Intel Core microarchitecture
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The Intel Core microarchitecture (previously known as the Intel Next-Generation Micro-Architecture, or NGMA) is a multi-core processor microarchitecture unveiled by Intel in Q1 2006. It is based around an updated version of the Yonah core and could be considered the latest iteration of the Intel P6 microarchitecture, which traces its history back to the 1995 Pentium Pro. The extreme power consumption of NetBurst-based products and the resulting inability to effectively increase clock speed was the primary reason Intel abandoned the NetBurst architecture. The Intel Core Microarchitecture was designed by the team that previously designed the highly successful Pentium M mobile processor.
The architecture features lower power usage than before and is competitive with AMD in heat production. It has multiple cores and hardware virtualisation support (marketed as Virtualization Technology), as well as Intel 64 (Intel's implementation of x86-64) and SSSE3.
The first processors that used this architecture were code-named Merom, Conroe, and Woodcrest; Merom is for mobile computing, Conroe is for desktop systems, and Woodcrest is for servers and workstations. While architecturally identical, the three product lines differ in the socket used, bus speed, and power consumption. Core-based products are not branded Pentium; Woodcrest-based products form the Xeon 5100 series, while Conroe and Merom-based processors are labeled as Core 2.
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Technology
The Intel Core Microarchitecture is designed from the ground up, but similar to the Pentium M microarchitecture in design philosophy. The pipeline is 14 stages long — less than half of Prescott's, a signature feature of wide order execution cores. Core's execution unit is 4-issues wide, compared to the 3-issue cores of P6, P-M (Banias, Dothan, and Yonah), and NetBurst microarchitectures. The new architecture is a dual core design with linked L1 cache and shared L2 cache engineered for maximum performance per watt and improved scalability.
One new technology included in the design is Macro-Ops Fusion, which combines two x86 instructions into a single micro-operation. For example, a common code sequence like a compare followed by a conditional jump would become a single micro-op.
Other new technologies include 1 cycle throughput (2 cycles previously) of all 128-bit SSE instructions and a new power saving design. All components will run at minimum speed, ramping up speed dynamically as needed (similar to AMD's Cool'n'Quiet power-saving technology, as well as Intel's own SpeedStep technology from earlier mobile processors). This allows the chip to produce less heat, and consume as little power as possible.
For Woodcrest, the server and workstation variant, the front side bus (FSB) runs at 1333 MHz for most Woodcrest CPUs and 1066 MHz for the 1.60 and 1.86 GHz Woodcrest processors[1][2]. It is targeted to run at 667 MHz for Merom, the mobile variant. However the second wave of Meroms, supporting 800 MHz FSB, will be released on a different socket in early 2007. The desktop version is officially slated to use the 1066 MHz bus, with a later possibility of an Extreme Edition CPU with a 1333 MHz bus, and a future budget version with an 800 MHz FSB, but that would be slightly more limited due to its more restrictive bus.
Some believe that the FSB will prove to be the weak link for Intel, as the Core microarchitecture uses a shared bus, unlike AMD's HyperTransport. While not so critical in the mobile and desktop segments, this might be the handicap which will prevent Woodcrest-MP from taking performance leadership from AMD Opteron on systems with more than 2 cores per socket. Intel attempted to alleviate this problem by the use of advanced prefetchers and memory disambiguation which try to hide main-memory-access latency. However, this is mitigated to some degree by the use of a separate front-side bus for each physical CPU package.
The power consumption of these new processors is extremely low — average use energy consumption is to be in the 1-2 watt range in ultra low voltage variants, with Thermal Design Powers (TDPs) of 65 watts for Conroe and most Woodcrests, 80 watts for the 3.0 GHz Woodcrest, and 40 watts for the low-voltage Woodcrest. However, this is subject to change. In comparison, an AMD Opteron 875HE processor consumes 55 watts, while the new Energy Efficient Socket AM2 line fits in the 35 watt thermal envelope (specified a different way so not directly comparable). Merom, the mobile variant, is listed at 35 watts Thermal Design Power (TDP) for standard versions and 5 watts TDP for Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) versions.
Previously, Intel warned that it would now focus on power efficiency, rather than raw performance. However, at IDF in the spring of 2006, Intel advertised both. Some of the promised numbers are:
- 20% more performance for Merom at the same power level (compared to Core Duo)
- 40% more performance for Conroe at 40% less power (compared to Pentium D)
- 80% more performance for Woodcrest at 35% less power (compared to the original dual-core Xeon)
Current products
Laptops
- Merom - Core 2 Duo T5X00, T7X00, 65 nm, dual-core, 1.66-2.33 GHz, 667 MT/s FSB, 2–4 MiB L2 cache
- Celeron M 520 - 1.6 GHz single core CPU with 1 MiB L2 cache, supporting x86-64, based on merom core (faster versions scheduled for q2 and q3)
- Pentium Dual-Core
T2060 1.60GHz clock T2080 1.73GHz clock 533MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) 1MB L2 cache (shared, meaning both cores use this single 1MB cache. This equates to 512kb per core) 65nm process.
Desktops
- Conroe - Core 2 Duo E6x00, X6800, 65 nm, dual-core, 1.86-2.93 GHz, 1066 MT/s FSB, 2-4 MiB L2 cache
- Conroe - Core 2 Duo E6x50, 65nm, dual-core, 2.33-3.00 GHz, 1333 MT/s FSB, 4 MB L2 cache
- Kentsfield - Core 2 Extreme QX6700, Core 2 Quad Q6400/Q6600 (Q6400 to launch in June 2007), 65 nm, quad-core MCM (2 Conroes), 2.13-2.67 GHz, 1066 MT/s FSB, 2 × 4 MiB L2 cache
- Allendale, Core 2 Duo E4300/E4400 (E4400 launching on April 22, 2007), 65 nm, dual-core, 1.80-2.0 GHz, 800 MT/s FSB, 2 MiB L2 cache; Pentium E2140/E2160 (launching in mid-June 2007), 65 nm, dual-core, 1.60-1.80 GHz, 800 MT/s FSB, 1 MiB L2 cache (half disabled)
Servers and workstations
- Woodcrest - Xeon E51XX, 65 nm, dual-core, 1.60-3.0 GHz, 1333 MT/s FSB, 4 MiB L2 cache
- Clovertown - Xeon E53XX, 65 nm, quad-core (based on Kentsfield), 1.60-3 GHz, 1066-1333 MT/s FSB, 2 × 4 MiB L2 cache
- Kentsfield - Xeon E32XX, 65 nm, quad-core, 2.13-2.40 GHz, 1066 MT/s FSB, 2 × 4 MiB L2 cache
Future products
 | This article contains information about a scheduled or expected future product. It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final version of the product. |
Laptops
- Stealey - 65 nm, single-core, 512 KiB L2 cache (mid 2007) [3]
- Gilo - 65 nm, multi-core (Q4 2007) [4]
- Penryn - 45 nm, dual-core, 3-6 MiB L2 cache (Q3 2007) [5]; will introduce SSE4 instructions [6]
Desktops
- Conroe-L, 65 nm, single-core Allendale, 512 KiB L2 cache (June 2007) [7]
- Yorkfield, 45 nm, quad-core, 1066-1333 MT/s FSB, 2 × 6 MiB L2 cache (Q3 2007) [8]
- Wolfdale, 45 nm, dual-core, 1066-1333 MT/s FSB, 6MiB L2 cache (Q3 2007) [9]
Servers and workstations
- Tigerton, quad-core, 65nm MCM (to be released in place of the cancelled "Whitefield" [10]) [11]
- Harpertown, either a dual-core, 45 nm shrink of Woodcrest [12], or an eight-core, 45 nm MCM with 12 MiB L2 [13]
- Dunnington, four-to-eight cores, successor to Tigerton [14] [15]
- Aliceton, also a successor to Tigerton [16]
See also
References
- Intel Core Microarchitecture website
- Intel press release announcing plans for a new microarchitecture
- Intel press release introducing the Core Microarchitecture
- Intel processor roadmap
- Intel names the Core Microarchitecture
- Pictures of processors using the Core Microarchitecture, among others (also first mention of Clovertown-MP)
- IDF keynotes, advertising the performance of the new processors
- The Core of Intel's new chips
- RealWorld Tech's overview of the Core microarchitecture
- Detailed overview of the Core microarchitecture at Ars Technica
- Intel Core versus AMD's K8 architecture at Anandtech
- Release dates of upcoming Intel Core processors using the Intel Core Microarchitecture
- Benchmarks Compairing the Computational Power of Core Architeture against Older Intel Netburst and AMD Athlon64 Central Processing Units
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