Intel Core (microarchitecture)

Intel Core (microarchitecture)

The Intel Core microarchitecture (previously known as the Next-Generation Micro-Architecture, or NGMA) is a multi-core processor microarchitecture unveiled by Intel in Q1 2006. It is based around an updated version of the Yonah core and could be considered the latest iteration of the P6 microarchitecture, which traces its history back to the Pentium Pro introduced in 1995. The high power consumption and heat intensity of NetBurst-based processors, the resulting inability to effectively increase clock speed, and other bottlenecks such as the inefficient pipeline were the primary reasons Intel abandoned the NetBurst microarchitecture. The Core microarchitecture was designed by Israel's Intel Israel (IDC) team that previously designed the Pentium M mobile processor.

The first processors that used this architecture were code-named Merom, Conroe, and Woodcrest; Merom is for mobile computing, Conroe is for desktop systems, and Woodcrest is for servers and workstations. While architecturally identical, the three processor lines differ in the socket used, bus speed, and power consumption. Mainstream Core-based processors are branded Pentium Dual-Core or Pentium and low end branded Celeron; server and workstation Core-based processors are branded Xeon, while desktop and mobile Core-based processors are branded as Core 2. Despite their names, processors sold as Core Solo/Core Duo and Core i3/i5/i7 do not actually use the Core microarchitecture and are based on the Enhanced Pentium M and newer Nehalem/Sandy Bridge microarchitectures, respectively.

Read more about Intel Core (microarchitecture):  Features, Roadmap, Technology, Processor Cores, Steppings, Chip Errata, Key Terms

Famous quotes containing the word core:

    True, there are architects so called in this country, and I have heard of one at least possessed with the idea of making architectural ornaments have a core of truth, a necessity, and hence a beauty, as if it were a revelation to him. All very well perhaps from his point of view, but only a little better than the common dilettantism.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)