Intel Core 2

<< Intel Core 2 >>
	; Core 2 Duo E7500 "Wolfdale-3M"
Production:	2006 to 2008
Producer:	Intel
Processor clock:	1.06 GHz to 3.33 GHz
FSB cycle:	200 MHz to 400 MHz
L2 cache size:	1 MiB to 12 MiB
Manufacturing :	45 nm to 65 nm
Instruction set :	x86 (16 bit), x86-32, x86-64
Microarchitecture :	Intel Core microarchitecture
	Base: Socket 775 (LGA); Socket P (µPGA 478); Socket M (µPGA 478); Micro-FCBGA (µBGA 479);
	Names of the processor cores: 65 nm: Conroe, Allendale, Merom, Kentsfield; 45 nm: Wolfdale, Penryn, Penryn-QC, Yorkfield;

Old logo Intel Core 2 Duo
Old logo Intel Core 2 Quad
Old logo Intel Core 2 Extreme
Logo Intel Core 2 Duo
Logo Intel Core 2 Quad
Logo Intel Core 2 Extreme

The Intel Core 2 series is a family of 32/64-bit microprocessors for PCs and laptops. They are based on the Intel Core microarchitecture and represent the successors of the Pentium 4 , Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition CPUs in the desktop segment and the Pentium M and Core CPUs in the mobile segment As usual, Intel sells workstation and server versions of the Core 2 as the Intel Xeon .

At the end of 2008, the Core 2 series was supplemented and replaced by the Intel Core i series based on the Nehalem architecture .

Naming

The designation Intel Core 2 is independent of the number of processor cores in a processor. Rather, the “2” stands for the second generation in which the brand name “Core” is used (but not for the second generation of the Core microarchitecture , as the Intel Core is based on a heavily modified version of the P6 architecture and is therefore only a precursor of the new micro-architecture).

The variant for the mass market with two processor cores ( dual core processor ) is called Core 2 Duo, the four-core processor is called Core 2 Quad. The models for the high-end market carry the name Core 2 Extreme in the tradition of the Extreme Edition models of the Pentium 4 and Pentium D. For mobile computers there is also an economical variant with only one processor core, which was marketed as Core 2 Solo. All processors are given a four-digit model number, with the first classifying the series and the remaining three digits indicating the exact model.

prefix

A letter is placed in front of this model number (in rare cases two), which gives details about the power consumption in the mobile market. In the desktop market, the type of processor is classified by the letters (two-core or four-core processor, extreme models):

Leading letters (combinations)
DM	prefix	TDP		meaning
DM	prefix	Desktop	Mobile	meaning
Desktop	E.	≥ 55 W	-	Energy efficient dual core processors
Desktop & Mobile	X	75 W	44 W	E x treme performance , free multiplier
	Q	65 - 105 W.	45 W	Q uad core , quad core processors
	QX	130 - 150 W	45 W	Q uad-core E x treme Performance
Mobile	T	-	30-39 W.	High energy efficiency
	P	-	20-29 W.	High energy efficiency, p ower optimized
	L.	-	12-19 W.	High energy efficiency, significantly lowered voltage (formerly L ow Voltage or LV )
	U	-	≤ 11.9 W	Ultra high energy efficiency , particularly strongly reduced voltage, U ltra high energy efficient (formerly: U ltra Low Voltage or ULV )
	SP	-	20-29 W.	Small form factor for mobile systems in 22x22 BGA design, S mall package
	SL	-	12-19 W.
	SU	-	≤ 11.9 W

technology

In contrast to Intel's previous desktop and server processors based on the Intel NetBurst micro -architecture , the Core 2 relies on Intel's new, largely Pentium-M -based core micro-architecture . This differs from the NetBurst architecture in addition to the significantly lower electrical power consumption, above all because of the drastically shortened pipeline . Although this reduces the possible maximum frequency, the performance increases with the same clock frequency, so that the new processors perform about twice as much with the same clock frequency.

In addition to the shortened pipeline, these increases in performance are also due to various improvements to the processing units of the Core 2. The improved and partially newly introduced vector operations now only require one clock cycle - half as much as before - and using Macro-OP Fusion the command decoder can generate a single MAC function from addition and multiplication . According to Intel, every tenth command should benefit from the latter optimization on average.

In addition, the power-saving functions of the predecessors Pentium M and Intel Core were adopted. In addition to the dynamic adjustment of the clock and operating voltage, many parts of the CPU can be switched off when not in use in order to save energy. In connection with the generally lower power consumption of the new core microarchitecture, but also the lower clock rates, this makes the Core 2 one of the most energy-efficient processor developments ever when it appeared.

With new steppings , including M0, the power consumption in idle mode has been further reduced.

At the end of 2007, new processors in 45 nm production with a somewhat optimized architecture were introduced. By shrinking to 45 nm itself and changing the transistor design to high-k dielectric (based on a hafnium connection ) / metal gate , faster transistors with lower leakage current are also possible.

Processor cores

Conroe

Conroe is a dual core processor for the desktop manufactured using the 65 nm process and was the first representative of the new generation of processors. It has 4 MiB L2 cache . Models with only 2 MiB L2 cache (two more MiB then deactivated) were also sold, but the Allendale core has mainly been used for these variants since the end of 2006. Conroe processors operate with front-side bus clock rates of 200 to 333 MHz and are available with processor clock rates between 1.86 and 3.00 GHz.

Dual-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: 4096 KiB with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
All models support: MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit , IVT
Core 2 Duo models of the E6x50 series also support: TXT
Manufacturing technology: 65 nm
The size: 143 mm² with 291 million transistors
Models: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 to E6850

Allendale

Like Conroe, Allendale was manufactured using the 65 nm process, but only has a 2 MiB L2 cache. Thanks to the resulting smaller die area, Allendale was cheaper to manufacture than Conroe. Processors with an Allendale core had been available since the end of 2006 (the E6300 and E6400 models, which had been sold since mid-2006, were initially based on the Conroe), and they were manufactured and sold parallel to the Conroe processors. Core-2 processors with an Allendale core are operated with front-side bus clock rates of 200 or 266 MHz and achieve processor clock rates between 1.80 and 2.40 GHz. For higher clock rates, Intel also chose the Conroe for processors with only 2 MiB L2 cache.

Dual-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: 2048 KiB with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit
Core-2-Duo models of the E6xxx series also support: IVT
Manufacturing technology: 65 nm
The size: 111 mm² with 167 million transistors
Models: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 to E4600

Wolfdale

Wolfdale was manufactured in a 45 nm process. Compared to the Conroe, the SSE4 .1 command extension has been added and the architecture has been optimized so that the performance per cycle ( IPC ) is slightly higher compared to the Conroe. There are two versions of the Wolfdale based on different cores: Wolfdale C0 / E0 has a larger L2 cache of 6 MiB, Wolfdale M0 / R0 is only manufactured with 3 MiB L2 cache and therefore occupies around 25 percent less wafer area.

Dual-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: 6144 KiB or 3072 KiB with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
All models support: MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit
Core 2 Duo models of the E8x00 series (except E8190), the Core 2 Duo E7600 (partly also E7400, E7500), the Pentium E6x00 series and models of the Pentium E5x00 series from E5500 (partly also E5300, E5400) also support: IVT
Core 2 Duo models of the E8x00 series with the exception of the Core 2 Duo E8190 also support: TXT
Core 2 Duo models also support: SSE4.1
Manufacturing technology: 45 nm
The size: 107 mm² with 410 million transistors (C0, E0) or 82 mm² with 228 million transistors (M0, R0)
Models: Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 to E8600 and Pentium E5200 to E6800

Kentsfield

The code name Kentsfield designates a processor of the Core 2 family with four processor cores ( quad-core - multi -core processor ). Just like the corresponding Xeon version (code name Clovertown ), the Kentsfield is an amalgamation of two dual-core Dice (in this case Conroe ) in one CPU package . For this reason, the processor has twice an L2 cache with a size of 4 MiB each. This construction made the production of the processor easier and could be implemented more quickly than the development of a quad-core with four cores on one die.

Quad-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: two times 4096 KiB with processor clock
All models support: MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit , IVT
Manufacturing technology: 65 nm
The size: twice 143 mm² with 291 million transistors each
Models: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6300 to Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850

Yorkfield

The code name Yorkfield designates a processor of the Core 2 family with four processor cores ( quad-core - multi -core processor ). Yorkfield is a merger of two dual-core Dice (in this case Wolfdale ) in one CPU package . For this reason, the processor has twice an L2 cache with a size of 2, 3 or 6 MiB each. This construction made the production of the processor easier and could be implemented more quickly than the development of a quad-core with four cores on one die.

Quad-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: two times 6144 KiB with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
All models support: MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , SSE4.1 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit
All models except Q8200, Q8200s and some Q8300 additionally support: IVT
Core-2-Quad models of the Q9xx0 series also support: TXT
Manufacturing technology: 45 nm
The size: twice 107 mm² with 410 million transistors each (C0, C1, E0) or twice 82 mm² with 228 million transistors each (M1, R0)
Models: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 to Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775

Merom

Merom is a 65 nm dual core processor that is suitable for Socket M and Socket P. Merom has 4 MiB L2 cache, half of which is deactivated on some models. The core is closely related to the Conroe core that is used in the Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processors. It is noteworthy that the Merom is Intel's first mobile processor in which the 64-bit expansion AMD64 , which was taken over from AMD and is marketed by Intel as Intel 64 , was implemented. The Merom is sometimes also used as a single core processor (second core is deactivated).

Dual-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: 4096 KiB with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit , IVT
Manufacturing technology: 65 nm
The size: 143 mm² with 291 million transistors (B2, E1, G0) or 111 mm² with 167 million transistors (M0, L2)
Models : Core 2 Solo U2100 to U2200, Core 2 Duo L7200 to L7700 and Core 2 Duo T5200 (without IVT) to T7800

Penryn

Penryn is a 45 nm dual core processor based on the microarchitecture of the same name . The Penryn is the mobile version of the Wolfdale, which, compared to its predecessor Merom, has larger caches, improved power-saving technologies thanks to a new transistor structure ( high-k + metal gate technology ) and also a higher output per cycle ( IPC ). The Penryn is sometimes used as a single core processor (second core is deactivated), but under the code name Penryn-QC also as a four-core processor.

Dual-core processor
L1 cache: 32 + 32 KiB per core (data + instructions)
L2 cache: 6144 KiB for C0, E0 or 3072 KiB for M0, R0 with processor clock (not fully activated on some models)
MMX , SSE , SSE2 , SSE3 , SSSE3 , SSE4.1 , Intel 64 , EIST , XD-Bit , IVT (not for all models)
Manufacturing technology: 45 nm
The size: 107 mm² with 410 million transistors (C0, E0) or 82 mm² with 228 million transistors (M0, R0)
Models : Core 2 Duo SU7300 to SU9600, Core 2 Duo SL9300 to SL9600, Core 2 Solo SU3300 to SU3500, Core 2 Duo P7350 to P9700, Core 2 Duo T6400 to T9900, Core 2 Duo U7500 to U7600, Core 2 Extreme X9000 to X9100

Penryn QC

Quadcore based on the Penryn. August 2008.

Core 2 Quad Q9000, Q9100 and Core 2 Extreme QX9300

Models

Web links

Commons : Intel Core 2 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Intel Core 2 Duo product page. Intel
Comprehensive test of Core 2 processors. computerbase.de
Learn About Intel Core Processor Numbers. Intel
Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile Processors for Embedded Computing Specifications. Intel
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor SU7300. Intel
Intel Core 2 Quad Desktop Processor For Embedded Computing Specifications. Intel
Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Family. Intel

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Information on Intel processor numbers, www.intel.de
↑ Intel: M0 stepping makes Core 2 more economical. ComputerBase, May 19, 2007
↑ Specifications: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300 (4M Cache, 2.50 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB). In: intel.com , accessed April 30, 2015.

[Intel_Prozessornummern-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Information on Intel processor numbers, www.intel.de

[2] Intel: M0 stepping makes Core 2 more economical. ComputerBase, May 19, 2007

[3] Specifications: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300 (4M Cache, 2.50 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB). In: intel.com , accessed April 30, 2015.

<< Intel Core 2 >>
Core 2 Duo E7500 "Wolfdale-3M"
Production:	2006 to 2008
Producer:	Intel
Processor clock:	1.06 GHz to 3.33 GHz
FSB cycle:	200 MHz to 400 MHz
L2 cache size:	1 MiB to 12 MiB
Manufacturing :	45 nm to 65 nm
Instruction set :	x86 (16 bit), x86-32, x86-64
Microarchitecture :	Intel Core microarchitecture
Base: Socket 775 (LGA) Socket P (µPGA 478) Socket M (µPGA 478) Micro-FCBGA (µBGA 479)
Names of the processor cores: 65 nm: Conroe, Allendale, Merom, Kentsfield 45 nm: Wolfdale, Penryn, Penryn-QC, Yorkfield