In contrast, AMD's upcoming Barcelona mounts four independent CPUs on a single
die. Like earlier Opteron designs, the AMD quad-core chip will utilize AMD's
Direct Connect Architecture. The Barcelona processor will be built using a 65
nm process technology and will have versions that utilize 68-, 95-, or 120-watt
power envelopes. The native quad-core model enables all four cores to act independently.
Theoretically, the true quadcore model also enables more efficient power consumption
because each core can raise and lower its frequency according to the workload.
The Barcelona design incorporates a number of other important enhancements.
It sports 128-bit floating-point processing and a new 2MB L3 cache that's shared
between all processors. Because each processor performs more work per clock
cycle, an estimated 15 percent efficiency improvement per core results in an
improvement in processor performance of about 40 percent. One important note
about the AMD quad-core design is that it's socket-compatible with existing
Socket F dual-core processors. Consequently, existing dual-core systems built
with the AMD Socket F can be upgraded to quad-core by performing a CPU swap
and then upgrading the BIOS. The scalability of the Barcelona should also be
greater than that of Intel's quad-core CPU. Each core on Barcelona's quadcore
die could theoretically be upgraded to a dual-core chip in the future, essentially
enabling a design that incorporates four dual-core CPUs on one quad-core die.
Figure 2 shows AMD's quad-core architecture.
For more information about AMD's multicore processors, refer to http://multicore.amd.com/us-en/AMDMulti-Core.aspx.
Letting the Applications Ride
So what are the biggest advantages of multicore processors? Multithreaded OSs
such as Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP can take advantage
of multiple cores to run separate threads simultaneously. So, for example, programs
such as your email or antivirus software can run on separate background threads
while you perform interactive work at full speed on the foreground thread.
On the application side, games are always at the leading edge of technology,
and many of today's games, such as Quake and Call of Duty, can take advantage
of multiple processors. In addition, enterprise-level database servers such
as Microsoft SQL Server 2005 can take full advantage of all CPUs that are present,
as can virtualization software, such as VMware Server. Because these types of
applications are designed for multiprocessor support, they can initiate separate
threads on the individual processors of multicore systems.
All In for the Future
Intel announced its next line of multicore chips, code-named Penryn, last fall
and expects to make those products available later this year. The Penryn line
of processors will utilize a new 45 nm manufacturing technology, enabling Intel
to increase processing speed while simultaneously reducing power requirements
and heat generation. The move to 45 nm manufacturing will give Intel a temporary
leg up on AMD in the game of processor leapfrog, but AMD plans to raise the
stakes with its own line of 45 nm chips for 2008. Look for a second double-down
move in late 2008 with Intel's rumored eight-core processor, code-named Dunnington.
End of Article
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