Design and Architecture of Intel's Core I7 Processor

 

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Volume 2 Issue X, October 2014  ISSN: 2321-9653

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)

Design Des ign and ar archi chitec tectur turee of Int Intel el s core i7 processor ’

Himanshi Grover1, Devesh Devesh Agraw Agrawal al2  Dronacharya College of Engineering, Farrukhnagar Farrukhnagar,, Gurgaon, India

I.

INTRODUCTION

The Intel Intel core i7-900 i7-900 de desktop sktop p proces rocessor sor ext extreme reme edition edition series series an and d Intel ccore ore i7-90 i7-900 0 desktop desktop proce processor ssor series are inten intended ded for high perform performance ance high   – end end desktop, uni- processor server and workstation systems. C Core ore i7 is the processor u using sing Nehalem microarchitecture. With faster, intelligent multi-core technology that applies processing power where it is needed the most the processor implements key new technologies:  A.   Integrated memory controller  B.   Point to point link interface based on quick ick path interconnection. C.   Intel qu Nehalem is the code name for the Intel processor microarchitecture, successor to core microarchitecture, the first processor released with the Nehalem architecture is the desktop core i7. The processor processor is optim optimized ized for perform performance ance with the power effici efficiencies encies of a low-pow low-power er micro archi architecture tecture to ena enable ble small smaller, er, quieter systems. The Intel core i7 deskt desktop op p proces rocessor sor extrem extremee eedition dition series are multi-c multi-core ore proces processors sors based on 4 45nm 5nm proces processs te technology chnology. The The processors supports all the existing streaming SIMD extensions 2(SSE2), streaming SIMD extensions3 (SSE3) and streaming SIMD extensions 4(SSE4). The T he processor supports several advanced technologies: execute disable bit, Intel 64 technology technology,, enhanced Intel speed step technology, Intel virtualization technology, Intel turbo boost technology and hyper- threading ttechnology echnology..  D. Features: 1) 2) 3)

Mo Modu dula larr des desig ign: n:   The core i7 p rocessors rocessor s have been designed designed to help Intel create differe different nt versions this mean meanss 8-core processors, 6-channel memory and larger cache processors Hyper thr threadin ing g return urns:   hyper threading threading is a technology technology that allows a singl singlee core toemulate two core coress by us using ing un unused used core hardware to run a separate thread. Inte Integr grat ated ed me memo mory ry con contr trol olle ler  r : Intel has placed all memory controlling hardware directly into the processor this means more bandwidth and lower latencies by passing the FSB. More memory is supported due to the triple channel.

Quic Quickk pa path th in inte terrcon onne nect ct:: the QPI is connection interface between processor and rest of the system. It runs independent of other modules modul es in th thee proce processor ssor it al also so transmits transmits and receives receives per clock clockss so henc hencee this module module iiss rated in transf transfers ers per ssecon econd d instead of frequency frequency.. 5) Turbo modes: The processor is able to self- overclock by changing the multiplier by two speed bins. It will self-overclock if the process proc essor or sen senses ses that that ther theree is eno enough ugh the therma rmall aand nd power power hea headroom droom to overclo overclock ck withou withoutt sstrai trainin ning g itse itself. lf. Usu Usually ally thi thiss happen hap penss when when there there are cor cores es in sleep sleep sta state te due to lack lack of multiple multiple th threa reads. ds. Th Thee PCU (power (power co contro ntroll unit unit)) is advanc advanced ed enough to know all this and will be very self-aware 6) Over Overcl cloc ocki kin ng: O v erclocking erclocking is the process process of forcing the computer computer component component to run at higher clock rate it was de designe signed d in order to increase the performance of the computers. 7) Support for SSE4.2 and SSE4.1 instruction sets:   SSE SSE4 4 is an ins instruc truction tion set us used ed in int intel el core core mic microa roarchi rchitect tecture ure it consists of 54 instructions referred to as SSE4.1 additionally SSE4.2 a subset consisting of 7 remaining instructions will first be available in core i7.

4)

 E.

Electrical specifications:

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The Northbridge Northbridge typically typically han handles dles ccommuni ommunication cationss among among the CPU, CPU, RAM, RAM, AGP or PCI expre express ss and the South Southbridge bridge some some Northbridge also contain integrated video controllers also known as graphic and memory controller memory hub (GMCH) in Intel systems. The Southbridge is the chip that implements the slower capabilities of motherboard because the Southbridge is further removed from the CPU it is given responsibility for slower devices on typical microcomputer.  E.

Thermal specifications

The processor requires a thermal solution to maintain temperatures within its operating limits. Any attempt to operate the processor outside these operating limits may result in permanent damage to the processor and potentially other components to the system. A complete solution includes both component and system level The processor processor imp implemen lementt a methodolog methodology y for managing managing processor processor tempe temperature raturess which is intended to sup support port aco acoustic ustic noise noise reduction through fan speed control and to assure processor reliability. Selection of appropriate fan speed is based on relative temperatures tempera tures data reported by proces processor sor’s digita digitall tem tempe perat ratur uree se sens nsor or (DTS) (DTS) th thee DTS ca can n be read us usin ing g the pla platfo tform rm environment control interface (PECI).the temperature reported over PECI is always a negative value and represent a delta below the onset of thermal control circuit (TCC). A single integer change in PECI value corresponds to approximately 1degree change in processor temperature. F.

Plat latfor form environmen ment control inter terfac face (PECI)

The platform environment control interface (PECI) is a one wire interface that provides a communication channel between the Intel processor processor and chipse chipsett components components to external monitoring devices. The proces processor sor implement implementss a PECI interface to allow communicatio commun ication n of proces processor sor thermal and other informat information ion to other devices on the platform. The processor processor provides a digital thermal sensor (DTS) for fan speed control. The DTS is calibrated at the factory to provide a digital representation of relative processor temperature; averaged DTS values are read using the PECI interface. The PECI physical layer is self-clocked one- wire bus that begins with each bit with a driven, rising edge from an ideal level near zero volts. volts. PECI PECI is largely largely a fault tolerant tolerant interface, interface, includi including ng noise immunity and error chec checking king improv improvements ements over other comparable industry standard interfaces the PECI will always respond to requests and protocol itself can be relied upon to detect any transmission failures. III. PURPOSE OF INTEL S I7 COR CORE E PROC PROCESSOR ESSOR ’

The core i7 processors series targets the gaming industry and for applications that demand efficient performance Core processor i7 is recommended for:  A.   multitasking, for running m multiple ultiple programs at sam samee time  B.   Multithreading applications C.   Extreme 3D gaming

 

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)  D.   Creati Creating ng profess professional ional movies movies and editing editing graphical graphical tasks  E.   More than enough for basic tasks such as word processing, internet browsing and E-mail. F.

In Insstru truction set 

An instruction set is the list of all the instructions, and all their variations that a processor can execute. A single instruction multiple data (SIMD) is one in which single instruction stream has ability to process multiple data streams simultaneously these machines are useful in applications such as general digital signal processing , image processing and multimedia applications such as audio and video. Originally, super computers known as array processors and vector processors provided SIMD processing capabilities. Intel’s core i7 implements the MMX, streaming SIMD extensions (SSE), streaming SIMD extensions 2 (SSE2), and streaming SIMD extensions 3 (SSE3), supplemental streaming SIMD extensions 3 (SSSE3), streaming SIMD extensions 4 (SSE4) instruction sets that are capable of processing multiple data elements in a single clock. The multiple data elements are stored in the floating point registers. regis ters. A multipl multiplee instru instruction, ction, multiple data (MIMD) machine is capable capable of is execu executing ting multiple multiple instru instruction ction stream streams, s, while working worki ng on a sseparate eparate and inde independe pendent nt data sstream, tream, the the instruction instruction set MMX is 64-bit instruction instruction set. set. The in instruct struction ion set SSE iiss 128-bit instruction set. instructions SSSE SSSE3 3

Su Supp pple leme menta ntall stre stream aming ing SIMD extensions 3 instructions

SSE4

Streaming SIMD extensions 4 instructions

Comparison between i3, i5 and i7 processor: G. Inte Intell co corre i3 proc proces esso sor  r 

This particular Intel processor is entry level processor of this new series of Intel processors. While it may not be the fastest one of  the bunch, it can get the job done, at least for more applications. Usess 4 thread threads: s: it use usess hy hyper per threadi threading ng tec techno hnology logy whi which ch is late latest st craze craze due to its improve improved d efficie efficiency ncy over over earl earlier ier 1)   Use processors that were put on the market. 2)   This processor consists of 2-4 cores depe depending nding on which on you get get y your our hands on. 3)   Contains a 3-4 MB cache. 4)   Uses less heat and ener energy gy than earlier proces processors, sors, which is always always a good thing in this day and age.  H. Intel core i5 processor 

This is the mid-size processor recommended for those who demand a little speed, but not quite enough where the user will be running resource intensive applications. 1)   As with the core i3 processor processor,, this comes comes with 2-4 cores cores,, the main difference difference is that it has has higher higher clock speed than the core i3. 2)   This is also a heat and ener energy gy efficient efficient proces processor sor,, but it does seem to be better at this particu particular lar job than the core i3 processor. 3)   The numb number er of threads iiss used in thi thiss is no different different than the core i3 with 2 2-4 -4 threads threads and it also uses th thee hyper threading threading technology for a boost in performance. 4)   The cach cachee of core i5 is bigger bigger than core i3 it is is at 3-8 MB. 5)   The core i5 iiss where the turbo mode is made made available, this provide users with with the opportunity to turn off a core if it is not being utilized.

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Volume 2 Issue X, October 2014  ISSN: 2321-9653

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)  I.

Intel core i7 processor 

This is for the users that demand power; it does provide more power and great for gamers and other resource intensive users. 1)   The cache on this one is 4-8 MB. 2)   This processor comes with 8 tthreads; hreads; definitely enough to get the job done quickly may be even at the speed of light if you you are lucky. 3)   It also utilizes utilizes the hyper hyper threading threading technology technology as well as tturbo urbo boos boostt techn technology ology 4)   It has 4 cores to take advanta advantage ge of this proces processor sor 5)   It is mo more re ener energy gy effi effici cien entt an and d produ produce cess le less ss he heat at

IV.  A. 1) 2) 3)

Name

Descript iptio ion n

MMX

MMX instructions

SSE

Streaming extensions instructions

SSE2

Streaming SIMD extensions 2 instructions

SSE3

Streaming extensions

SIMD SIMD (SSE)

SIMD 3

ADVANT NTAG AGES ES AND D DIISA SAD DVANTA TAGE GES S OF IINT NTEL EL S CORE I7 PRO PROCESSO CESSOR R ’

Advantages

this process processor or has has 8MB 8MB last last lleve evell cache cachess share shared d among among ffour our ccores ores thi thiss he helps lps to inc increa rease se ins instru tructio ction n Big cache size:   this execution speed. Very fast:   using the combination of intel turbo boost technology and Intel hyper threading technology processor speed becomes faster, it is very fast processor as compare to other processor. Better cooling systems:   A 4-pin conn connector ector is include included d for fan speed control to help minimiz minimizee the acoustic noise levels levels generated from running the fan at higher speeds for thermal performance. For cooling of processor it provides cooler running technology,, less heat and less noise, supplied with Intelreference heat-sink and fan as temperature increase speed of fan technology get become increase. B.  Disadvantages

1) 2)

disadvantage of this processor is its cost, it is an expensive expensive processor as compared to previous proces processor. sor. Its Cost:  the main disadvantage cost is over 15000 Rs. Po Powe werr co cons nsum umpt ptio ion n:   power cons consump ump ti tion on of core i7 processor is not better as compare with the core 2 duo processors. V.

CONCLUSIONS

We have finally got acquainted with the new core i7 processors, the first solutions on Nehalem microarchitecture targeted for desktop systems. This processor is brilliant for multiple stand points. It supports new interesting technologies, such as SMT and turbo boost technology, and has an integrated memory controller with unprecedented performance. In most applications except a few gaming gaming tit titles, les, the new proces processor sor turned out faster than core core 2 processor processor w working orking at the sam samee clock speed speed.. New core i7 are indisputably better in most aspects than core 2 quad processors of comparable price. Their performance is almost always higher which is especially especially eviden evidentt in case of multi- threaded load load.. Over-clocking Over-clocking in the Core i7 processors processors is also seems to be easie easier. r. Servers will also likely benefit greatly from using an i7 processor, the memory bandwidth is simply insane it is more energy efficient and produces less heat. The core i7 utilizes hyper-threading technology as well as turbo boost technology. Core i7 is the

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International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) first processor processor u using sing Nehal Nehalem em micro-archite micro-architecture cture,, with faste fasterr intelligen intelligent, t, multi multi-core -core techn technology ology that applies applies proces processing sing power where it is neede needed d most. New Intel core i7 delivers delivers an incredible incredible breakthrough breakthrough in PC perform performance. ance. REFERENCES [1]   http://w http://www ww.intel.com/content .intel.com/content/www/u /www/u s/en/processors/core/core-i7-900-ees/en/processors/core/core-i7-900-ee- and-desktop-processo and-desktop-processor-seriesr-series- datasheet-vol-2.html [2]   http://www http://www.intel.com/content .intel.com/content/www/u /www/u s/en/processors/core/core-i7-900-ees/en/processors/core/core-i7-900-ee- and-desktop-processo and-desktop-processor-seriesr-series- datasheet-vol-1.html [3] http://en.w http://en.wikipedia.org ikipedia.org/wiki/Inte /wiki/Intel_Co l_Co re_(microarchitecture) http://en.wikipedia.org ikipedia.org/wiki/Haswel /wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture) l_(microarchitecture) [4]   http://en.w [5] http://techrepo http://techreport.com/review/15 rt.com/review/15818/i 818/i ntel-core-i7-pro ntel-core-i7-processors cessors

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