Intel Core(tm)2 Duo - Truly Dual Core

Intel, that has been struggling with quite a bit of trouble caused by their NetBurst architecture during the past few years, has finally given up the idea of developing it any further and decided to return to the roots of things.

Namely they will continue enhancing and developing their P6 architecture that was first introduced in Pentium Pro processors. Of course, it doesn't mean that the new CPUs announced today are exactly like their predecessors. The microarchitecture has undergone significant changes and modifications since the first time they released it.

Moreover, Core 2 Duo processors that are announced today should boost the desktop x86 processors performance quite tangibly. Intel engineers did a great job working on the new microarchitecture, and as a result, the new solutions can now boast a few truly remarkable advantages over the predecessors as well as competitors.

"The Core 2 Duo processors are simply the best processors in the world," said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel. "Not since Intel introduced the Pentium(r) processor has the industry seen the heart of the computer reinvented like this. The Core 2 Duo desktop processor is an energy-efficient marvel, packing 291 million transistors yet consuming 40 percent lower power, while delivering the performance needed for the applications of today and tomorrow."

Core 2 Duo is the first x86 processors that can decode and execute 4 commands per clock cycle and, process 128-bit SSE3 instructions without slowing down. These two advantages are the two major factors determining high performance of the new Core 2 Duo CPUs.

Furthermore, Core 2 Duo processors can boast "truly" dual-core design. With a few allowances, Pentium D and Athlon 64 X2 can be characterized as a combination of two independent cores put together onto a single semiconductor die. The dual-core concept is much more in-depth in the new Intel CPUs.

These processors features a single cache shared between the two cores, which has made data exchange between the cores much simpler. In particular, this solution allowed reducing the latencies when both cores work with the same set of data.

In other words, the focus is on the number of operations the Intel Core 2 Duo processors can perform per clock cycle.

It means that Intel has finally terminated the failed "hunt for GHz" and is now betting on the processor efficiency. As a result, we can expect the new processors to be not only fast but also economical that logically follows from the fact that there are a lot of mobile solutions among their direct predecessors.

The features

Besides the lower clock speed and smaller L2 cache, there are no other differences between the youngest model of the new family and the top-of-the-line solutions including Core 2 Extreme. It boasts all the strengths of the Core microarchitecture based products:

Dual-core design: The CPU combines two independent cores working in parallel within the same packaging. These cores work at the same clock speed and share 2MB L2 cache. They are connected to the chipset using the same Quad Pumped Bus working at 1066MHz frequency and featuring 8.5GB/s bandwidth.

Intel Wide Dynamic Execution: Each of the two processor cores can process four instructions per clock cycle.

Intel Smart Memory Access: The enhanced data prefetch mechanism allows reducing the idling time of the processor execution pipeline.

Intel Advanced Smart Cache: Intellectual L2 cache is shared between the two processor cores depending on their load at the given moment of time. Moreover, the shared L2 cache speeds up data transfer rate between the cores and reduces the front side bus workload, because no data needs to be transferred via the system memory any more.

Intel Advanced Media Boost: The processor works faster with SSE3 instructions because it can perform the binary operations with 128-bit SSE registers within one clock cycle.

Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT): This virtualization technology allows modeling the work of several virtual platforms on a single hardware system.

Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T): The processor supports x86-64 extensions that allow addressing over 4GB of system RAM and support the work with 64-bit general purpose registers.

Execute Disable Bit: The OS is protected against harmful spyware and viruses that use "buffer overflow" error to gain control over the system.

Lower heat dissipation and power consumption: Core 2 Duo processors are manufactured with the newest 65nm technological process. Thanks to their architecture and a number of power saving technologies they boast the typical heat dissipation of 65W.

Point of View

I would like to point out that new Intel processors on Core microarchitecture boast very impressive performance. The improvements Intel introduced in them have certainly helped create today's most efficient x86 processor design. Although the newcomers work at lower nominal clock speeds than AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, they demonstrate absolute advantages in most applications.

Therefore, if AMD doesn't drop the prices of its dual-core processors even lower (which is unlikely so far), we will have to state that Intel offers a way better price-to-performance ratio for the mainstream and high-end segment.

I shouldn't stop without saying that if you plan to purchase a new Core 2 Duo processor right away, think about what you are going to use if for and certainly take your current hardware configuration into account. For those looking for a great performance budget processor I would highly recommend the E6300 as it will still be faster than any of Intel's current processors.

Dilruk De Saram ([email protected])