CORE DEFINITION

A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual central processing units (called "cores"), which are the units that read and execute program instructions.[1]

Multi-core processor
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Diagram of a generic dual-core processor, with CPU-local level 1 caches, and a shared, on-die level 2 cache.

An Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 dual-core processor.

An AMD Athlon X2 6400+ dual-core processor.

A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual central processing units (called "cores"), which are the units that read and execute program instructions.[1] The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions such as add, move data, and branch, but the multiple cores can run multiple instructions at the same time, increasing overall speed for programs amenable to parallel computing.[2] Manufacturers typically integrate the cores onto a single integrated circuit die (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP), or onto multiple dies in a single chip package. Processors were originally developed with only one core. A dual-core processor has two cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X2, Intel Core Duo), a quad-core processor contains four cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X4, Intel's quad-core processors, see i3, i5, and i7 at Intel Core), a hexa-core processor contains six cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X6, Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 980X), an octa-core processor contains eight cores (e.g. Intel Xeon E7-2820, AMD FX-8150). A multicore processor implements multiprocessing in a single physical package. Designers may couple cores in 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 to interconnect cores include bus, ring, two-dimensional mesh, and crossbar. Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores, heterogeneous multicore systems have cores that are not identical. Just as with single-processor systems, cores in multi-core systems may implement architectures such as superscalar, VLIW, vector processing, SIMD, or multithreading. Multi-core processors are widely used across many application domains including generalpurpose, embedded, network, digital signal processing (DSP), and graphics. 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 be run in parallel simutaneously on multiple cores; this effect 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 so much unless programmers invest a prohibitive amount of effort in re-factoring the whole problem.[3] The parallelization of software is a significant ongoing topic of research.

Intel Core
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the Intel processor brand name. For the Intel microarchitecture that is the basis for the Core 2 processor family, see Core (microarchitecture). Intel Core is a brand name used for various mid-range to high-end consumer and business microprocessors made by Intel. In general, processors sold as Core are more powerful variants of the same processors marketed as entry-level Celeron and Pentium. Similarly, identically or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server and workstation market. The current lineup of Core processors includes the latest Intel Core i7, Intel Core i5, and Intel Core i3, and the older Intel Core 2 Solo, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad, and Intel Core 2 Extreme lines.[1]

Contents

1 Overview 2 Enhanced Pentium M based o 2.1 Core Duo o 2.2 Core Solo 3 64-bit Core microarchitecture based o 3.1 Core 2 Solo o 3.2 Core 2 Duo o 3.3 Core 2 Quad o 3.4 Core 2 Extreme 4 Nehalem microarchitecture based o 4.1 Core i3 o 4.2 Core i5 o 4.3 Core i7 5 Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based o 5.1 Core i3 o 5.2 Core i5 o 5.3 Core i7 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Overview

Desktop Brand Core Solo Core Duo Core 2 Solo Code-named Cores Fab Date released

Laptop CodeDate Cores Fab named released Yonah 1 65 nm January 2006 Yonah 2 65 nm January 2006 September Merom-L 1 65 nm 2007 Penryn-L 1 45 nm May 2008 Merom Penryn Penryn Merom XE Penryn XE Penryn XE Arrandale Sandy Bridge 2 65 nm July 2006 2 45 nm January 2008 4 45 nm August 2008 2 65 nm July 2007 2 45 nm January 2008 4 45 nm August 2008 2 32 nm 2 32 nm January 2010 February 2011

Desktop version not available Desktop version not available Desktop version not available

Core 2 Duo Core 2 Quad Core 2 Extreme

Conroe Allendale Wolfdale Kentsfield Yorkfield Conroe XE Kentsfield XE Yorkfield XE Clarkdale Sandy Bridge Lynnfield Clarkdale Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge Ivy Bridge

2 65 nm 2 65 nm 2 45 nm 4 65 nm 4 45 nm 2 65 nm 4 65 nm 4 45 nm 2 32 nm 2 32 nm 4 45 nm 2 32 nm 4 32 nm 2 32 nm 4 22 nm 2 22 nm

Core i3

Core i5

Core i7

Bloomfield Lynnfield Gulftown Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge Bloomfield Gulftown Sandy Bridge-E

4 45 nm 4 45 nm 6 32 nm 4 32 nm 4 22 nm

Core i7 Extreme Edition

4 45 nm 6 32 nm 6 32 nm

August 2006 January 2007 January 2008 January 2007 March 2008 July 2006 November 2006 November 2007 January 2010 February 2011 September 2009 January 2010 January 2011 February 2011 April 2012 April 2012 November 2008 September 2009 July 2010 January 2011 April 2012 November 2008 March 2010 November 2011

Arrandale Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge

2 32 nm 2 32 nm 2 22 nm

January 2010 February 2011 May 2012

Clarksfield Arrandale Sandy Bridge Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge Clarksfield Sandy Bridge Ivy Bridge

4 45 nm 2 32 nm 4 32 nm 2 32 nm 2 22 nm

September 2009 January 2010 January 2011 February 2011 May 2012

4 45 nm September 4 32 nm 2009 4 22 nm January 2011