Six core processor. Six-core Intel Core i5 and Core i7 (Coffee Lake) processors for the "new" LGA1151

Until recently, Intel processors have evolved according to the time-tested Tick-Tock (tick-tock) system, that is, according to the pendulum principle: at each tick, a new, significantly revised architecture is born, and at each tick, the existing architecture is transferred to a new one. , a more advanced process technology. Intel plans to continue with this approach, but the pendulum does not swing quite evenly, and therefore some "intermediate" solutions appear periodically. One of these products is the processor we are considering. Intel Core i7 980X, which represents the Nehalem architecture, being translated as part of the next “so” to the 32nm process technology. But in this case, the swing of the pendulum is slightly different from the usual one - the transition to a new process technology most often makes it possible to increase the operating frequency of the processor, but Intel chose a different path and increased the number of cores to six. So, the Intel Core i7 980X is the first six-core desktop processor to hit our test lab. Let's take a closer look at its architecture.

⇡ Architecture

The Intel Core i7 980X processor belongs to the Gulftown family and is its first and so far the only representative of this family of processors. There are no fundamental differences from the architecture of the Bloomfield family, on which all other processors for the LGA1366 platform are based, in the Intel Gulftown architecture. We can assume that the Core i7 980X is the same Bloomfield, operating at a frequency of 3.33 GHz, with an increased L3 cache by 4 MB and manufactured within the 32-nm process technology. However, there are some significant differences as well.

First, thanks to Intel HyperThreading Technology, this six-core processor can process up to twelve data streams, which is four more than all other Core i7 processors.

Secondly, the Core i7 980X received a new AES-NI (Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions) instruction set, consisting of twelve different instructions designed to speed up all applications that actively use the AES algorithm. The AES-NI instruction set is already used in Clarkdale processors, but this is the first solution for the LGA1366 platform with this instruction set. Adding them will significantly increase processor performance in tasks such as encryption, VoIP, Internet firewalls, and other applications that actively use encryption. For other applications, the presence of AES-NI will have almost no effect.

Thirdly, the L3 cache increased to 12 MB can have a positive effect on performance in games and other applications that use large amounts of cache memory. At the same time, other applications may lose some performance, since the increase in cache memory also led to an increase in delays - the frequency of the Uncore bus in the new processor is reduced from 3.2 GHz to 2.6 GHz.

Finally, fourthly, the transition of the processor to a 32-nm process technology using metal gate transistors had a positive effect on its physical dimensions: the Gulftown die has an area of ​​248 mm², while the quad-core Bloomfield die has an area of ​​263 mm², and the Lynnfield die at all 296 mm². The decrease in the technical process standards should have a positive effect on the heat dissipation of the processor and its overclocking potential. With 1.17 billion transistors, the Core i7 980X is the first home computer processor to surpass the one billion transistor count.

Otherwise, the Core i7 980X is similar to the Core i7 975: the same QPI bus frequency of 6.4 GT / s, that is, 25.6 Gb / s, a similar integrated memory controller that allows you to work with DDR3 1333 memory in three-channel mode. Both processors operate at the same frequency and have an unlocked multiplier, the value of which can vary from 12 to 60 (at nominal - 25, in Turbo Boost mode - 27).

⇡ Cooling system

Many buyers of top-end Intel processors were very surprised when they took out a simple aluminum heatsink with radially divergent fins and a small noisy fan from a box with a processor for several tens of thousands of rubles. Regular Intel cooling systems practically did not change from processor to processor, except that the height of the fins increased. With the release of the Core i7 980X, for the first time in many years, Intel changed its approach to stock cooling of processors and equipped the new product with a much more serious cooler, which received Intel name DBX-B Thermal Solution.

The new cooler is a tower heatsink with four heatpipes running through a copper base. On one side there is a fan with a diameter of 100 mm with a transparent impeller and blue backlight. Let's take a closer look at the cooler.

The radiator itself consists of aluminum fins of medium thickness, and the distance between them is very small - it will be difficult for fans with low speeds to blow through such a design. Four heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm are neatly soldered in the hollows of the base - of course, there is no technology for direct contact of heat pipes with the processor itself, but this is not necessary. The top of the heatsink is covered with a lid with protrusions for heat pipes, on which the Intel logo is placed.

The fan impeller is the strangest part of the cooler: its blades have a slightly curved shape, while it is not enclosed in a frame. As a result, only a small part of the airflow is sent directly to the heatsink, but the airflow around the processor space of the motherboard is at its best.

The processing of the base of the cooler is at an average level: it is not mirror-like, but without distinct irregularities. At the same time, the base is slightly convex, which provides good contact with a processor cover in the middle, where the crystal itself is located. Such a solution is ineffective if the processor cover is perfectly even, but in our case it turned out to be slightly concave, and here the bulge of the cooler base came in handy.

Intel DBX-B thermal solution is attached to motherboard with four thumbscrews that are easy to tighten with your fingers. A soft plastic plate is installed on the back side of the motherboard, into which the screws are screwed. Despite the not very convenient location of the screws (you have to stretch up to the heads of two of them) and the flimsy design of the plate, such a mount is a huge step forward compared to all previous versions fasteners.

A two-position switch is located at the top of the radiator. The letter "S" stands for Silence, while the letter "P" stands for Performance. In the first of the modes, the fan rotates at a speed of about 800-900 rpm, and in the second - about 1800 rpm. And if in the Silence mode the fan can be called moderately noisy, then in the Performance mode it is very loud: its noise covers both the fan of the power supply, and the video card, and the sound from the heads hard drive. The blue illumination of the impeller cannot be turned off, but it is not too bright and does not hurt the eyes.

In general, despite the huge number of shortcomings, Intel cooler DBX-B is far superior to all previous cooling systems that were equipped with Intel processors. Unfortunately, it is intended only for Gulftown processors - the rest of the processors will be equipped with old coolers. Let's see what new system cooling is capable in action - let's try to overclock the processor.

The maximum frequency at which we were able to boot the system using air cooling was almost 4.5 GHz. At this frequency, it was even possible to pass some tests, but stability was not observed. Therefore, the frequency had to be lowered to 4.2 GHz - at this frequency, all tests were regularly passed, and the processor with the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler installed on it did not warm up above 65 degrees Celsius. However, when trying to check the stability of the processor in the OCCT utility, the Core i7 980X processor with a standard cooler still warmed up to 85 degrees, and the system eventually issued blue screen. Despite this, we will consider the processor operation at such a frequency to be conditionally stable, because the loads created by the OCCT LinPack utility do not occur in real applications.

⇡ Temperature and power consumption

Let's move on to the processor performance tests and compare its results with the results of other Intel processors of the latest generation, but first let's evaluate the power consumption of the system.

At stock frequencies, our test bench, together with the Core i7 980X processor, consumed only 185 watts, which is not bad for a computer with the most powerful desktop processor and a dual-chip video card. Under load with the help of the OCCT utility, the power consumption of the system increased significantly and amounted to 297 W - this is only due to the processor, because the OCCT LinPack test does not load the video card.

Overclocking with an increase in the voltage on the processor to 1.35 V does not greatly affect the idle power consumption of the system - it is 192 W, but under load the power consumption rises to 344 W - almost 50 W more than without overclocking.

The first computer processors with multiple cores appeared on the consumer market back in the mid-2000s, but many users still do not quite understand what multi-core processors are and how to understand their characteristics.

Video format of the article "The whole truth about multi-core processors"

A simple explanation of the question "what is a processor"

The microprocessor is one of the main devices in a computer. This dry official name is often shortened to just "processor"). The processor is a microcircuit, comparable in area to a matchbox. If anything, the processor is like a motor in a car. The most important part, but not the only one. The car also has wheels, and a body, and a player with headlights. But it is the processor (like the motor of the car) that determines the power of the “machine”.

Many people call the processor a system unit - a “box” inside which all PC components are located, but this is fundamentally wrong. The system unit is a computer case along with all its constituent parts - a hard drive, RAM and many other details.

Processor Function - Calculations. It doesn't really matter which ones. The fact is that all the work of a computer is tied exclusively to arithmetic calculations. Addition, multiplication, subtraction and other algebra - this is all done by a microcircuit called a "processor". And the results of such calculations are displayed on the screen in the form of a game, a Word file, or just a desktop.

The main part of the computer that deals with calculations is here, what is a processor.

What is a processor core and multi-core

From the beginning of the processor "ages" these microcircuits were single-core. The core is, in fact, the processor itself. Its main and main part. Processors also have other parts - say, "legs" - contacts, microscopic "wiring" - but it is the block that is responsible for the calculations that is called processor core. When the processors became quite small, the engineers decided to combine several cores within one processor "case" at once.

If we imagine the processor as an apartment, then the core is a large room in such an apartment. A one-room apartment is one processor core (large room-hall), a kitchen, a bathroom, a corridor ... A two-room apartment is already like two processor cores along with other rooms. There are also three-, and four, and even 12-room apartments. Also in the case of processors: inside one crystal - "apartment" there can be several cores - "rooms".

Multi-core- this is the division of one processor into several identical functional blocks. The number of blocks is the number of cores within a single processor.

Varieties of multi-core processors

There is a misconception: “the more cores a processor has, the better.” This is how marketers who are paid to create these kinds of misconceptions try to present the case. Their task is to sell cheap processors, moreover, at a higher price and in huge quantities. But in fact, the number of cores is far from the main characteristic of processors.

Let's return to the analogy of processors and apartments. A two-room apartment is more expensive, more comfortable and more prestigious than a one-room apartment. But only if these apartments are located in the same area, they are equipped in the same way, and their renovation is similar. There are weak four-core (or even 6-core) processors that are much weaker than dual-core ones. But it’s hard to believe in it: still, the magic of large numbers 4 or 6 against “some” two. However, this is exactly what happens very, very often. It seems like the same four-room apartment, but in a dead state, without repair, in a completely remote area - and even at the price of a chic "kopeck piece" in the very center.

How many cores are there in a processor?

For personal computers and laptops, single-core processors have not really been produced for several years, and finding them on sale is a rarity. The number of cores starts with two. Four cores - as a rule, these are more expensive processors, but there is a return on them. There are also 6-core processors that are incredibly expensive and much less useful in practical terms. Few tasks can get a performance boost on these monstrous crystals.

There was an experiment by AMD to create 3-core processors, but this is already in the past. It turned out pretty well, but their time has passed.

By the way, AMD also produces multi-core processors, but, as a rule, they are noticeably weaker than competitors from Intel. True, and the price is much lower. You just need to know that 4 cores from AMD will almost always be noticeably weaker than the same 4 cores from Intel.

Now you know that processors have 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 cores. Single-core and 12-core processors are a rarity. Tri-core processors are a thing of the past. Six-core processors are either very expensive (Intel) or not strong enough (AMD) to overpay for the number. 2 and 4 cores are the most common and practical devices, from the weakest to the most powerful.

Frequency of multi-core processors

One of the characteristics of computer processors is their frequency. Those same megahertz (and more often gigahertz). Frequency is an important characteristic, but far from the only one.. Yes, perhaps not the most important. For example, a 2GHz dual-core processor is a more powerful offering than its 3GHz single-core counterpart.

It is completely wrong to assume that the frequency of the processor is equal to the frequency of its cores, multiplied by the number of cores. To put it simply, a 2-core processor with a core frequency of 2 GHz does not have a total frequency of 4 GHz in any case! Even the concept of "general frequency" does not exist. In this case, CPU frequency is exactly 2 GHz. No multiplications, additions or other operations.

And again, "turn" the processors into apartments. If the height of the ceilings in each room is 3 meters, then the total height of the apartment will remain the same - all the same three meters, and not a centimeter higher. No matter how many rooms there are in such an apartment, the height of these rooms does not change. Also clock frequency of processor cores. It doesn't add up or multiply.

Virtual multi-core, or Hyper-Threading

There are also virtual processor cores. Hyper-Threading technology in Intel processors makes the computer "think" that there are actually 4 cores inside a dual-core processor. Very much like the one and only HDD is divided into several logical- local drives C, D, E and so on.

Hyper-Threading is a very useful technology in a number of tasks.. Sometimes it happens that the processor core is only half used, and the rest of the transistors in its composition are idle. Engineers figured out a way to make these idlers work too by dividing each physical processor core into two "virtual" parts. As if a fairly large room was divided into two by a partition.

Does it make practical sense virtual core trick? Most often - yes, although it all depends on the specific tasks. It seems that there are more rooms (and most importantly, they are used more rationally), but the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room has not changed. In offices, such partitions are incredibly useful, in some residential apartments - too. In other cases, partitioning the room (dividing the processor core into two virtual ones) makes no sense at all.

Note that the most expensive performance class processorsCorei7 are without fail equippedHyper-threading. They have 4 physical cores and 8 virtual ones. It turns out that 8 computational threads work simultaneously on one processor. Less expensive but also powerful Intel class processors Corei5 consist of four cores, but Hyper Threading does not work there. It turns out that Core i5 work with 4 computation threads.

Processors Corei3- typical "middle peasants", both in price and performance. They have two cores and no hint of Hyper-Threading. In total, it turns out that Corei3 only two computational threads. The same applies to frankly budget crystals. Pentium andCeleron. Two cores, no "hype-threading" = two threads.

Does a computer need many cores? How many cores do you need in a processor?

All modern processors are powerful enough for common tasks.. Internet browsing, correspondence in social networks and e-mail, Word-PowerPoint-Excel office tasks: weak Atom, budget Celeron and Pentium are suitable for this work, not to mention the more powerful Core i3. Two cores are more than enough for normal work. A processor with a large number of cores will not bring a significant increase in speed.

For games, you should pay attention to the processorsCorei3 ori5. Rather, gaming performance will depend not on the processor, but on the video card. It's rare that a game will need all the power of the Core i7. Therefore, it is believed that games require no more than four processor cores, and more often two cores will do.

For serious work like special engineering programs, video encoding and other resource-intensive tasks really productive equipment is required. Often, not only physical, but also virtual processor cores are involved here. The more computing threads, the better. And it doesn't matter how much such a processor costs: for professionals, the price is not so important.

Is there any benefit to multi-core processors?

Certainly yes. At the same time, the computer is engaged in several tasks - at least Windows operation(by the way, these are hundreds of different tasks) and, at the same moment, playing the movie. Playing music and browsing the Internet. Work text editor and included music. Two processor cores - and these are, in fact, two processors, will cope with different tasks faster than one. Two cores will make it somewhat faster. Four is even faster than two.

In the early years of the existence of multi-core technology, not all programs were able to work even with two processor cores. By 2014, the vast majority of applications are well aware of and able to take advantage of multiple cores. The speed of processing tasks on a dual-core processor is rarely doubled, but there is almost always a performance boost.

Therefore, the rooted myth that supposedly programs cannot use multiple cores is outdated information. Once upon a time it was true, today the situation has improved dramatically. The benefits of multiple cores are undeniable, that's a fact.

When the processor has fewer cores, it's better

You should not buy a processor with the wrong formula "the more cores, the better." This is not true. Firstly, 4, 6 and 8-core processors are noticeably more expensive than their dual-core counterparts. A significant increase in price is not always justified in terms of performance. For example, if an 8-core processor is only 10% faster than a CPU with fewer cores, but will be 2 times more expensive, then such a purchase is difficult to justify.

Secondly, the more cores a processor has, the more “gluttonous” it is in terms of power consumption. It makes no sense to buy a much more expensive laptop with a 4-core (8-thread) Core i7 if this laptop will only process text files, browse the Internet and so on. There will be no difference with the dual-core (4 threads) Core i5, and the classic Core i3 with only two computing threads will not yield to the more eminent "colleague". And from a battery, such a powerful laptop will work much less than an economical and undemanding Core i3.

Multi-core processors in mobile phones and tablets

The fashion for several computing cores within one processor also applies to mobile devices. Smartphones, along with tablets with a large number of cores, almost never use the full capabilities of their microprocessors. Dual-core mobile computers sometimes really work a little faster, but 4, and even more so 8 cores, are overkill. The battery is consumed completely godlessly, and powerful computing devices are simply idle. The conclusion is that multi-core processors in phones, smartphones and tablets are just a tribute to marketing, and not an urgent need. Computers are more demanding devices than phones. They really need two processor cores. Four won't hurt. 6 and 8 are overkill in normal tasks and even in games.

How to choose a multi-core processor and not make a mistake?

The practical part of today's article is relevant for 2014. It is unlikely that anything will change in the coming years. We will only talk about processors manufactured by Intel. Yes, AMD offers good solutions, but they are less popular, and it is more difficult to understand them.

Note that the table is based on 2012-2014 sample processors. Older samples have different characteristics. Also, we did not mention rare variants of the CPU, for example, the single-core Celeron (there are some even today, but this is an atypical variant that is almost not represented on the market). You should not choose processors solely by the number of cores inside them - there are others, more important characteristics. The table will only make it easier to choose a multi-core processor, but specific model(and there are dozens of them in each class) should be bought only after carefully familiarizing yourself with their parameters: frequency, heat dissipation, generation, cache size and other characteristics.

A brief summary of the article "The whole truth about multi-core processors." Instead of an outline

• Processor core- his component. In fact, an independent processor inside the case. A dual-core processor is two processors inside one.
• Multi-core comparable to the number of rooms in an apartment. Two-room apartments are better than one-room apartments, but only with other things being equal (location of the apartment, condition, area, ceiling height).
• The assertion that The more cores a processor has, the better it is.- a marketing ploy, a completely wrong rule. After all, an apartment is chosen not only by the number of rooms, but also by its location, renovation and other parameters. The same applies to several cores inside the processor.
• Exists "virtual" multi-core- Hyper-threading technology. Thanks to this technology, each "physical" core is divided into two "virtual" cores. It turns out that a 2-core processor with Hyper-Threading has only two real cores, but these processors simultaneously process 4 computational threads. This is a really useful feature, but a 4-thread processor cannot be considered a quad-core processor.
• For Intel desktop processors: Celeron - 2 cores and 2 threads. Pentium - 2 cores, 2 threads. Core i3 - 2 cores, 4 threads. Core i5 - 4 cores, 4 threads. Core i7 - 4 cores, 8 threads. Notebook (mobile) CPU Intel have a different number of cores/threads.
• For mobile computers efficiency in power consumption (in practice, battery life) is often more important than the number of cores.

When you're buying a new laptop or building a computer, the processor is the most important decision. But there's a lot of jargon in there, especially when it comes to kernels. Which processor to choose: dual-core, quad-core, six-core or eight-core. Read the article to understand what it really means.

Dual core or quad core, as easy as possible

Let's keep things simple. Here's everything you need to know:

• There is only one processor chip. This chip can have one, two, four, six or eight cores.
• An 18-core processor is currently the best you can get in a consumer PC.
• Each "core" is part of a chip that does the processing. Essentially, each core is central processing unit(CPU).

Speed

Now simple logic dictates that more cores will make your processor faster overall. But it is not always the case. It's a little more difficult.

More cores give more speed only if the program can divide its tasks between cores. Not all programs are designed to split tasks between cores. More on this later.

The clock speed of each core is also a deciding factor in speed, as is the architecture. A newer dual-core processor with a higher clock speed often outperforms an older quad-core processor with a lower clock speed.

Power consumption

More cores also result in higher power consumption by the processor. When the processor is turned on, it supplies power to all the cores, not just the ones that are used.

Chip manufacturers are trying to reduce power consumption and make processors more energy efficient. But, general rule states that a quad-core processor will draw more power from your laptop than a dual-core one (and therefore drain your battery faster).

Heat generation

Each core affects the heat generated by the processor. And again, as a general rule, more cores result in a higher temperature.

Because of this extra heat, manufacturers must add better heatsinks or other cooling solutions.

Price

More cores are not always more expensive. As we said earlier, clock speed, architectural versions, and other considerations come into play.

But if all other factors are the same, then more cores will fetch a higher price.

All about software

Here's a little secret that processor manufacturers don't want you to know. It's not about how many cores you use, it's about which software you use on them.

Programs must be specially designed to take advantage of multiple processors. Such "multi-threaded software" is not as common as you might think.

It is important to note that even if it is a multi-threaded program, what it is used for is also important. For example, the Google Chrome web browser supports multiple processes as well as Adobe Premier Pro video editing software.

Adobe Premier Pro offers different engines to work on different aspects of your editing. Given the many layers involved in video editing, this makes sense since each core can work on a separate task.

Similarly, Google Chrome offers different cores to work in different tabs. But therein lies the problem. Once you open a web page in a tab, it is usually static after that. No need for further processing; the rest of the work is to store the page in RAM. This means that even if the kernel can be used to bookmark the background, there is no need for it.

This Google Chrome example is an illustration of how even multi-threaded software can fail to give you a big real performance boost.

Two cores do not double the speed

So let's say you have the right software and all your other hardware is the same. Will a quad-core processor be twice as fast as a dual-core processor? No.

The increase in nuclei does not affect software problem scaling. Core scaling is the theoretical ability of any software to assign the right tasks to the right cores, so each core computes at optimal speed. This is not what is actually happening.

In reality, tasks are split sequentially (which is what most multithreaded programs do) or randomly. For example, let's say you need to complete three tasks to complete an activity and you have five such activities. The software tells core 1 to solve problem 1, while core 2 solves second, core 3 solves third; meanwhile, core 4 is idle.

If the third task is the hardest and longest, then it would make sense for the software to split the third task between cores 3 and 4. But that's not what it does. Instead, although cores 1 and 2 will complete the task faster, the action will have to wait for core 3 to complete and then compute the results of cores 1, 2, and 3 together.

This is all a roundabout way of saying that software, as it is today, is not optimized to take full advantage of multiple cores. And doubling the cores is not the same as doubling the speed.

Where more cores will really help?

Now that you know what cores do and their performance limitations, you should be asking yourself, "Do I need more cores?" Well, it depends on what you plan to do with them.

If you often play computer games, then more cores on your PC will definitely come in handy. The vast majority of new popular games from major studios support multi-threaded architecture. Video gaming still depends heavily on what kind of graphics card you have, but a multi-core processor helps too.

For any professional who works with video or audio programs, more cores would be helpful. Most popular audio and video editing tools use multi-threaded processing.

Photoshop and design

If you are a designer, a higher clock speed and more CPU cache will increase speed better than more cores. Even the most popular design software, Adobe Photoshop, supports single-threaded or slightly threaded processes to a large extent. Many cores will not be a significant incentive for this.

Faster web browsing

As we said, having more cores doesn't mean faster web browsing. While all modern browsers support multiprocessor architectures, kernels will only help if your background tabs are sites that require a lot of processing power.

office tasks

All major Office applications single-threaded, so a quad-core processor won't speed up.

Do you need more cores?

In general, a quad-core processor will perform faster than a dual-core processor for general computing. Each program you open will run on its own kernel, so if tasks are separated, speeds will be better. If you use a lot of programs at the same time, switch between them often and assign them your own tasks, choose a processor with more cores.

Just know this: overall performance systems is one area where there are too many factors. Don't expect magical performance gains by replacing just one component, even the CPU.

IntroductionIntel has long established itself as the world's fastest desktop processor. And if you can argue about which processes for computers of the middle and lower price category should be recognized as the most optimal choice today, there is not even a hint of a choice in the upper price category. Intel Core i7 is a family of processors that AMD cannot offer worthy alternatives. At least in this moment, when the release of the six-core Phenom II, also known under the code name Thuban, is still a few weeks away. At the same time, we can say that the existing quad-core Phenom II processors are more profitable: they are inferior in performance to Core i7 by only a couple of tens of percent, and at the same time they cost several times cheaper, but this does not change the state of affairs. The most demanding enthusiasts are willing to overpay for high performance, which is why Core i7 processors are quite popular.

Even in the absence of direct competition, this consumer interest in powerful and expensive processors is pushing Intel to continue to improve its expensive products, which increase clock speeds, acquire microarchitectural improvements, and even get more cores. The protagonist of this article is the recently announced member of the Core i7 family, which became the first desktop processor to receive six processing cores.

However, it should be understood that the appearance of a six-core model in the Core i7 line is far from the beginning of a six-core revolution. Today, Intel is ready to offer the only such Core i7-980X processor belonging to the series Extreme Edition. And this means that so far a six-core CPU is a kind of demonstration product that will be interesting from a practical point of view only for the wealthiest enthusiasts who are ready to pay about a thousand dollars for a processor alone. Moreover, this state of affairs will last at least until the fall, when, in addition to the Core i7-980X, another, not so expensive model of such a processor can be released. However, the general situation will not change because of this - the mass arrival of products with more than four cores on the market will have to wait for a very, very long time. At least when it comes to processors from Intel. Of course, AMD can make certain adjustments to the situation with the “publicly available six-core system”, which is going to start selling processors with six computing cores of the middle price category in the near future, but so far we have not had the opportunity to get acquainted with these products in practice, and therefore we will postpone the conclusions to a more convenient occasion.

For us, familiarity with the Core i7-980X is more interesting for another reason. This processor is based on the new Gulftown semiconductor chip, which combines six processing cores and a 12-megabyte cache in the third level. The implementation of all these nodes in a monolithic silicon chip became possible thanks to the use of a technological process with production standards of 32 nm. The same process is partially used in the manufacture of processors of the Clarkdale family, but the Core i7-980X is the first product for which the most modern process technology is used from beginning to end. Thus, it is on the Core i7-980X that the evolution of the Nehalem microarchitecture should be fully traced. The recently announced Core i5 and Core i3 processors turned out to be a very bad example in this regard. The distribution of processor units across two semiconductor chips, one of which is produced using a 45 nm process technology, has led to the emergence of additional "bottlenecks" that have made a negative contribution to the consumer qualities of the final products.

In other words, the Core i7-980X is what Intel engineers are capable of at the moment when combining an advanced process technology with the most modern microarchitecture option. And it is from this rather theoretical point of view that Gulftown is interesting. In practice, such processors in the foreseeable future will be available only in the most expensive computers, and they will definitely not fall into the mass market segment this year. And for 2011, no cheaper versions of Gulftown are planned, since Intel is going to immediately move on to the implementation of the next generation of microarchitecture, Sandy Bridge.

Core i7-980X Extreme Edition in detail

L3 cache and memory subsystem

Core i7-980X (Gulftown)



Core i7-975 (Bloomfield)

Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading Technologies

How We Tested

Processors:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 (Deneb, 3.4 GHz, 4 x 512 KB L2, 6 MB L3);
Intel Core i7-980X (Gulftown, 3.33 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2, 12 MB L3);
Intel Core i7-975 (Bloomfield, 3.33 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2, 8 MB L3);
Intel Core i7-870 (Lynnfield, 2.93 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2, 8 MB L3).

Motherboards:

ASUS P7P55D Premium (LGA1156, Intel P55 Express);
Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P (Socket AM3, AMD 790FX + SB750, DDR3 SDRAM);
Gigabyte X58A-UD5 (LGA1366, Intel X58 Express).

Memory:

2 x 2 GB, DDR3-1600 SDRAM, 9-9-9-24 (Kingston KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX);
3 x 2 GB, DDR3-1600 SDRAM, 9-9-9-24 (Crucial BL3KIT25664TG1608);

Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5870.
HDD: western digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS.
Power supply: Tagan TG880-U33II (880 W).
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64.
Drivers:

Intel Chipset Driver 9.1.1.1025;
ATI Catalyst 10.3 Display Driver.

Performance

power usage

Overclocking

conclusions

Other materials on this topic

Power consumption of overclocked processors
Dual-core processors for LGA1156: Core i5-661, Core i3-540 and Pentium G6950
Processor dependence of ATI Radeon HD 5870 and CrossFireX

Intel, in order to remain the leader of the processor market, steadily continues to follow its "Tick-Tock" concept, approximately every two years transferring production to a new, thinner process technology ("Tick"), and a year later introducing a new architecture, which is released using already of the mastered technical process ("So"). So, just over a year ago, the Nehalem architecture for desktop processors was introduced to the world, the most powerful and expensive of which use the 45 nm Bloomfield core. And now it's time to transfer the production of "top" processors to a new technical process, which, by the way, has already been successfully tested on mass processors with the Clarkdale core presented for the New Year. However, in these models with a built-in graphics core, only the computing part was produced according to 32 nm standards, and you need to master the technical process in order to produce full-fledged processors.

And so, transferring the release of processors with the Nehalem architecture to the 32 nm process technology, Intel decided not only to repeat the same thing, but with a smaller size of elements and increase the operating frequency, as was usually the case before. This time, the updated processor received noticeable architectural changes - it became six-core. Of course, the Nehalem architecture itself has hardly changed, but the new processors, code-named Gulftown, include two more, in fact, the same computing cores as in Bloomfield.

In parallel with the increase in the number of cores, the volume of third-level cache memory has also been increased by one and a half times, which is now 12 MB. Moreover, the L3 cache memory still works according to the Smart Cache technology, i.e. is integral and can be distributed dynamically between the cores depending on their needs, up to the fact that it will be captured by one of the most loaded computing core.

But one small expansion of capabilities was also made - finally, for the "top" processors, support for instructions for accelerating the AES encryption algorithm was implemented, which have been implemented in mass dual-core processors with the Clarkdale core for half a year. Otherwise, the Gulftown core is exactly the same as Bloomfield, the features of which are described in more detail in the review of the Intel Core i7-920 processor, even the built-in three-channel memory controller officially supports only DDR3-1066 modules. Naturally, the new processors based on the Gulftown core use exactly the same Intel LGA 1366 processor socket, communicate with the system using the QPI bus, support the same set of proprietary technologies and can be installed in motherboards based on the Intel X58 Express chipset (the main thing is not to forget to update BIOS).

However, while speaking about the new processors based on the Gulftown core in the plural, we mean only one model, which has a very high cost and is intended for enthusiasts. More affordable mass models will appear later. Well, while waiting for not so expensive six-core processors to appear, let's study the possibilities of the technical process transferred to 32 nm, the expanded and slightly updated Nehalem architecture.

Our test lab received an engineering sample of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor in a box without printing, although the package dimensions themselves fully correspond to the retail version. Moreover, in terms of dimensions, this box has become almost twice as large as the package. previous models processors of the Core i7-900 series. The thing is that now the corresponding cooler is attached to the "top" processor.

Finally, Intel went to meet buyers of very expensive processors of the Extreme Edition series, immediately offering them a good proprietary cooling system - Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution. We will definitely take a closer look at this cooling system and explore its capabilities. In addition to the processor and cooler inside the box, the buyer will have to find a user manual, warranty certificates and a branded sticker.

Let's move on to the consideration of the technical characteristics of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor.

Specification:

Studying the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition specification, it is interesting to note that during the transition to a new technical process, an increase in operating frequencies was not provided either, because. the previous most “top-end” Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition processor operates at exactly the same nominal frequency of 3.33 GHz. This is probably why the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition has only a slightly larger model number.

Also note that, unlike conventional (non-extreme) processors of the Intel Core i7-900 series, the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, like all Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition, uses a faster QPI bus mode - 6.4 GT/s instead of 4.8 GT/s, which should slightly speed up the communication with the system.

The heat spreader cover of a retail processor, unlike an unremarkable engineering sample, will have to indicate the model, sSpec number, country of manufacture, as well as technical information:

• frequency - 3.33 GHz;
• L3 cache size - 12 MB;
• QPI bus clock rate - 6.4 GT / s;
• compatibility requirements - PCG (Platform Compatibility Guide) 08.

As expected, the number and arrangement of matching elements on the back of the processor is fundamentally different from other models of the Intel Core i7-900 family.

Having finished with the external inspection of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, let's take a look at it, so to speak, from the inside, using the CPU-Z information utility.

As you can see, the utility quite correctly visualizes the declared technical characteristics and shows some other interesting details. In addition to the increased number of computing cores up to 6, and thanks to the support of Hyper-Threading technology with the ability to simultaneously execute up to 12 program threads, the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor has a 1.5-fold increase in the amount of third-level cache memory - up to 12 MB. It is very interesting to look at the organization of this extended cache.

Unfortunately, the architecture of the L3 cache has not changed - all the same 16 association lines of 64 bytes, as in models with 8 MB. In this case, theoretically, a 50% increase in cache memory led to its slowdown by 33%, with other parameters unchanged. In addition, in order to reduce the power consumption of the processor, and it remained in the thermal package up to 130 W, the operating frequency and supply voltage for the Uncore logic, including the built-in memory controller, were slightly reduced. Let's say right away that low-level synthetic tests perfectly capture the increase in latency of the third level cache and random access memory, but it is much more interesting to see in more practical and universal tests how critical such a slight slowdown in memory and cache memory is with a noticeable increase in the volume of the latter, as well as the addition of two more computing cores to the processor. We will try to uncover this question in the testing process.

We should also mention the operation of the processor's memory controller: officially, it only supports three-channel DDR3 memory modules at frequencies up to 1066 MHz. The situation did not change even the kernel update. However, it is not documented that you can use the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor in conjunction with DDR3 memory modules of increased frequency starting from DDR3-1333 and, thanks to the free divider, up to probably the fastest DDR3-2533 to date. We could not verify the latter, but the modules available in the test lab started up without problems at an effective frequency of 1866 MHz.

Finishing the story about the declared capabilities of the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, we should recall the support for the following proprietary technologies from Intel:

Enhanced Halt State (C1E) turns off some blocks of the processor during its inactivity, thereby reducing power consumption and heat dissipation;

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology allows you to reduce the supply voltage and clock speed during low processor load;

Execute Disable Bit - support for a hardware-software buffer overflow protection mechanism, a mechanism used by many malicious programs to damage or penetrate the system;

Intel Virtualization Technology enables virtual machines gain access to hardware resources;

Hyper-Threading Technology - each core of the Intel Core i7 processor supports the simultaneous execution of two program threads;

Intel Turbo Boost Technology - allows you to increase the processor multiplier depending on the load, in fact, it is a dynamic overclocking function, but without a noticeable increase in power consumption, which is limited by the declared thermal package, and heat dissipation.

When testing, the Bench for testing Processors No. 1 was used

As you can see, the six-core processor, running at 3.33 GHz, confidently outperforms all the models we have previously tested. But whether you can experience this increase in performance will greatly depend on the tasks you perform. So, in mathematical, some multimedia packages and applications for 3D modeling you can get noticeable acceleration. But in the vast majority of computer games, using a six-core processor will be of little use, although it will be quite painless to run some demanding application in parallel with the game, for example, video transcoding or a full antivirus scan.

The real value of six cores: Bloomfield vs. gulftown

When testing the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor at the nominal frequency, we, unfortunately, could not unequivocally and fully answer how much a six-core processor with an increased L3 cache memory outperforms a quad-core processor with almost the same architecture, because the compared models worked at different clock frequencies. But taking into account that older models with four and six cores operate at the same frequency, it is quite likely that more affordable models based on the Gulftown core expected in the near future will compete with solutions based on the Bloomfield core of equal frequency. To test this, we slowed down the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor to the frequency of the Intel Core i7-950 that we had in our test lab.

After running a series of standard tests, we got the following result:

Performance in various applications depends on many parameters, including the features of the applied algorithms, as well as optimization for multi-threaded execution. This is probably why we recorded a serious spread of values ​​- from a small negative result, most likely due to poor optimization for execution on multi-core processors and a large dependence on the speed of the cache memory and RAM, to a fairly impressive increase in performance almost reaching theoretical +50% due to well-implemented algorithm with support for parallel computing. But on average, the core of Gulftown turned out to be faster than Bloomfield by only ≈12%. This is exactly the kind of system acceleration that average users who upgrade from a quad-core processor to a six-core processor will experience in the near future, although in the professional field the effect of replacing the processor will be much greater.

Using faster RAM

We have already established that a six-core processor will not always provide a noticeable acceleration in task execution, and some slowdown in the third-level cache and the integrated memory controller are partly to blame for this. On the other hand, at least with the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, you can install fairly fast memory modules in the system that outperform the "standard" DDR3-1333 in speed.

We have already shown above that in practice the system worked stably with DDR3-1866, although such and faster modules are much more expensive than DDR3-1333. That's why we didn't start experimenting with unequivocally overclocking frequencies for memory modules, but limited ourselves to 1600 MHz, which is used by more affordable and common modules, sometimes even without heatsinks. After all, DDR3-1600, as we think, will be the most relevant in the near future, when affordable six-core processors appear on the market. But will this lead to a noticeable speedup of the system?

Judging by the results obtained, the use of faster DDR3-1600 modules in best case we should expect a performance increase of 5-7%, although on average it is 1-2%. Even if you use more expensive kits with aggressive timings, it will not change the situation much. Perhaps that is why officially only DDR3-1066 support is still declared for Intel Core i7 processors under LGA 1366. But, nevertheless, if mass six-core processors are able to work with memory modules faster than DDR3-1333 without overclocking, and the latter also have an affordable price, then they will provide a slight increase in performance.

How Intel Turbo Boost Technology Works

If the possibility of using fast memory modules is optional, and for mass models it is not yet guaranteed, then all Intel Core i7 processors will be endowed with Intel Turbo Boost technology. Recall that Intel Turbo Boost technology provides intelligent adjustment of processor performance to the needs of the user by slowing down unloaded cores and slightly accelerating the rest, without a noticeable increase in power consumption (without going beyond the thermal package). Thus, poorly parallelized tasks run a little faster. In addition, Intel Turbo Boost has an acceleration mode by increasing the multiplier by one step, i.e. at 133 MHz for all computing cores, which in any case guarantees some performance increase, the main thing is not to forget to activate Intel Turbo Boost in the BIOS.

For six-core processors, the acceleration formula began to look like 1/1/1/1/2/2. That is, when one or two cores are loaded, their frequency increases by 2x to 3.6 GHz, naturally with a slowdown in the rest, and in all other cases, the processor will become faster by 133 MHz. However, do not forget that in this case the processor will begin to consume a little more electricity.

Let's try to estimate how much acceleration the system will receive after enabling Intel Turbo Boost Technology.

Turning on Intel Turbo Boost is more effective than faster memory for most tasks, at no additional cost, and guaranteed for all processors.

In general, we can recommend leaving Intel Turbo Boost technology always enabled, because in idle mode, the core frequency and supply voltage will still decrease, and a slight increase in power consumption under load will not be a problem even if you use a “boxed” cooler. And in this case, thanks to the "boxed" Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution, you can try to get and nice results overclocking.

Overclocking Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition

Holding a processor with a free multiplier, such as the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, is the most simple and accessible way overclocking seems to be just an increase in the multiplier, although this is not the most optimal mode. We decided to try various options, but first we found out what result can be obtained if we simply increase the processor multiplier, naturally, ensuring stability at an increased frequency by slightly increasing the supply voltage.

In such a simple and convenient way, we managed to achieve stability from the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition with a x31 multiplier, i.e. at a frequency of 4125 MHz, which is almost 24% more than the nominal frequency. Unfortunately, it was not possible to force the processor to work with the x32 multiplier even at a higher core supply voltage. But even +24% should provide a noticeable acceleration of the system.

As you can see, in a number of tasks, the increase in system performance is almost directly proportional to the frequency of the processor, but in complex tasks, the acceleration is not so great and averaged only ≈13.5%. In general, such a result is quite expected, because. many resource-intensive applications are also dependent on other computer subsystems.

Therefore, we tried to achieve the same frequency of 4.12 GHz by increasing the reference frequency, which leads to acceleration of all buses and the memory controller built into the processor, as well as the memory modules themselves. Since in this situation not only the frequency of the computing cores, but also of all other nodes has increased, we can expect a noticeably greater increase in performance.

Now the performance increase can be seen in almost all tasks: the average increase in performance was 18.6%. Thus, it is quite obvious that the presence of a free multiplier only adds flexibility when overclocking.

The result of the comparison various ways overclocking will conclude that overclocking using a multiplier is the easiest and most affordable, but will be more acceptable when using not so expensive processors with a free multiplier, for example, Intel Core i5-655K or Intel Core i7-875K. But for a professional who wants to get the most out of overclocking a very expensive model, there is practically no use for a free multiplier, because. overclocking by increasing the frequency of the system bus and all associated components and components provides the greatest performance boost.

But during overclocking, the power consumption of the processor also changes, which must be taken into account:

Overclocking the processor by 26% significantly increased the power consumption of the processor, and hence its heat dissipation. We are pleased to note that we carried out all these experiments using the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler that comes with the processor.

Complete Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution

As has been mentioned more than once throughout the review, a feature of the configuration of the "top" six-core processor is the productive Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler on copper heat pipes. It is this cooling system that should make it possible to conduct experiments with overclocking this processor. This step is very important because Previously, "extreme" processors were equipped with ordinary unpretentious coolers, which the buyer of a rather expensive processor often simply threw away when buying a cooler worthy of the processor. Let's take a closer look at the design features of the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution and evaluate its effectiveness.

The Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler is based on four 6mm heatpipes that accelerate heat transfer from a copper base to a dense block of aluminum fins.

The heatpipes themselves are housed in deep grooves at the base, and the contact is improved with solder. In most cases, this design of the heat sink is the most optimal.

Moreover, to improve efficiency, the ribs are fixed using hot melt adhesive. This makes the design of the cooler sufficiently high quality and reliable.

However, the heatsink of the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooling system seems to be too dense, because. in it, rather wide plates with a thickness of 0.5 mm are planted with an indent of 1.0 mm. Such a design would require the fan being used to be able to generate a high enough static pressure for the system to be truly efficient. In addition, a small gap between the plates will contribute to the accumulation of dust there, which will reduce the efficiency of the cooler over time.

To ensure high performance, a 100mm F10T12MS2Z9 fan from NIDEC is installed on the heatsink, with nine translucent blades with a large attack angle, which can rotate at speeds up to 2600 rpm. Moreover, part of the air flow at the very bottom passes under the radiator, providing ventilation for the near-socket space.

The fan has a 4-pin power connector, i.e. Supports dynamic PWM speed control. But for precise setting of operating modes, the cooler has a switch between quiet and productive modes. In quiet mode, the fan spins up to 1800 rpm and creates a moderate noise level, not particularly highlighting the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution inside system block. In performance mode, the rotation speed can increase up to 2600 rpm and the cooler becomes very noisy.

The base of this "boxed" cooler is also very well processed - polished to a mirror state. But the shape of the base is not quite optimal - it is rectangular 31x37 mm. In our test system, the most Full contact the cooler with the processor was only in the case when the air was ejected towards the power supply, which was not entirely optimal.

To install the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler, a plastic thrust plate is used, i.e. fixing the cooling system without removing the motherboard from the system unit will not work. To facilitate the installation process, the frame has two sticky strips, with which it is simply glued to the motherboard, and during the process of screwing the cooler there is no need to hold the frame. The very same fixation of the cooling system is carried out using "stationary" screws with a large head. Thus, the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution cooler is installed quite simply and quickly even by hand, although to be sure of good pressure to the processor, it is advisable to finally fix it with a screwdriver.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution, we suggest comparing it under the same conditions (overclocking the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor to 4.1 GHz at a core voltage of 1.36 V) with several high-performance coolers: Scythe Kama Angle, Noctua NH -U12P , Noctua NH-U12P SE2, Noctua NH-U9B and Noctua NH-U9B SE2 .

In high performance mode, the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution delivers even better performance than some of the recognized cooling leaders. However, not everything is so rosy - the noise is noticeably higher than a comfortable level. But if you are experimenting with overclocking, then the Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution will help you with this and, most likely, you will not want to replace it. And for continuous operation, the overclocking level can be reduced and the cooler switched to quiet mode. Of course, he won’t become silent, but he won’t be so annoying either.

Outcome

Assessing the capabilities of the most productive desktop processor to date, the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, you begin to forget about its various features and nuances, because. the level of its performance, especially in well-optimized applications for multithreading, is impressive. And this is really a confident step into the future, since the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition is also one of the most complex processors today, which means that Intel has perfectly mastered the 32 nm process technology, and soon we can expect other processors to be transferred to it, which will turn out to be noticeable. more affordable and will have excellent overclocking potential. However, in order to increase the number of processing cores and the amount of cache memory in the third level, while remaining in the thermal package up to 130 W, we had to make some sacrifices - the latency of the cache memory increased and the speed of the integrated memory controller decreased, which may affect some non-optimized applications . This negative effect can be smoothed out only by enabling Intel Turbo Boost technology and using high-speed memory modules, and, of course, by overclocking. After all, the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor traditionally for the Extreme Edition series has a very high cost and is aimed at wealthy enthusiasts. Moreover, in this case, the effective "boxed" cooler Intel DBX-B Thermal Solution on heat pipes, which is an important addition to the Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, will help with the experiments.