprocessor , the Motorola 68000 , was introduced in the late 1970s and used in systems such as

368-579: A 45 nm lithography and support front side bus speeds ranging from 533 MT/s to 1.6 GT/s. In addition, the 45 nm die shrink of the Core microarchitecture adds SSE4.1 support to all Core 2 microprocessors manufactured at a 45 nm lithography, therefore increasing the calculation rate of the processors. The Core 2 Solo, introduced in September 2007, is the successor to the Core Solo and

460-615: A Core i3 processor is used with a server chipset platform such as Intel 3400/3420/3450, the CPU supports ECC with UDIMM. When asked, Intel confirmed that, although the Intel 5 series chipset supports non-ECC memory only with the Core i5 or i3 processors, using those processors on a motherboard with 3400 series chipsets it supports the ECC function of ECC memory. A limited number of motherboards by other companies also support ECC with Intel Core ix processors;

552-456: A SIMD engine and Picochip with 300 processors on a single die, focused on communication applications. In heterogeneous computing , where a system uses more than one kind of processor or cores, multi-core solutions are becoming more common: Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 and dual-core ARM Cortex-R5. Software solutions such as OpenAMP are being used to help with inter-processor communication. Mobile devices may use

644-451: A big factor in mobile devices that operate on batteries. Since each core in a multi-core CPU is generally more energy-efficient, the chip becomes more efficient than having a single large monolithic core. This allows higher performance with less energy. A challenge in this, however, is the additional overhead of writing parallel code. Maximizing the usage of the computing resources provided by multi-core processors requires adjustments both to

736-413: A combination of cores. Embedded computing operates in an area of processor technology distinct from that of "mainstream" PCs. The same technological drives towards multi-core apply here too. Indeed, in many cases the application is a "natural" fit for multi-core technologies, if the task can easily be partitioned between the different processors. In addition, embedded software is typically developed for

828-448: A given time period, since individual signals can be shorter and do not need to be repeated as often. Assuming that the die can physically fit into the package, multi-core CPU designs require much less printed circuit board (PCB) space than do multi-chip SMP designs. Also, a dual-core processor uses slightly less power than two coupled single-core processors, principally because of the decreased power required to drive signals external to

920-513: A large number of cores (rather than having evolved from single core designs) are sometimes referred to as manycore designs, emphasising qualitative differences. The composition and balance of the cores in multi-core architecture show great variety. Some architectures use one core design repeated consistently ("homogeneous"), while others use a mixture of different cores, each optimized for a different, " heterogeneous " role. How multiple cores are implemented and integrated significantly affects both

1012-667: A much higher price than their regular version, often $ 999 or more. With the release of the Nehalem microarchitecture in November 2008, Intel introduced a new naming scheme for its Core processors. There are three variants, Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7, but the names no longer correspond to specific technical features like the number of cores. Instead, the brand is now divided from low-level (i3), through mid-range (i5) to high-end performance (i7), which correspond to three, four and five stars in Intel's Intel Processor Rating following on from

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1104-486: A multi-core device tightly or loosely. For example, cores may or may not share caches , and they may implement message passing or shared-memory inter-core communication methods. Common network topologies used to interconnect cores include bus , ring , two-dimensional mesh , and crossbar . Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores; heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical (e.g. big.LITTLE have heterogeneous cores that share

1196-476: A new abstraction for C++ parallelism called TBB . Other research efforts include the Codeplay Sieve System , Cray's Chapel , Sun's Fortress , and IBM's X10 . Multi-core processing has also affected the ability of modern computational software development. Developers programming in newer languages might find that their modern languages do not support multi-core functionality. This then requires

1288-405: A perceived lack of motivation for writing consumer-level threaded applications because of the relative rarity of consumer-level demand for maximum use of computer hardware. Also, serial tasks like decoding the entropy encoding algorithms used in video codecs are impossible to parallelize because each result generated is used to help create the next result of the entropy decoding algorithm. Given

1380-466: A quad-core processor. This allows twice the performance of a dual-core processors at the same clock frequency in scenarios that take advantage of multi-threading. Initially, all Core 2 Quad models were versions of Core 2 Duo desktop processors, Kentsfield derived from Conroe and Yorkfield from Wolfdale, but later Penryn-QC was added as a high-end version of the mobile dual-core Penryn. The Xeon 32xx and 33xx processors are mostly identical versions of

1472-793: A single FPGA . Each "core" can be considered a " semiconductor intellectual property core " as well as a CPU core. While manufacturing technology improves, reducing the size of individual gates, physical limits of semiconductor -based microelectronics have become a major design concern. These physical limitations can cause significant heat dissipation and data synchronization problems. Various other methods are used to improve CPU performance. Some instruction-level parallelism (ILP) methods such as superscalar pipelining are suitable for many applications, but are inefficient for others that contain difficult-to-predict code. Many applications are better suited to thread-level parallelism (TLP) methods, and multiple independent CPUs are commonly used to increase

1564-453: A single die with a unified cache, hence any two working dual-core dies can be used, as opposed to producing four cores on a single die and requiring all four to work to produce a quad-core CPU. From an architectural point of view, ultimately, single CPU designs may make better use of the silicon surface area than multiprocessing cores, so a development commitment to this architecture may carry the risk of obsolescence. Finally, raw processing power

1656-565: A specific hardware release, making issues of software portability , legacy code or supporting independent developers less critical than is the case for PC or enterprise computing. As a result, it is easier for developers to adopt new technologies and as a result there is a greater variety of multi-core processing architectures and suppliers. As of 2010 , multi-core network processors have become mainstream, with companies such as Freescale Semiconductor , Cavium Networks , Wintegra and Broadcom all manufacturing products with eight processors. For

1748-413: A system's overall TLP. A combination of increased available space (due to refined manufacturing processes) and the demand for increased TLP led to the development of multi-core CPUs. Several business motives drive the development of multi-core architectures. For decades, it was possible to improve performance of a CPU by shrinking the area of the integrated circuit (IC), which reduced the cost per device on

1840-413: A total of 96 bits per pixel. 32-bit-per-channel images are used to represent values brighter than what sRGB color space allows (brighter than white); these values can then be used to more accurately retain bright highlights when either lowering the exposure of the image or when it is seen through a dark filter or dull reflection. For example, a reflection in an oil slick is only a fraction of that seen in

1932-533: A trend toward higher levels of system integration and management functionality (and along with that, increased performance) through the ongoing evolution of facilities such as Intel Active Management Technology (iAMT). As of 2017, the Core brand comprised four product lines – the entry level i3, the mainstream i5, the high-end i7, and the "enthusiast" i9. Core i7 was introduced in 2008, followed by i5 in 2009, and i3 in 2010. The first Core i9 models were released in 2017. In 2023, Intel announced that it would drop

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2024-399: A variety of specialty cores to run modular software scheduled by a high-level applications programming interface. [...] Atsushi Hasegawa, a senior chief engineer at Renesas , generally agreed. He suggested the cellphone's use of many specialty cores working in concert is a good model for future multi-core designs. [...] Anant Agarwal , founder and chief executive of startup Tilera , took

2116-402: Is a 32-bit machine, with 32-bit registers and instructions that manipulate 32-bit quantities, but the external address bus is 36 bits wide, giving a larger address space than 4 GB, and the external data bus is 64 bits wide, primarily in order to permit a more efficient prefetch of instructions and data. Prominent 32-bit instruction set architectures used in general-purpose computing include

2208-514: Is a brand that promises no internal consistency or continuity, the processors within this family have been, for the most part, broadly similar. The first products receiving this designation were the Core Solo and Core Duo Yonah processors for mobile from the Pentium M design tree, fabricated at 65 nm and brought to market in January 2006. These are substantially different in design than

2300-510: Is a significant ongoing topic of research. Cointegration of multiprocessor applications provides flexibility in network architecture design. Adaptability within parallel models is an additional feature of systems utilizing these protocols. In the consumer market, dual-core processors (that is, microprocessors with two units) started becoming commonplace on personal computers in the late 2000s. Quad-core processors were also being adopted in that era for higher-end systems before becoming standard. In

2392-492: Is also available as Core i5 and Pentium, with slightly different configurations. The Core i3-3xxM processors are based on Arrandale , the mobile version of the Clarkdale desktop processor. They are similar to the Core i5-4xx series but running at lower clock speeds and without Turbo Boost . According to an Intel FAQ they do not support Error Correction Code (ECC) memory . According to motherboard manufacturer Supermicro, if

2484-454: Is available only as an ultra-low-power mobile processor with 5.5 Watt thermal design power. The original U2xxx series "Merom-L" used a special version of the Merom chip with CPUID number 10661 (model 22, stepping A1) that only had a single core and was also used in some Celeron processors. The later SU3xxx are part of Intel's CULV range of processors in a smaller μFC-BGA 956 package but contain

2576-421: Is described by Amdahl's law . In the best case, so-called embarrassingly parallel problems may realize speedup factors near the number of cores, or even more if the problem is split up enough to fit within each core's cache(s), avoiding use of much slower main-system memory. Most applications, however, are not accelerated as much unless programmers invest effort in refactoring . The parallelization of software

2668-630: Is not the only constraint on system performance. Two processing cores sharing the same system bus and memory bandwidth limits the real-world performance advantage. The trend in processor development has been towards an ever-increasing number of cores, as processors with hundreds or even thousands of cores become theoretically possible. In addition, multi-core chips mixed with simultaneous multithreading , memory-on-chip, and special-purpose "heterogeneous" (or asymmetric) cores promise further performance and efficiency gains, especially in processing multimedia, recognition and networking applications. For example,

2760-444: Is reduced to 3 MB, while the Core i5-6xx uses the full cache, Clarkdale is sold as Core i5-6xx, along with related Core i3 and Pentium processors. It has Hyper-Threading enabled and the full 4 MB L3 cache. According to Intel "Core i5 desktop processors and desktop boards typically do not support ECC memory", but information on limited ECC support in the Core i3 section also applies to Core i5 and i7. The Core i7 brand targets

2852-588: Is that a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access at most 4  GiB of byte-addressable memory (though in practice the limit may be lower). The world's first stored-program electronic computer , the Manchester Baby , used a 32-bit architecture in 1948, although it was only a proof of concept and had little practical capacity. It held only 32 32-bit words of RAM on a Williams tube , and had no addition operation, only subtraction. Memory, as well as other digital circuits and wiring,

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2944-606: The 8088/8086 or 80286 , 16-bit microprocessors with a segmented address space where programs had to switch between segments to reach more than 64 kilobytes of code or data. As this is quite time-consuming in comparison to other machine operations, the performance may suffer. Furthermore, programming with segments tend to become complicated; special far and near keywords or memory models had to be used (with care), not only in assembly language but also in high level languages such as Pascal , compiled BASIC , Fortran , C , etc. The 80386 and its successors fully support

3036-686: The ARM big.LITTLE architecture. The research and development of multicore processors often compares many options, and benchmarks are developed to help such evaluations. Existing benchmarks include SPLASH-2, PARSEC, and COSMIC for heterogeneous systems. 32-bit In computer architecture , 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor , memory , and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculations more efficiently and process more data per clock cycle. Typical 32-bit personal computers also have

3128-517: The FPU disabled. Intel Core Duo (product code 80539) consists of two cores on one die, a 2  MB L2 cache shared by both cores, and an arbiter bus that controls both L2 cache and FSB (front-side bus) access. The successor to Core is the mobile version of the Core 2 line of processors based on the Core microarchitecture, released on July 27, 2006. The release of the mobile version of Intel Core 2 marks

3220-721: The IBM System/360 , IBM System/370 (which had 24-bit addressing), System/370-XA , ESA/370 , and ESA/390 (which had 31-bit addressing), the DEC VAX , the NS320xx , the Motorola 68000 family (the first two models of which had 24-bit addressing), the Intel IA-32 32-bit version of the x86 architecture, and the 32-bit versions of the ARM , SPARC , MIPS , PowerPC and PA-RISC architectures. 32-bit instruction set architectures used for embedded computing include

3312-551: The IBM System/360 Model 30 had an 8-bit ALU, 8-bit internal data paths, and an 8-bit path to memory, and the original Motorola 68000 had a 16-bit data ALU and a 16-bit external data bus, but had 32-bit registers and a 32-bit oriented instruction set. The 68000 design was sometimes referred to as 16/32-bit . However, the opposite is often true for newer 32-bit designs. For example, the Pentium Pro processor

3404-676: The Nehalem architecture , whose main advantage came from redesigned I/O and memory systems featuring the new Intel QuickPath Interconnect and an integrated memory controller supporting up to three channels of DDR3 memory. Subsequent performance improvements have tended toward making additions rather than profound changes, such as adding the Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) instruction set extensions to Sandy Bridge , first released on 32 nm in January 2011. Time has also brought improved support for virtualization and

3496-610: The Pentium M branded processors. The processor family used an enhanced version of the P6 microarchitecture . It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst microarchitecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The Core brand had two branches: the Duo (dual-core) and Solo (single-core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor). Intel launched

3588-492: The operating system (OS) support and to existing application software. Also, the ability of multi-core processors to increase application performance depends on the use of multiple threads within applications. Integration of a multi-core chip can lower the chip production yields. They are also more difficult to manage thermally than lower-density single-core designs. Intel has partially countered this first problem by creating its quad-core designs by combining two dual-core ones on

3680-732: The same integrated circuit die ; separate microprocessor dies in the same package are generally referred to by another name, such as multi-chip module . This article uses the terms "multi-core" and "dual-core" for CPUs manufactured on the same integrated circuit, unless otherwise noted. In contrast to multi-core systems, the term multi-CPU refers to multiple physically separate processing-units (which often contain special circuitry to facilitate communication between each other). The terms many-core and massively multi-core are sometimes used to describe multi-core architectures with an especially high number of cores (tens to thousands ). Some systems use many soft microprocessor cores placed on

3772-691: The server and workstation markets. Core was launched in January 2006 as a mobile-only series, consisting of single- and dual-core models. It was then succeeded later in July by the Core 2 series, which included both desktop and mobile processors with up to four cores, and introduced 64-bit support. Since 2008, Intel began introducing the Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 and Core i9 lineup of processors, succeeding Core 2. A new naming scheme debuted in 2023, consisting of Core 3, Core 5, and Core 7 for mainstream processors, and Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 9 for "premium" high-end processors. Although Intel Core

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3864-600: The "Sandy Bridge" microarchitecture at CES 2011. New dual-core mobile processors and desktop processors arrived in February 2011. The Core i5-2xxx line of desktop processors are mostly quad-core chips, with the exception of the dual-core Core i5-2390T, and include integrated graphics, combining the key features of the earlier Core i5-6xx and Core i5-7xx lines. The suffix after the four-digit model number designates unlocked multiplier (K), low-power (S) and ultra-low-power (T). The desktop CPUs now all have four non- SMT cores (like

3956-500: The "i" moniker from their processor branding, making it "Core 3/5/7/9". The company would introduce the "Ultra" branding for high-end processors as well. The new naming scheme debuted with the launch of Raptor Lake-U Refresh and Meteor Lake processors in 2024, using the "Core 3/5/7" branding for mainstream processors and "Core Ultra 5/7/9" branding for "premium" high-end processors. The original Core brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs, which were derived from

4048-533: The 16-bit segments of the 80286 but also segments for 32-bit address offsets (using the new 32-bit width of the main registers). If the base address of all 32-bit segments is set to 0, and segment registers are not used explicitly, the segmentation can be forgotten and the processor appears as having a simple linear 32-bit address space. Operating systems like Windows or OS/2 provide the possibility to run 16-bit (segmented) programs as well as 32-bit programs. The former possibility exists for backward compatibility and

4140-423: The 68000 family and ColdFire , x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and Infineon TriCore architectures. On the x86 architecture , a 32-bit application normally means software that typically (not necessarily) uses the 32-bit linear address space (or flat memory model ) possible with the 80386 and later chips. In this context, the term came about because DOS , Microsoft Windows and OS/2 were originally written for

4232-848: The Asus P8B WS is an example, but it does not support ECC memory under Windows non-server operating systems. Lynnfield were the first Core i5 processors using the Nehalem microarchitecture, introduced on September 8, 2009, as a mainstream variant of the earlier Core i7. Lynnfield Core i5 processors have an 8 MB L3 cache , a DMI bus running at 2.5  GT/s and support for dual-channel DDR3-800/1066/1333 memory and have Hyper-threading disabled. The same processors with different sets of features (Hyper-threading and other clock frequencies) enabled are sold as Core i7-8xx and Xeon 3400-series processors, which should not be confused with high-end Core i7-9xx and Xeon 3500-series processors based on Bloomfield . A new feature called Turbo Boost Technology

4324-538: The CPU and integrated GPU cores, unlike the earlier microarchitectures. All Core i3/i5/i7 processors with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture have a four-digit model number. With the mobile version, the thermal design power can no longer be determined from a one- or two-letter suffix but is encoded into the CPU number. Starting with Sandy Bridge, Intel no longer distinguishes the code names of the processor based on number of cores, socket or intended usage; they all use

4416-461: The Core brand on January 6, 2006, with the release of the 32-bit Yonah CPU – Intel's first dual-core mobile (low-power) processor. Its dual-core layout closely resembled two interconnected Pentium M branded CPUs packaged as a single die (piece) silicon chip ( IC ). Hence, the 32-bit microarchitecture of Core branded CPUs – contrary to its name – had more in common with Pentium M branded CPUs than with

4508-506: The IC. Alternatively, for the same circuit area, more transistors could be used in the design, which increased functionality, especially for complex instruction set computing (CISC) architectures. Clock rates also increased by orders of magnitude in the decades of the late 20th century, from several megahertz in the 1980s to several gigahertz in the early 2000s. As the rate of clock speed improvements slowed, increased use of parallel computing in

4600-662: The alternatives. An especially strong contender for established markets is the further integration of peripheral functions into the chip. The proximity of multiple CPU cores on the same die allows the cache coherency circuitry to operate at a much higher clock rate than what is possible if the signals have to travel off-chip. Combining equivalent CPUs on a single die significantly improves the performance of cache snoop (alternative: Bus snooping ) operations. Put simply, this means that signals between different CPUs travel shorter distances, and therefore those signals degrade less. These higher-quality signals allow more data to be sent in

4692-579: The beginning of Apple's shift to Intel processors across the entire Mac line. In 2007, Intel began branding the Yonah CPUs intended for mainstream mobile computers as Pentium Dual-Core , not to be confused with the desktop 64-bit Core microarchitecture CPUs also branded as Pentium Dual-Core. September 2007 and January 4, 2008 marked the discontinuation of a number of Core branded CPUs including several Core Solo, Core Duo, Celeron and one Core 2 Quad products. Intel Core Solo (product code 80538) uses

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4784-473: The board (or near to it), while operating at drastically lower clock rates. Maintaining high instructions per cycle (IPC) on a deeply pipelined and resourced out-of-order execution engine has remained a constant fixture of the Intel Core product group ever since. The new substantial bump in microarchitecture came with the introduction of the 45 nm Bloomfield desktop processor in November 2008 on

4876-469: The business and high-end consumer markets for both desktop and laptop computers, and is distinguished from the Core i3 (entry-level consumer), Core i5 (mainstream consumer), and Xeon (server and workstation) brands. Introduced in late 2008, Bloomfield was the first Core i7 processors based on the Nehalem architecture. The following year, Lynnfield desktop processors and Clarksfield mobile processors brought new quad-core Core i7 models based on

4968-535: The chip. Furthermore, the cores share some circuitry, like the L2 cache and the interface to the front-side bus (FSB). In terms of competing technologies for the available silicon die area, multi-core design can make use of proven CPU core library designs and produce a product with lower risk of design error than devising a new wider-core design. Also, adding more cache suffers from diminishing returns. Multi-core chips also allow higher performance at lower energy. This can be

5060-430: The count can go over 10 million (and in one case up to 20 million processing elements total in addition to host processors). The improvement in performance gained by the use of a multi-core processor depends very much on the software algorithms used and their implementation. In particular, possible gains are limited by the fraction of the software that can run in parallel simultaneously on multiple cores; this effect

5152-417: The desktop Core 2 Quad processors and can be used interchangeably. Core 2 Extreme processors are enthusiast versions of Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors, usually with a higher clock frequency and an unlocked clock multiplier , which makes them especially attractive for overclocking . This is similar to earlier Pentium D processors labeled as Extreme Edition . Core 2 Extreme processors were released at

5244-507: The developer's programming skills and the consumer's expectations of apps and interactivity versus the device. A device advertised as being octa-core will only have independent cores if advertised as True Octa-core , or similar styling, as opposed to being merely two sets of quad-cores each with fixed clock speeds. The article "CPU designers debate multi-core future" by Rick Merritt, EE Times 2008, includes these comments: Chuck Moore [...] suggested computers should be like cellphones, using

5336-457: The entry-level Celeron (one star) and Pentium (two stars) processors. Common features of all Nehalem based processors include an integrated DDR3 memory controller as well as QuickPath Interconnect or PCI Express and Direct Media Interface on the processor replacing the aging quad-pumped Front Side Bus used in all earlier Core processors. All these processors have 256 KB L2 cache per core, plus up to 12 MB shared L3 cache. Because of

5428-457: The form of multi-core processors has been pursued to improve overall processing performance. Multiple cores were used on the same CPU chip, which could then lead to better sales of CPU chips with two or more cores. For example, Intel has produced a 48-core processor for research in cloud computing; each core has an x86 architecture. Since computer manufacturers have long implemented symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) designs using discrete CPUs,

5520-482: The full L2 cache of 2, 3, 4, or 6 MB available in the specific stepping of the chip, while versions with the amount of cache reduced during manufacturing are sold for the low-end consumer market as Celeron or Pentium Dual-Core processors. Like those processors, some low-end Core 2 Duo models disable features such as Intel Virtualization Technology . Core 2 Quad processors are multi-chip modules consisting of two dies similar to those used in Core 2 Duo, forming

5612-399: The future. In early 2011, Intel introduced a new microarchitecture named Sandy Bridge . This is the second generation of the Core processor microarchitecture. It kept all the existing brands from Nehalem, including Core i3/i5/i7, and introduced new model numbers. The initial set of Sandy Bridge processors includes dual- and quad-core variants, all of which use a single 32 nm die for both

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5704-541: The highest-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and QPI -based architecture as the medium-end Xeon processors of that generation, while lower-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and PCIe/DMI/FDI architecture as the Core i5. "Core i7" is a successor to the Intel Core 2 brand. Intel representatives stated that they intended the moniker Core i7 to help consumers decide which processor to purchase as Intel releases newer Nehalem-based products in

5796-411: The i5-750), with the exception of the i5-2390T. The DMI bus runs at 5 GT/s. The mobile Core i5-2xxxM processors are all dual-core and hyper-threaded chips like the previous Core i5-5xxM series, and share most of the features with that product line. The Core i7 brand was the high-end for Intel's desktop and mobile processors, until the announcement of the i9 in 2017. Its Sandy Bridge models feature

5888-416: The increasing emphasis on multi-core chip design, stemming from the grave thermal and power consumption problems posed by any further significant increase in processor clock speeds, the extent to which software can be multithreaded to take advantage of these new chips is likely to be the single greatest constraint on computer performance in the future. If developers are unable to design software to fully exploit

5980-457: The issues regarding implementing multi-core processor architecture and supporting it with software are well known. Additionally: In order to continue delivering regular performance improvements for general-purpose processors, manufacturers such as Intel and AMD have turned to multi-core designs, sacrificing lower manufacturing-costs for higher performance in some applications and systems. Multi-core architectures are being developed, but so are

6072-426: The largest amount of L3 cache and the highest clock frequency. Most of these models are very similar to their smaller Core i5 siblings. The quad-core mobile Core i7-2xxxQM/XM processors follow the previous "Clarksfield" Core i7-xxxQM/XM processors, but now also include integrated graphics. Multi-core A multi-core processor implements multiprocessing in a single physical package. Designers may couple cores in

6164-443: The late 2010s, hexa-core (six cores) started entering the mainstream and since the early 2020s has overtaken quad-core in many spaces. The terms multi-core and dual-core most commonly refer to some sort of central processing unit (CPU), but are sometimes also applied to digital signal processors (DSP) and system on a chip (SoC). The terms are generally used only to refer to multi-core microprocessors that are manufactured on

6256-412: The latter is usually meant to be used for new software development . In digital images/pictures, 32-bit usually refers to RGBA color space ; that is, 24-bit truecolor images with an additional 8-bit alpha channel . Other image formats also specify 32 bits per pixel, such as RGBE . In digital images, 32-bit sometimes refers to high-dynamic-range imaging (HDR) formats that use 32 bits per channel,

6348-612: The mid-2000s with installed memory often exceeding the 32-bit 4G RAM address limits on entry level computers. The latest generation of smartphones have also switched to 64 bits. A 32-bit register can store 2 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two most common representations, the range is 0 through 4,294,967,295 (2 − 1) for representation as an ( unsigned ) binary number , and −2,147,483,648 (−2 ) through 2,147,483,647 (2 − 1) for representation as two's complement . One important consequence

6440-571: The more performance oriented Pxxxx (25 W) and Txxxx (35 W) mobile versions and the Exxxx (65 W) desktop models. The mobile Core 2 Duo processors with an 'S' prefix in the name are produced in a smaller μFC-BGA 956 package, which allows building more compact laptops. Within each line, a higher number usually refers to a better performance, which depends largely on core and front-side bus clock frequency and amount of second level cache, which are model-specific. Core 2 Duo processors typically use

6532-451: The new I/O interconnect, chipsets and mainboards from previous generations can no longer be used with Nehalem-based processors. Intel intended the Core i3 as the new low end of the performance processor line from Intel, following the retirement of the Core 2 brand. The first Core i3 processors were launched on January 7, 2010. The first Nehalem based Core i3 was Clarkdale -based, with an integrated GPU and two cores. The same processor

6624-581: The new microarchitecture. While they require new sockets and chipsets, the user-visible features of the Core i3 are largely unchanged, including the lack of support for Turbo Boost and AES-NI . Unlike the Sandy Bridge-based Celeron and Pentium processors, the Core i3 line does support the new Advanced Vector Extensions . This particular processor is the entry-level processor of this new series of Intel processors. In January 2011, Intel released new quad-core Core i5 processors based on

6716-497: The operating system of the network device. In digital signal processing the same trend applies: Texas Instruments has the three-core TMS320C6488 and four-core TMS320C5441, Freescale the four-core MSC8144 and six-core MSC8156 (and both have stated they are working on eight-core successors). Newer entries include the Storm-1 family from Stream Processors, Inc with 40 and 80 general purpose ALUs per chip, all programmable in C as

6808-408: The opposing view. He said multi-core chips need to be homogeneous collections of general-purpose cores to keep the software model simple. An outdated version of an anti-virus application may create a new thread for a scan process, while its GUI thread waits for commands from the user (e.g. cancel the scan). In such cases, a multi-core architecture is of little benefit for the application itself due to

6900-655: The original Apple Macintosh . Fully 32-bit microprocessors such as the HP FOCUS , Motorola 68020 and Intel 80386 were launched in the early to mid 1980s and became dominant by the early 1990s. This generation of personal computers coincided with and enabled the first mass-adoption of the World Wide Web . While 32-bit architectures are still widely-used in specific applications, the PC and server market has moved on to 64 bits with x86-64 and other 64-bit architectures since

6992-406: The original Core Duo and the new Core 2 Duo is an increase in the amount of level 2 cache . The new Core 2 Duo has tripled the amount of on-board cache to 6 MB. Core 2 also introduced a quad-core performance variant to the single- and dual-core chips, branded Core 2 Quad, as well as an enthusiast variant, Core 2 Extreme. All three chips are manufactured at a 65 nm lithography , and in 2008,

7084-418: The other hand, on the server side , multi-core processors are ideal because they allow many users to connect to a site simultaneously and have independent threads of execution. This allows for Web servers and application servers that have much better throughput . Vendors may license some software "per processor". This can give rise to ambiguity, because a "processor" may consist either of a single core or of

7176-488: The problem, for example using a coordination language and program building blocks (programming libraries or higher-order functions). Each block can have a different native implementation for each processor type. Users simply program using these abstractions and an intelligent compiler chooses the best implementation based on the context. Managing concurrency acquires a central role in developing parallel applications. The basic steps in designing parallel applications are: On

7268-735: The resources provided by multiple cores, then they will ultimately reach an insurmountable performance ceiling. The telecommunications market had been one of the first that needed a new design of parallel datapath packet processing because there was a very quick adoption of these multiple-core processors for the datapath and the control plane. These MPUs are going to replace the traditional Network Processors that were based on proprietary microcode or picocode . Parallel programming techniques can benefit from multiple cores directly. Some existing parallel programming models such as Cilk Plus , OpenMP , OpenHMPP , FastFlow , Skandium, MPI , and Erlang can be used on multi-core platforms. Intel introduced

7360-485: The rest of the Intel Core product group, having derived from the Pentium Pro lineage that predated Pentium 4 . The first Intel Core desktop processor—and typical family member—came from the Conroe iteration, a 65 nm dual-core design brought to market in July 2006, based on the Intel Core microarchitecture with substantial enhancements in micro-architectural efficiency and performance, outperforming Pentium 4 across

7452-512: The reunification of Intel's desktop and mobile product lines as Core 2 processors were released for desktops and notebooks, unlike the first Intel Core CPUs that were targeted only for notebooks (although they were used in some small form factor and all-in-one desktops, like the iMac and the Mac Mini ). Unlike the original Core, Intel Core 2 is a 64-bit processor, supporting Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T). Another difference between

7544-693: The said architecture. After Nehalem received a 32 nm Westmere die shrink, Arrandale dual-core mobile processors were introduced in January 2010, followed by Core i7's first six-core desktop processor Gulftown on March 16, 2010. Both the regular Core i7 and the Extreme Edition are advertised as five stars in the Intel Processor Rating. The first-generation Core i7 uses two different sockets; LGA 1366 designed for high-end desktops and servers, and LGA 1156 used in low- and mid-end desktops and servers. In each generation,

7636-587: The same instruction set , while AMD Accelerated Processing Units have cores that do not share the same instruction set). Just as with single-processor systems, cores in multi-core systems may implement architectures such as VLIW , superscalar , vector , or multithreading . Multi-core processors are widely used across many application domains, including general-purpose , embedded , network , digital signal processing (DSP), and graphics (GPU). Core count goes up to even dozens, and for specialized chips over 10,000, and in supercomputers (i.e. clusters of chips)

7728-459: The same Penryn chip as the dual-core variants, with one of the cores disabled during manufacturing. The majority of the desktop and mobile Core 2 processor variants are Core 2 Duo with two processor cores on a single Merom , Conroe , Allendale , Penryn , or Wolfdale chip. These come in a wide range of performance and power consumption, starting with the relatively slow ultra-low-power Uxxxx (10 W) and low-power Lxxxx (17 W) versions, to

7820-464: The same code name as the microarchitecture itself. Ivy Bridge is the codename for Intel's 22 nm die shrink of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based on tri-gate ("3D") transistors, introduced in April 2012. Released on January 20, 2011, the Core i3-2xxx line of desktop and mobile processors is a direct replacement of the 2010 "Clarkdale" Core i3-5xx and "Arrandale" Core i3-3xxM models, based on

7912-498: The same two-core die as the Core Duo, but features only one active core. Depending on demand, Intel may also simply disable one of the cores to sell the chip at the Core Solo price—this requires less effort than launching and maintaining a separate line of CPUs that physically only have one core. Intel had used the same strategy previously with the 486 CPU in which early 486SX CPUs were in fact manufactured as 486DX CPUs but with

8004-462: The single thread doing all the heavy lifting and the inability to balance the work evenly across multiple cores. Programming truly multithreaded code often requires complex co-ordination of threads and can easily introduce subtle and difficult-to-find bugs due to the interweaving of processing on data shared between threads (see thread-safety ). Consequently, such code is much more difficult to debug than single-threaded code when it breaks. There has been

8096-564: The subsequent 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. Despite a major rebranding effort by Intel starting January 2006, some companies continued to market computers with the Yonah core marked as Pentium M. The Core series is also the first Intel processor used in an Apple Macintosh computer. The Core Duo was the CPU for the first generation MacBook Pro , while the Core Solo appeared in Apple's Mac Mini line. Core Duo signified

8188-404: The system developer, a key challenge is how to exploit all the cores in these devices to achieve maximum networking performance at the system level, despite the performance limitations inherent in a symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) operating system. Companies such as 6WIND provide portable packet processing software designed so that the networking data plane runs in a fast path environment outside

8280-463: The use of numerical libraries to access code written in languages like C and Fortran , which perform math computations faster than newer languages like C# . Intel's MKL and AMD's ACML are written in these native languages and take advantage of multi-core processing. Balancing the application workload across processors can be problematic, especially if they have different performance characteristics. There are different conceptual models to deal with

8372-595: Was expensive during the first decades of 32-bit architectures (the 1960s to the 1980s). Older 32-bit processor families (or simpler, cheaper variants thereof) could therefore have many compromises and limitations in order to cut costs. This could be a 16-bit ALU , for instance, or external (or internal) buses narrower than 32 bits, limiting memory size or demanding more cycles for instruction fetch, execution or write back. Despite this, such processors could be labeled 32-bit , since they still had 32-bit registers and instructions able to manipulate 32-bit quantities. For example,

8464-542: Was introduced which maximizes speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match the workload. After Nehalem received a 32 nm Westmere die shrink, Arrandale , the dual-core mobile Core i5 processors and its desktop counterpart Clarkdale was introduced in January 2010, together with Core i7-6xx and Core i3-3xx processors based on the same architecture. Arrandale processors have integrated graphics capability. Core i3-3xx does not support for Turbo Boost , L3 cache in Core i5-5xx processors

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