clarksfield

Explaining Intel's Turbo Boost technology

Intel promotes the Turbo Boost technology in its new Core i7 Mobile processors as a way to adapt to the needs of the software and get more performance from the chip, but this isn't the real reason the technology exists.

The new "Clarksfield" Core i7 Mobile processors introduced at the Intel Developer Forum last week are certainly very impressive. They're huge high-performance quad-core chips with Hyper-Threading, support for two channels of DDR3-1333 DRAM, and an on-die PCI Express controller for the fastest possible connection to discrete graphics chips.

In his IDF session announcing these parts, Intel Vice President Mooly Eden said the best of these parts, the 2GHz Core i7-920XM Extreme Edition, is "the fastest quad-core processor, the fastest dual-core processor, and the fastest single-core processor"-- all in one chip.

The key to this dramatic claim is a feature called Turbo Boost technology. Basically, if the current application workload isn't keeping all four cores fully busy and pushing right up against the chip's TDP (Thermal Design Power) limit, Turbo Boost can increase the clock speed of each core individually to get more performance out of the chip.

It's easy to see how this works when just one or two cores are being actively used; whatever power the other two or three cores would have consumed can be redirected over to the active cores, allowing them to run at higher speeds.

The quad-core mode of Turbo Boost is a little more subtle; it works when the four cores aren't running a worst-case workload--for example, integer-heavy processing, since it's generally floating-point calculations that consume the most power--so they aren't bumping into the TDP limit. Turbo Boost can increase the frequency of all four cores until they're running as fast as they can for the current workload.

Eden said that the Turbo Boost controller… Read more

Intel's Lynnfield mysteries solved

The mysteries of the Lynnfield and Jasper Forest die photos (from last week's post titled "Investigating Intel's Lynnfield mysteries") were all cleared up at the Intel Developer Forum last week, and as expected, there was nothing sinister going on--just some confusion in Intel's graphics arts department.

With the help of the always-helpful George Alfs of Intel's press relations department and Intel vice president Mooly Eden (general manager of Intel's PC Client Group), we got everything straightened out. Literally!

Here's the die photo of Intel's Lynnfield chip from my previous post:

This is the newest (shipping) part based on the Nehalem microarchitecture, differing from the earlier Bloomfield by the addition of an on-die PCI Express controller. Both chips are made in Intel's 45nm process technology.

According to Eden, the Lynnfield chip design is shared with several other Intel chips that will be on the market soon, including… Read more

Dell launches first laptop with Intel's Core i7

SAN FRANCISCO--Dell is launching its first laptops with Intel's new Core i7 processor for laptops.

The Intel "Clarksfield" Core i7 processor boasts four cores and is the chipmaker's first mobile chip based on its new Nehalem microarchitecture. Most Intel processors will move to this design in 2010.

Dell is trying to take an early lead in embracing the new technology. Dell's flagship product for the mobile Core i7 will be the 15-inch Alienware M15x gaming laptop. Dell is also offering the chip as an option on other laptop models worldwide, including the Studio 15 and … Read more

Intel to introduce first mobile 'Nehalem' chip

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel is expected to roll out the first "Nehalem" processor for laptops on Wednesday.

Nehalem is Intel's new processor microarchitecture and is used currently in its high-performance Core i7 series of desktop processors and more inexpensive Core i5 series. The chipmaker is expected to move most laptop, desktop, and server processors to the Nehalem architecture in 2010.

The Core i7 "Clarksfield"--expected to be introduced Wednesday at the Intel Developer Forum--is a quad-core processor for higher-end laptop designs. Laptop models from major PC makers are also expected.

The Nehalem architecture will manifest itself later … Read more

Intel CEO looks beyond the PC

Updated on September 23 at 12:30 a.m. PDT: adding information about the Atom Developer Program.

SAN FRANCISCO--In his keynote at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday, Intel CEO Paul Otellini focused on moving beyond the PC while introducing a new processor technology and a new development platform for the Atom processor.

"We're moving from personal computers to personal computing," Otellini said.

He called this a transition to a continuum. "The same experience on any device. How we build this continuum out. That's the theme," he said. "Moore's Law, platform architecture, … Read more

Intel Forum preview: Moore's Law expressed as fewer chips

Intel is expressing Moore's Law anew as packing key technologies into fewer chips. New "Clarksfield," "Arrandale" and "Jasper Forest" processors, among others, will showcase this theme later this month at the Intel Developer Forum.

Intel Vice President Steve Smith discussed the highlights of the annual marquee Intel event that will kick off September 22 in San Francisco in a phone interview on Friday.

"Contrary to speculation that Moore's Law is slowing down or potentially dying, we're here to demonstrate that it's alive and well," Smith said. "Integration gives you a smaller, better, faster, more mobile compute platform," he said. Moore's Law, named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, states that the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles roughly every two years.

This theme will be manifested in a number of new processors including the first mobile processor based on Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture codenamed Clarksfield and even more highly integrated processors to follow dubbed Arrandale and Clarkdale as Intel moves to its next-generation 32-nanometer manufacturing process.

True to its rich heritage of codenames, IDF can, at times, slide into little more than a series of codename-riddled Power Point slides, with some names sounding frustratingly familiar such as Clarksfield and Clarkdale. But codenames, for better or worse, are part and parcel of IDF.

Intel codename decoder:

Clarksfield: 45-nanometer Nehalem mobile processor integrating I/O Clarkdale: 32-nanometer Nehalem desktop chip integrating graphics with CPU Arrandale: 32-nanometer Nehalem mobile chip integrating graphics with CPU Moorestown: 32-nanometer system-on-chip Atom for smartphones Sodaville: 32-nanometer system-on-chip Atom for consumer Pine Trail: new Atom for Netbooks integrating graphics with CPU Jasper Forest: 45-nanometer, first Nehalem embedded chip for uses such as storage hardware Larrabee: Intel discrete graphics chip that will compete with Nvidia, AMD Westmere: 32-nanometer manufacturing process technology

Smith said that Intel's move to the next-generation "Westmere" 32-nanometer manufacturing process will drive even more integration next year. "We have completed development and certification of the 32-nanometer process, which means our factory is fully qualified to run the wafers. And we are actually running Westmere CPU wafers through the factory in support of our Q4 revenue production. Absolutely on track for that Q4 revenue production," he said, referring to commercial production of 32-nanometer processors.

In the more immediate future, Intel will roll out a new mobile processor based on its current 45-nanometer technology. "We just announced Lynnfield (the Core i5 and i7 chips for desktops), Clarksfield is the equivalent product for notebooks," Smith said. "Quad-core, 45-nanometer. Based on Nehalem technology but optimized with power management and integration of the PCI express I/O. Moving from a three-chip solution in the original Nehalem products to two chips--and that is our path going forward." I/O, or input-output, is silicon that enables a processor to talk, and shuttle data, to other parts of the system and peripheral components.

Speaking more specifically about Clarksfield integration, Smith said that "the key elements are integration of memory controller, integration of PCI Express 'gen' 2, power management." Intel will also be talking a lot about a feature called Turbo mode. "Turbo mode is extremely important. If you're not using all the cores, the cores that are not used are powered down. The cores that you are using can run at a faster clock rate with Turbo mode," Smith said.

Smith spoke about the next-generation Atom processor for Netbooks and Nettops, "Pine Trail," too. This chip will also… Read more

Intel Core i7 laptops coming--or have they already arrived?

Waiting for a Core i7 laptop? While Intel is slated to release its first mobile "Nehalem" Core i7 processor in the coming months, the desktop counterpart has already spawned a cottage industry of benchmark-busting laptops.

"It's completely revitalized the desktop replacement laptop," said Kelt Reeves, president of enthusiast PC maker Falcon Northwest, referring to designs that have shoehorned a desktop Core i7 processor into a laptop enclosure.

At the very high end of Falcon Northwest's lineup, interest has shifted to models with the Core i7 processor and away from models oriented around extreme-performance graphics … Read more

Brouhaha over Intel branding

Core i3, i5, i7. A straightforward, if not insipid, branding scheme, right? Wrong. Those alphanumeric identifiers are fighting words.

Last week, Intel announced a new branding scheme for its upcoming processors. In a blog, spokesman Bill Calder wrote that the branding will be "simplified into entry-level (Intel Core i3), mid-level (Intel Core i5), and high-level (Intel Core i7)." Intel calls the "i" suffix an identifier.

The upcoming Lynnfield chip for desktop PCs, for example, will be available as either Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 depending upon the feature set and capability. The upshot of the new branding is to make it easier for less tech-savvy consumers to readily identify classes of Intel chips based three simple identifiers, according to Calder.

But judging by the tenor of many of the comments attached to Calder's brand structure blog, you would think the chipmaker had committed high treason.

In the minds of some, it did. The shortcomings of the current naming scheme notwithstanding, many tech-savvy consumers have gotten used to it. For example, Core 2 Quad means a chip built on the Core 2 architecture with 4 processing cores. Core 2 Duo indicates two cores.

One of the most common criticisms cited in the comments section is that i3, i5, and i7 are too vague. "Above all, I'd like to see...at a glance how many cores and what features they have (or have not)," one comment said. Another comment suggested that Intel add more identifiers. For example, Intel Core i5 4100, where 4 is the number of cores and 100 is a speed rating.

Yet another idea was this: Intel/name/number/year, where "name" is the product name, "number" is a bigger-is-better ranking, and "year" the year the architecture was released.

And another: "Either ditch the Celeron, Pentium and Xeon names completely or embrace them completely. These are fairly well known as the 'good, better, best'." … Read more

Intel spells out Core i3, i5, i7 branding

Updated at 12:15 p.m. PDT: adding Centrino and Deborah Conrad discussions.

Intel has spelled out its branding for the upcoming Core series of processors including the "Lynnfield" and "Clarksfield" chips. The chipmaker also said that "Centrino" will be phased out as a PC brand.

In a post Wednesday on Intel's Web site, spokesman Bill Calder wrote that the branding will be "simplified into entry-level (Intel Core i3), mid-level (Intel Core i5), and high-level (Intel Core i7)."

Calder added that it is "important to note that these are not … Read more