08/19/2008, 7:45pm, EDT
Tuesday, August 19thNext-Gen Intel Core i7 Processors get "Turbo Mode"
Intel's next-generation Core i7 Processors will include a new "Turbo Mode," that delivers a speed boost without a "heat penalty." Pat Gelsinger, Senior VP and General Manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group outlined the company's processor roadmap in his keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco Tuesday. He said the i7 chips will make its first appearance in desktop PCs and "energy-efficient high-performace server products," code-named "Nehalem-EP."
The roadmap then calls for production of the "Nehalem-EX" for the expandable server market, the "Havendale" and "Lynnefield" chips for desktops and the "Auburndale" and "Clarksfield" processors for mobile devices by the second-half of 2009.
According to Bit-Tech.net, Gelsinger said the Turbo Mode essentially increases the loaded processing core's clock speeds and voltages when at least one other core is idle. The idea is to improve performance without exceeding the processor's typical power consumption.
The next-generation processors will include Intel's "Hyper-Threading Technology" delivering up to 8-threaded performance capability on 4 cores. The company promises a three-fold increase in memory bandwidth thanks to the new "QuickPath" technology which connects processors with memory and chipsets. Intel says its new 6-core Xeon X7460 for expandable servers launching in September has already broken multiple performance world records.
"Our engineers have put together an incredible processing family here that will include a tremendous amount of new processor features all centered on delivering faster computer performance and terrific energy efficiency," Gelsinger said.
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Us old school
system builders remember the "Turbo" button on the old 386 and 486 PCs. Ohh, the days.
So...
is it the Xeon7460 the one that might make it into the next MacPro? As in a pair of 6 core chips for 12 core performance? And how does that chip relate to the various names, like "Lynnefield" and it's ilk?
AND will we finally get a standard MacPro config with 3.0G chips in it... you know, like the ones we were "promised" about a half dozen years ago?
l
The lack of accurate technical reporting on this site is getting really annoying...
The 6-core Xeon X7460 is NOT BASED ON THE NEHALEM ARCHITECTURE! It's the codenamed "Dunnington" CPU which is the last in the line of Core architecture-based Xeons coming out BEFORE Nehalem chips.
@Paulc
No, the 6-core "Dunnington" Xeon is for very high-end 4-16 socket servers, not workstations. The successor to "Dunnington" will be the 8-core Nehalem-based "Beckton" CPU.
The Next Mac Pro will have Nehalem-based 4-core chips (still using Xeon brand) codenamed "Gainestown".
After that, "Nehalem" gets shrunk down to 32nm, and called "Westmere". The "Westmere"-based Xeon for the Mac Pro will have 6-cores.