ED#104 : Intel Reveals More Details On The Core i7 Processors

Earlier today, Intel talked to us about their upcoming Core i7 processors, which would be officially launched this month. They gave us some additional details on the processors as well as a look at its performance and overclockability. We also had the opportunity to see four Intel Core i7 systems in action.

As we mentioned in the article Intel's Desktop CPU Roadmap @ October, 2008, Intel will be launching three Core i7 SKUs - the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, Core i7-940 an Core i7-920. Here are their specifications :

Processor Codename Cores Threads Clock Speed QPI Speed QPI Width QPI Bandwidth L3 Cache TDP Core i7-965 Extreme Edition Bloomfield XE 4 8 3.20 GHz 6.4 GT/s 20-bits 25.6 GB/s 8 MB 130 W Core i7-940 Bloomfield 4 8 2.93 GHz 4.8 GT/s 20-bits 19.2 GB/s 8 MB 130 W Core i7-920 Bloomfield 4 8 2.66 GHz 4.8 GT/s 20-bits 19.2 GB/s 8 MB 130 W

For more specifications of the Intel Core i7 (and other Intel and non-Intel) processors, please take a look at the Desktop CPU Comparison Guide. Let's take a look at what we found out at the session.

Intel Turbo Mode Technology

As we covered in the BIOS Optimization Guide, the Intel Turbo Mode Technology is an Intel Core i7-specific feature. It is similar to the Intel Dynamic Acceleration feature that was introduced in the 4th-generation Intel Centrino Duo (Santa Rosa) mobile platform. However, there are some fundamental differences in the way it works.

When there are only two active threads, the Intel Core i7 will automatically ramp up two of its processing cores by one bin (133 MHz). When only one thread is active though, the Core i7 will ramp up the sole active processing core by two bins (266 MHz). If there are three or more threads, the Core i7 processor will not overclock any of its processing cores.

The two bin limit can be circumvented by the Core i7 Extreme Edition processor. Because it has unlocked multipliers, the Core i7 Extreme Edition processor can be set to "overclock" its processing cores to much higher clock speeds when there are only 1-2 threads running.

To even out the thermal output, the four cores will automatically rotate being the "active overclocked cores" when Intel Turbo Mode is active. The other 2-3 inactive cores will idle (while remaining at the full clock speed) to reduce thermal output.

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