Multi Core Processors : Contents

Introduction
History
Intel Processors
A Fundamental Theorem of Multi-Core Processors

The Quad-Core Line Up
Intel® Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor
Intel® Xeon 5300 Processor
Transitioning the Industry to Multi-Core Processing
Amd processors
AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology
AMD Opteron™ Processors

The advanced technologies in opteron processors
Quad-Core Upgradeability of Next-Generation
AMD Opteron Processors
Comparison of processors

Conclusion.

Multi Core Processors : Introduction

One constant in computing is that the world’s hunger for faster performance is never satisfied. Every new performance advance in processors leads to another level of greater performance demands from businesses and consumers. Today these performance demands are not just for speed, but also for smaller, more powerful mobile devices, longer battery life, quieter desktop PCs, and—in the enterprise—better Price/performance per watt and lower cooling costs. People want improvements in productivity, security, multitasking (running multiple applications simultaneously on your computer), data protection, game performance, and many other capabilities. There’s also a growing demand for more convenient form factors for the home, office, data center, and on the go.

Through advances in silicon technology, microarchitecture, software, and platform technologies, Intel is on a fast-paced trajectory to continuously deliver new generations of multi-core processors with the superior performance and energy-efficiency necessary to meet these demands for years to come. A new cadence1 in the microarchitecture arena (see sidebar next page), combined with Intel’s ability to continue to extend Moore’s Law, will enable Intel to bring new levels of performance, power savings, and computing capabilities year after year.

In mid-2006, we reached new levels of energy-efficient performance with our Intel® Core™2 Duo processors and Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processor 5100 series, both produced with our latest 65-nanometer(nm) silicon technology and microarchitecture (Intel® Core™ microarchitecture). Now we’re ready to top that with the world’s first mainstream quad-core processors for both desktop and mainstream servers—Intel® Core™2 Quad processors, Intel® Core™2 Extreme quad-core processors, and others. This paper explains the advantages and challenges of multi-core processing, plus provides a glimpse into the upcoming Intel quad-core processors and the direction in which Intel is taking multi-core processors to the future. We discuss many of the benefits you will see as we continue to increase processor performance, energy efficiency, and capabilities.

Intel quad core processors

Intel® Core™ Extreme Quad-Core Processor
Intel® Xeon 5300 Processor
Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q6600Quad Core
Intel® Xeon® processor L5310
Quad Core Intel® Xeon® processor 3200

Intel processors: History

For years, Intel customers came to expect a doubling of performance every 18-24 months in accordance with oore’s Law. Most of these performance gains came from dramatic increases in frequency (from 5 MHz to 3 GHz in the years from 1983 to 2002) and through process technology advancements. Improvements also came from increases in instructions per cycle (IPC). By 2002, however, increasing power densities and the resultant heat began to reveal some limitations in using predominately frequency as a way of improving performance. So, while Moore’s Law frequency increases, and IPC improvements continue to play an important role in performance increases, new thinking is also required. The best example of this new thinking is multi-core processors. By putting multiple execution cores into a single processor (as well as continuing to increase clock frequency), Intel is able to provide even greater multiples of processing power.




Using multi-core processors, Intel can dramatically increase a computer’s capabilities and computing resources, providing better responsiveness, improving multithreaded throughput, and delivering the advantages of parallel computing to properly threaded mainstream applications.

A New Cadence for Technological Advancement Building on the foundation of Intel Core microarchitecture (introduced in 2006), Intel is establishing a new cadence that will speed up the delivery of products featuring superior performance and energy-efficiency for years to come. Intel plans to deliver a new, optimized energy-efficient performance microarchitecture approximately every two years that supports all its process technology advancements. For instance, in late 2007, Intel process technology will transition to 45 nm and effectively double the number of transistors in a given die size.

In 2008 Intel will follow this gain with a new microarchitecture codenamed “Nehalem” expected to deliver new capabilities and several percentage-point improvements in performance and energy-efficiency. This cycle will then move on to 32 nm and another new microarchitecture targeted for 2010.

A Fundamental Theorem of Multi-Core Processors

Multi-core processors take advantage of a fundamental relationship between power and frequency. By incorporating multiple cores, each core is able to run at a lower frequency, dividing among them the power normally given to a single core. The result is a big performance increase over a single core processor. The following illustration—based on our lab experiments with commonly used workloads—illustrates this key advantage.

Increasing clock frequency by 20 percent to a single core delivers a 13 percent performance gain, but requires 73 percent greater power. Conversely, decreasing clock frequency by 20 percent reduces power usage by 49 percent, but results in just a 13 percent performance loss.
Under-Clocking Relative single-core frequency and Vcc 1.13x, 0.51x, 1.73x, 1.00x, 0.87x Over-clocked (+20%) Max Frequency Under-clocked (-20%)

Here we add a second core on the under clocked example in Figure 1. This result in a dual-core processor that at 20 percent reduced clock frequency effectively delivers 73 percent more performance while using approximately the same power as a single-core processor at maximum frequency. Multi-Core Energy-Efficient Performance

The Quad-Core Line Up

First up are the Intel® Core™2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6700 and the new Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® 5300 processor for servers. Slated for introduction in late 2006, these 65 nm quad-core processors feature four complete execution cores within a single processor and are based upon the revolutionary and proven Intel® Core™ microarchitecture.

Intel® Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor

World’s First Quad-Core for the Desktop. This quad-core desktop processor will be the ultimate gaming machine and multimedia processing engine for today’s growing list of threaded applications. In addition to being excellent for intensive multitasking, the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor will provide impressive gaming performance, offering plenty of headroom for tomorrow’s thread-intensive games. Gamers can expect a smoother, more exciting gaming experience through the distribution of artificial intelligence (AI), physics and rendering across four hardware threads. Ideal for processor-intensive, highly threaded applications, the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor will be the top choice for multimedia enthusiasts, gamers, and workers in demanding multitasking environments. It will feature 2.66 GHz core speed and 1066 MHz front side bus speed.

Intel® Xeon 5300 Processor

Break through Performance from the Industry’s First Quad-Core Standard High-Volume Processor. This new quad-core processor will enable server customers to turbo boost their general purpose servers with breakthrough energy-efficient performance, greater density and fewer cooling challenges.

The Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 processor provides up to 50 percent better performance8 (SPE Cint Rate) than dual-core 2-way Intel Xeon processors on certain applications. The additional threads from quad-core technology and key Intel platform-level innovations deliver the most headroom for running multiple applications simultaneously and virtualized environments on a two-way server.

The Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 series will feature 2.66 GHz
to 1.60 GHz cores speeds, 1333 to 1066 MHz bus speeds, and a 105 watt thermal design point (TDP). A low power version (L5310) with a 50 watt TDP will be available in the first quarter of 2007. Another version will be available for single-processor servers and workstations in the same time frame.

Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5300 processor platforms : advanced capabilities

• Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT). This is the industry’s first hardware-assisted technology supporting today’s industry leading virtualization software.

• Fully-buffered DIMM Technology. The latest in memory technology, fully-buffered DIMM technology provides significantly greater performance and capacity while improving memory reliability.

• Intel® I/O Acceleration Technology. This unique Intel technology
moves network data more efficiently through Intel Xeon processor based
servers for fast, scaleable, and reliable networking

Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q6600

• Multimedia powerhouse for demanding entertainment applications
• Ideal choice for processor intensive, highly threaded applications
• 2.40 GHz core speed, 1066 MHz bus speed

Quad Core Intel® Xeon® processor L5310

• Low Power version of 5300
• 50 watt thermal design point
• 1.6 GHz core speed, 1066 MHz bus speed Quad Core Intel® Xeon® processor 3200
• For single-processor servers and workstation systems

Transitioning the Industry to Multi-Core Processing

One immediate benefit of multi-core processors is how they improve an operating system’s ability to multitask applications. For instance, say you have a virus scan running in the background while you’re working on your word-processing application. This often degrades responsiveness so much that when you strike a key, there can be a delay before the letter actually appears on the screen. On multi-core processors, the operating system can schedule the tasks in different cores so that each task runs at full performance. Another major multi-core benefit comes from individual applications optimized for multi-core processors. These applications, when properly programmed, can split a task into multiple smaller tasks and run them in separate threads. For instance, a word processor can have “find and replace” run as a separate thread so doing a “find and replace” on a big document doesn’t have to keep you from continuing to write or edit.



In a game, a graphics algorithm needing extensive processing power could be one thread, rendering the next scene on the fly, while another thread responds to your commands for a character’s movements. The critical element in multi-core computing is the software. The throughput, energy efficiency, and multitasking performance of multi-core processors will all be more fully realized when application code is threaded and multi-core ready. Intel provides extensive partner programs with software developers, operating system vendors, ISVs, and academia to accelerate the delivery of dual-core and quad-core products. Intel has recently updated the Intel® Threading Building Blocks, Intel® Thread Profiler, and Intel® Thread Checker tools to support our quad-core products.

AMD processors

1.AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology
2.AMD Turion™ 64 X 2 Dual-Core Mobile Technologies

AMD processors AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology

1.AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology
2.AMD Turion™ 64 X 2 Dual-Core Mobile Technologies
AMD Turion™ 64 mobile technology is the most advanced family of simultaneous 32- and 64-bit Windows®-compatible processors made for mobility uniquely optimized to deliver AMD64 performance in thinner and lighter notebook designs with longer battery life, enhanced security*, and compatibility with the latest wireless and graphics technologies

AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology: Key Architectural Features Key Architectural Features

The AMD64 core provides leading-edge 32-bit performance, seamless 32-to 64-bit migration and therefore investment protection

AMD64 technology features uncompromising 32-bit performance and is ready for tomorrow’s software, today.
Vastly expands memory addressability with 40-bit physical addresses, 48-bit virtual addresses
Doubles the number of internal registers with eight additional (sixteen total) 64-bit integer registers and eight additional (sixteen total) 128-bit SSE/SSE2/SSE3 registers


Incorporating 3DNow Professional technology, SSE2 and SSE3, AMD Turion 64 mobile technology is compatible with the largest installed base of multimedia-enhance software

Enhanced Virus Protection with Windows® XP SP2

Enhanced Virus Protection enabled by Windows XP Service Pack 2 is designed to prevent the spread of certain viruses, like MSBlaster and Slammer, significantly reducing the cost and down-time associated with similar viruses and improving the protection of computers and personal information against certain PC viruses. Enhanced Virus Protection will by default only protect the user's Windows operating system. Users must, at installation of Microsoft Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or when they first purchase their system, choose to enable the protection of their applications and associated files from memory buffer overrun attacks. AMD and Microsoft strongly recommend that users use third party anti-virus software as part of their security strategy.
High-bandwidth, low-latency integrated memory controller

Provides a performance boost by directly connecting the processor to the memory, thus dramatically reducing memory latency.
Supports industry-standard, widely-available PC3200,PC2700, PC2100 or PC1600 DDR SDRAM memory
Unbuffered SO-DIMMs
Features ECC protection that enables increased system reliability, helping to ensure your systems run smoothly
Up to 3.2 GB/s memory bandwidth

Hyper Transport™ technology for high speed I/O communication

Hyper Transport technology helps increase overall system performance by helping reduce traditional system bottlenecks, increasing I/O bandwidth, and reducing I/O latency; which translates into overall better performance.
One 16-bit link supporting up to 1600MHz
Up to 6.4GB/s peak Hyper Transport™ I/O bandwidth

Large high performance, on-chip cache

64KB Level 1 instruction cache
64KB Level 1 data cache
Up to 1MB Level 2 cache
Improved branch prediction for greater accuracy in anticipating instruction calls
Enhanced TLB structures for better memory management of complex workloads

Made for mobility

AMD PowerNow!™ technology extends battery life by dynamically switching the performance states (processor core voltage and operating frequency) based on processor performance requirements
Additional C3 Deeper Sleep state reduces power consumption during idle moments



Wireless Compatibility

Compatible with currently available 802.11 a, b and g wireless solutions
AMD enables a choice of best-in-class wireless solutions
Packaging: 754-pin lidless micro PGA, organic package. Die size: Approximately 114 million transistors on 115mm 2. Processors are manufactured using AMD's state-of-the-art 90nm SOI technology optimized for mobile processors at AMD's Fab 30 wafer fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany.

AMD Opteron™ Processors

Next-Generation AMD Opteron™ processors add important new features like quad-core upgradeability, AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™), and energy-efficient DDR2 memory to the proven technologies introduced in 2003 with first-generation AMD Opteron processors.
The advanced technologies in opteron processors:

AMD64 technology
Runs existing installed base of 32-bit applications and operating systems at peak performance, while providing a 64-bit capable migration path
Designed to enable 64-bit computing while remaining compatible with the vast x86 software infrastructure
Enables a single architecture across 32- and 64-bit environments

Direct Connect Architecture
AMD’s revolutionary Direct Connect Architecture helps eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in traditional front-side bus architectures
Direct Connect Architecture connects the processors, integrated memory controller, and I/O directly to the CPU and communicates at CPU speed
HyperTransport™ technology provides a scalable bandwidth interconnect between processors, I/O subsystems, and other chipsets, with up to three coherent HyperTransport technology links providing up to 24.0 GB/s peak bandwidth per processor

Integrated Memory Controller - Integrated on-die DDR2 DRAM memory controller offers available memory bandwidth up to 10.7 GB/s (with DDR2-667) per processor
AMD Opteron™ processors with DDR2 memory are designed to offer a seamless upgrade path from dual-core to quad-core when they are available in 2007 in the same thermal envelope to help leverage existing investments
Offers a significant performance improvement while maintaining the same platform at the same power efficiency

AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™)

Next-Generation AMD Opteron™ processors add important new features like quad-core upgradeability, AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™), and energy-efficient DDR2 memory to the proven technologies introduced in 2003 with first-generation AMD Opteron processors.
The advanced technologies in opteron processors:

AMD64 technology
Runs existing installed base of 32-bit applications and operating systems at peak performance, while providing a 64-bit capable migration path
Designed to enable 64-bit computing while remaining compatible with the vast x86 software infrastructure

Quad-Core Upgradeability of Next-Generation AMD Opteron™ Processors

AMD introduced the first multi-core technology for x86-based servers and workstations with the Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ processor launch in April 2005. Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors add DDR2 memory and AMD Virtualization™ to further enhance AMD’s industry leading virtualization capabilities. Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, planned for 2007, represent the next milestone in our multi-core roadmap.

The upgrade path built into Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors is enabled by AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture. We designed the AMD64 computing platform from the ground up to be optimized for multiple cores. At the heart of AMD64 is our innovative Direct Connect Architecture, which helps eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in traditional front-side bus architecture by directly connecting the processors, the memory controller, and the I/O to the central processing unit (CPU).

Multi Core Processors : Conclusion

INTEL QUAD CORE PROCESSORS & AMD’S ADVANCED PROCESSORS are the processors of future which offers a ultimate computing effect for the users. Each processor has their own advantages in separate stages.

Multi Core Processors : Reference

www.tomshardware.com
www.intel.com
www.amd.com
www.wikipedia.org