Processor Blog

Intel Core Duo Processor Review

Navid — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 02:05:02 +0000

To get a good sense of some features that we should be expecting from Intel, I thought we should review the enhancements that Intel’s Core Duo Processor has brought to the table. I have an article coming up taking a look at some of the power-saving features, but until I post that I thought we should take a look at this AnandTech article.

We have talked extensively about Intel’s Core Duo processor since back when it was called Yonah, and while we would have liked to bring you an extremely detailed report on exactly what was done (architecturally) in Yonah to make it what it is today the fact of the matter is that Intel just isn’t very forthcoming with this sort of information.

Intel has been very protective with their Centrino processor architectures ever since the platform’s introduction. We’ve always been given bits and pieces of information, but never the full disclosure we’ve hoped for. Even to this day Intel has not disclosed the exact number of pipeline stages in the Pentium M or Core Duo processors. In many cases it was Intel’s first Pentium M processor, Banias, that they were most forthcoming with. With every successor, the flow of information became far more marketing and far less technical. We do hope that at some point this won’t be the case, but until then we will have to do the best with what we’re given at this point. What follows is a brief architectural overview of Intel’s Core Duo to help you understand where some of the performance advantages and more importantly, improvements in power consumption, come from at an architectural level.

Intel’s Smart Cache allows the Core Duo processor to accurately and efficiently use cache between the two cores. The Dual Core processor features dynamic power coordination which allows Intel to power down the system like never before. This trend with continue with future Intel processors, eventually allows Intel to power down almost all parts of the processor that are not in use at any given moment.

While this may not affect many of us, who are desktop users, many of the primary features presented with Intel’s Core Duo processor will make it into Conroe and Woodcrest. Reading over a review of the Intel Core Duo will surely help us understand where Intel is heading — both architecturaly and strategically.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900

Navid — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 01:44:25 +0000

I just purchased a laptop which came built-in with an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900. This is a work laptop for me, and as such I won’t be needing a high-performance or gaming graphics accelerator on this notebook. There seems to be a lot of confusion online about Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA 900), so I thought I’d give some quick impressions regarding it. A quick diversion from our normal processor news.

Before we get into my impressions on this low-end graphics processor, lets take a look at the specs.

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 Specs

256-bit graphics core

8/16/32 bpp

Up to 8.5 GB/sec memory bandwidth with DDR2 533 MHz

1.3 GP/sec and 1.3 GT/sec fill rate

128 MB maximum video memory

2048×1536 at 85 Hz maximum resolution

Dynamic Display Modes for flat-panel and wide-screen support

Operating systems supported: Microsoft Windows* XP, Windows 2000, Linux-compatible (Xfree86 source available)

Up to 4 pixels per clock rendering

400 MHz DAC frequency for up to 2048×1526 resolution for both analog and digital displays

The specs aren’t that impressive, and neither is the fact that this chip is nearing two-years of age. But, what I’m going to tell you is that its fine for a laptop that you want to bring with you on the move. I’ve seen dozens of messages on forums around the web regarding the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900, and newer Intel chipsets, and I must say they are fine for low-end laptops. Now when a high-end laptop comes bundled with an integrated Intel graphics accelerator is where I think many users get peeved.

AMD To Support DDR2 800MHz Memory

Navid — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:30:01 +0000

XBIT Labs is reporting that AMD is set to introduce official support for 800MHz DDR2 PC2-6400 memory with the launch of their AM2 platform. This is a welcome surprise and will help AMD drastically since OEMs will be much more inclined to implement this memory into their computers if AMD officially supports it.

“Performance and mainstream AMD socket AM2 dual-core and single-core processors designed to support DDR2-800 at launch,” a confidential document by AMD seen by X-bit labs reads.

Earlier it was expected that AMD’s processors in new socket AM2 will only officially support DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) memory modules, but will be capable of working with 800MHz memory as well. If AMD does not change its plans, the new processors in AM2 form-factor will be able to work with high-speed DDR2 memory legitimately.

AMD needs all the ammunition it can get with Intel aggressively pursuing the performance crown.

Sun to Launch Public Grid Computing

Navid — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:04:15 +0000

While perusing Beta News I stumbled upon a news release indicating that Sun is finally ready to launch their public grid computing initiative. Now the power of super-computing is within the grasps of mere mortals. I plan to try this out as soon as the service becomes available — at the low price of $1 per hour.

The company would initially be making 5,000 CPUs available for use, with plans to increase that number as necessary. Users would be able to access the grid from the Internet at Network.com. Payment for use would be accepted through PayPal.

Company president Jonathan Schwartz made the announcement through his web log on Monday. He admitted that Sun had run into many unforeseen hurdles in making the service a reality. “Building a secure, publicly available multi-tenant grid also turned out to be exceptionally complex - there’s a reason no one had ever done it before,” he wrote.

They certainly do make the net work. Expect full coverage shortly.

AMD X2 5000+ CPU At Retail?

Navid — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:54:00 +0000

We all know we’d love to have an AMD X2 5000+ processor, but will this become a reality? I’ve read numerous articles stating that this processor will most likely only make its way through the OEM channels, skipping retail completely. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the processor is not on AMD’s roadmap and AMD has on occasion built custom-order processors for large OEMs. More as it develops…

Week in Review

Navid — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 02:23:17 +0000

The processor industry has been buzzing the last few days. Here’s a recap of important events just in case you missed out.

Intel Price Cuts Looming

Navid — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:56:49 +0000

Both Forbes and DigiTimes are reporting that Intel will most likely be slashing prices significantly on current Intel Pentium D processors as well as the upcoming Pentium D 960 that we reported on earlier.

“Anticipated price reductions on Intel Pentium D-series CPUs in the third quarter should spur demand for the Intel-developed Viiv digital home platform, as mainstream system prices should be reduced to more affordable levels, said Taiwan PC system makers.
…
After the second round of price reductions, local Taiwan system makers expect mainstream Viiv system prices to be reduced to NT$30,000-35,000 (US$926-1,080), which should help stimulate demand.”

According to DigiTimes, Intel will slash the price of their upcoming Pentium D 960 by about one third, a significant price-drop for a high-end model. This should help spur demand for Intel’s VIIV platform vision. Intel will make out in the long-run though, as Intel’s highly successful Centrino platform has proven. Intel truly is moving horizontally into related markets and merging this into their platform strategy. Soon enough we should be seeing the fruits of the Intel-WiMax initiative as well as Intel works to build an integrated WiMax solution for mobile computers — which I would bet will be mandatory to sport the Centrino brand (or whatever moniker they adopt in the upcoming year).

Oh, while we are on the subject of Intel cutting prices, it should be stated that the Forbes article mentions Intel’s plan to trim prices on the recently released (although hard to buy) Core Duo processors sometime in May.

AMD in the UMPC Game

Navid — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:38:57 +0000

DigiTimes is reporting that Intel and VIA may not be the only ones in the UMPC market, as AMD will be going after a piece of the pie with its Turion 64 and Geode processors.

“AMD’s current Turion 64 and Geode processor offerings, which have been adopted set-top box (STB) and portable media player (PMP) providers, would also be suitable solutions for UMPCs, sources at Taiwan PC manufacturers found. A June 2005 benchmark report by Toms Hardware Guide stated that the Intel system uses 13% more power than AMD.

AMD Taiwan declined to comment on the vendor’s possible entry in the UMPC market, but said the sector still needs time to develop. High costs, lack of market adoption and overlapping functions of notebooks are issues, which are also reasons why the Tablet PC has failed, according to AMD Taiwan.”

Great to see some competition in the market. I was actually amazed at seeing companies offering VIA processors with their UMPC models, so this was somewhat expected after that bombshell. I expect Intel to be the dominant processor manufacturer for UMPC class devices for some time as they did have time to line-up OEMs for some time now.

Intel Lowering Pentium D Power Drain

Navid — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 20:55:31 +0000

Intel seems to be on the brink of lowering the power consumption of its Pentium D 950 and 940 processors — as well as introducing the Intel Pentium D 960 processor, a previously unannounced CPU. You can read more regarding Intel’s plans from this document on their website.

Via XBIT Labs.

Conroe and Woodcrest Information

Navid — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:49:03 +0000

A bit of information regarding Intel’s upcoming next-generation micro-architecture has hit the web.

“The Intel Core micro-architecture is a milestone in enabling scalable performance and energy efficiency. Later this year it will fuel new dual-core processors and quad-core processors in 2007 that we expect to deliver industry leading performance and capabilities per watt. People will see systems that can be faster, smaller and quieter with longer battery life and lower electric bills,” said Justin Rattner, chief technology officer of Intel Corp.

· Intel Wide Dynamic Execution – Delivers more instructions per clock cycle, improving execution and energy efficiency. Every execution core is wider, allowing each core to complete up to four full instructions simultaneously using an efficient 14-stage pipeline.

This will compliment Intel’s latest strategy well — moving as far away from the NetBurst architecture as possible. Keeping the pipeline short on their future architecture will allow them to increase performance without the need for a greater frequency (allowing power and heat to remain in check).

·Intel Intelligent Power Capability – Includes features that further reduce power consumption by intelligently powering on individual logic subsystems only when required.

Not sure exactly what this comment means. However, I do have a write-up regarding Intel’s future micro-architecture plans which should go over this nicely (I guess I do know but you’ll have to wait a few days for that one).

· Intel Advanced Smart Cache – This includes a shared L2 cache to reduce power by minimizing memory traffic and increase performance by allowing one core to utilize the entire cache when the other core is idle.

We can begin to see this in Intel’s Core Duo processors. The cache is much more efficient than Intel’s makeshift dual-cores before this. Still, we should see further improvement in cache speed and power utilization (again, you’ll have to wait for more on that).

· Intel Smart Memory Access – Yet another feature that improves system performance by hiding memory latency and thus optimizing the use of data bandwidth out to the memory subsystem.

· Intel Advanced Digital Media Boost – Now many 128-bit SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 instructions execute within only one cycle. This effectively doubles the execution speed for these instructions which are used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.

This architecture will redeem Intel in my eyes, as I don’t think AMD will have a direct answer to Intel for the first few months of Conroe’s introduction. I don’t plan on AMD getting trounced during this time either, but I’m sure Intel will edge AMD out and regain, or rather maintain, its current server market share due to Woodcrest.

You can read the rest of the news at XBIT Labs.