Bloomfield (microprocessor) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bloomfield is the code name for Intel high-end desktop processors sold as Core i7-9xx and single-processor servers sold as Xeon 35xx., in almost identical configurations, replacing the earlier Yorkfield

Yorkfield (microprocessor)

Yorkfield is the code name for some Intel processors sold as Core 2 Quad and Xeon.In Intel's Tick-Tock cycle, the 2007/2008 "Tick" was Penryn microarchitecture, the shrink of the Core microarchitecture to 45 nanometers as CPUID model 23, replacing Kentsfield, the previous model.Like its...

processors. The Bloomfield core is closely related to the dual-processor Gainestown, which has the same CPUID value of 0106Ax (family 6, model 26) and which uses the same socket. Bloomfield uses a different socket than the later Lynnfield

Lynnfield (microprocessor)

Lynnfield is the code name for a quad-core processor from Intel released in September 2009. It is sold in varying configurations as Core i5-7xx, Core i7-8xx or Xeon X34xx. Lynnfield uses the Nehalem microarchitecture and replaces the earlier Penryn based Yorkfield processor, using the same 45 nm...

and Clarksfield

Clarksfield (microprocessor)

Clarksfield is the code name for an Intel processor, initially sold as mobile Intel Core i7. It is closely related to the desktop Lynnfield processor, both use quad-core dies based on the 45 nm...

processors based on the same 45 nm Nehalem microarchitecture, even though some of these share the same Intel Core i7 brand.

Features

Bloomfield has many new features that represent significant changes from Yorkfield:

The new LGA 1366
Socket B
LGA 1366, also known as Socket B, is an Intel CPU socket. This socket supersedes Intel's LGA 775 in the high-end and performance desktop segments. It also replaces the server-oriented LGA 771 in the entry level and is superseded itself by LGA 2011. LGA stands for land grid array...

socket is incompatible with earlier processors.
On-die
Die (integrated circuit)
A die in the context of integrated circuits is a small block of semiconducting material, on which a given functional circuit is fabricated.Typically, integrated circuits are produced in large batches on a single wafer of electronic-grade silicon or other semiconductor through processes such as...

memory controller
Memory controller
The memory controller is a digital circuit which manages the flow of data going to and from the main memory. It can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip, such as on the die of a microprocessor...

: the memory is directly connected to the processor. It is called the uncore part and runs at a different clock (uncore clock) than the execution cores.
- Three channel memory: each channel can support up to two DDR3 DIMMs. Motherboards for Bloomfield generally have three, four (2, 1, 1), or six DIMM
  DIMM
  A DIMM or dual in-line memory module, comprises a series of dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits. These modules are mounted on a printed circuit board and designed for use in personal computers, workstations and servers...
  
  slots.
- Support for DDR3 memory only.
The front side bus
Front side bus
A front-side bus is a computer communication interface often used in computers during the 1990s and 2000s.It typically carries data between the central processing unit and a memory controller hub, known as the northbridge....

has been replaced by the Intel QuickPath Interconnect interface. Motherboards must use a chipset that supports QuickPath Interconnect.
The following caches:
- 32 kB
  Kilobyte
  The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
  
  L1 instruction and 32 kB L1 data cache per core
- 256 kB L2 cache (combined instruction and data) per core
- 8 MB L3 (combined instruction and data) "inclusive", shared by all cores
Single-die device: all four cores, the memory controller
Memory controller
The memory controller is a digital circuit which manages the flow of data going to and from the main memory. It can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip, such as on the die of a microprocessor...

, and all cache are on a single die, instead of a Multi-chip module
Multi-Chip Module
A multi-chip module is a specialized electronic package where multiple integrated circuits , semiconductor dies or other discrete components are packaged onto a unifying substrate, facilitating their use as a single component...

of two dual-core dies as in Yorkfield
"Turbo Boost" technology allows all active cores to intelligently clock themselves up in steps of 133 MHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

over the design clock rate as long as the CPU's predetermined thermal and electrical requirements are still met.
Re-implemented Hyper-threading
Hyper-threading
Hyper-threading is Intel's term for its simultaneous multithreading implementation in its Atom, Intel Core i3/i5/i7, Itanium, Pentium 4 and Xeon CPUs....

. Hyperthreading was introduced in the older NetBurst microarchitecture, but omitted from the subsequent Core, which was a descendant of the Pentium III family. With hyperthreading enabled, each of the four physical cores can process up to two threads simultaneously, so the processor appears to the OS as eight logical CPUs.
Only one QuickPath interface: not intended for multi-processor motherboards.
45 nm process technology.
731 million transistors.
263 mm² die size.
Sophisticated power management can place an unused core in a zero-power mode.
Support for SSE4.2
SSE4
SSE4 is a CPU instruction set used in the Intel Core microarchitecture and AMD K10 . It was announced on 27 September 2006 at the Fall 2006 Intel Developer Forum, with vague details in a white paper; more precise details of 47 instructions became available at the Spring 2007 Intel Developer Forum...

& SSE4.1
SSE4
SSE4 is a CPU instruction set used in the Intel Core microarchitecture and AMD K10 . It was announced on 27 September 2006 at the Fall 2006 Intel Developer Forum, with vague details in a white paper; more precise details of 47 instructions became available at the Spring 2007 Intel Developer Forum...

instruction sets.

Brand names

Brand name	Model (list)	Market	Clock frequency range	QuickPath Interface
Core i7	i7-9xx	Performance Desktop	2.66–3.20 GHz	1× 4.8 GT/s
Core i7	i7-9xx Extreme Edition	Extreme Desktop	3.2–3.33 GHz	1× 6.4 GT/s
Xeon Xeon The Xeon is a brand of multiprocessing- or multi-socket-capable x86 microprocessors from Intel Corporation targeted at the non-consumer server, workstation and embedded system markets.-Overview:...	W35xx	Server	2.4–3.2 GHz	4.8–6.4 GT/s

Processor cores

The clock rates listed here are as specified by Intel for normal mode. "Turbo boost" can increase the rate on active cores in steps of the base clock (133 MHz if not overclocked) up to a predetermined limit for short periods when required, which can be useful with single threaded applications.
The I7-965 XE and I7-975 XE have separate unlocked multipliers for memory and cores.
- Core clock above those in the table are not guaranteed by Intel. A CPU Clock Speed of 6.158 GHz has been achieved.
- Memory rates above those in the table are not guaranteed by Intel. Memory Speeds of DDR3-2133 have been achieved. Higher Rates have been Reported to have been achieved.
The processor has a Thermal Design Power
Thermal Design Power
The thermal design power , sometimes called thermal design point, refers to the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate. For example, a laptop's CPU cooling system may be designed for a 20 watt TDP, which means that it can dissipate up to 20 watts of heat...

of 130 W and will slow itself down if this power is exceeded. This feature can be disabled from an option in most of the new motherboards' BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....

.
Prices are Intel's wholesale prices for lots of 1,000 units in US$ at product launch.

Core i7 Model	nm Nanometre A nanometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre. The name combines the SI prefix nano- with the parent unit name metre .The nanometre is often used to express dimensions on the atomic scale: the diameter...	Cores (threads)	Clocks (GHz)			Clock multiplier		Price (US$)	Cache	Memory controller	QuickPath interface	Thermal design power	Socket	Release date
Core i7 Model		Cores (threads)	Core	Uncore Uncore The uncore is a term used by Intel to describe the functions of a microprocessor that are not in the Core, but which are essential for Core performance. The Core contains the components of the processor involved in executing instructions, including the ALU, FPU, L1 and L2 cache...	Base	Core	Uncore Uncore The uncore is a term used by Intel to describe the functions of a microprocessor that are not in the Core, but which are essential for Core performance. The Core contains the components of the processor involved in executing instructions, including the ALU, FPU, L1 and L2 cache...	Price (US$)	Cache	Memory controller	QuickPath interface	Thermal design power	Socket	Release date
i7-920	45 nm	4 (8)	2.66	2.13	0.133	20	16	284	256 kB L2/core 8 MB shared L3	3× DDR3-800/1,066 MT/s			LGA 1366	2008-11-17
i7-930			2.80			21		294						2010-02-28
i7-940			2.93			22		562						2008-11-17
i7-950			3.06			23								2009-06-03
i7-960			3.20			24								2009-10-18
i7-965 Extreme Edition			3.20	2.66		24	20	999			1× 6.4 GT/s			2008-11-17
i7-975 Extreme Edition			3.33	2.66		25	20	999			1× 6.4 GT/s			2009-06-03

Performance

The Inquirer managed to get a 965 engineering sample
Engineering sample (CPU)
Engineering samples are the beta versions of integrated circuits that are meant to be used for compatibility qualification or as demonstrators. They are usually loaned to OEM manufacturers prior to the chips commercial release to allow product development or display. Usually, they are picked out of...

to a core clock rate of up to 4 GHz with fan cooling and Turbo Boost.
IT OC Taiwan overclocked an engineering sample of the 965, to 4.20 GHz with a QPI rate of 200 MHz and a multiplier value of 21.0. A vCore setting of 1.72 V was used, which is far higher than the stock voltage of 1.25V and could have led to damaging the CPU or motherboard.
A Core i7 940 system running at stock clock rates has obtained a 3DMark Vantage benchmark CPU score of 17,966. A Core i7 920 system scored 16,294 running at stock clock rates. An Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770, a very expensive member of the previous generation of Intel processors (costing over four times the price of the 920 at its launch), scored 13,182 also running at stock clock rates.

AnandTech
AnandTech
AnandTech is an online computer hardware magazine. It was founded in 1997 by then 15-year-old Anand Lal Shimpi, who is the current editor-in-chief and CEO. The web site is recommended as a good resource of hardware reviews for off-the-shelf components addressed to computer building enthusiasts...

tested the Intel QuickPath Interconnect (4.8 GT/s version) and found the copy bandwidth using triple-channel 1,066 MHz DDR3 was 12.0 GB/s. A 3.0 GHz Core 2 Quad system using dual-channel 1066 MHz DDR3 achieved .

Maximum PC has discovered that Intel has unlocked the QPI clock and memory multipliers on retail 920s and 940s. This is allegedly due to consumer feedback.

Core i7-975 will have the new D0 Stepping. Tests made by X-bit labs shows that it has better energy efficiency and overclockability than C0 stepping.

The Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition was considered the world's fastest desktop processor (until the i7-980x) by a review from Hot Hardware. It runs at a clock rate of 3.33 GHz with Turbo Boost clock rates running the processor up 3.46 GHz with all four cores put at work and 3.6 GHz with a single core at work. The processor was overclocked to 4.1 GHz while keeping a 50 °C (122 °F) core temperature with the stock cooling unit.

Overclocking

The process of overclocking

Overclocking

Overclocking is the process of operating a computer component at a higher clock rate than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, but some manufacturers purposely underclock their components to improve battery life. Many people just overclock or 'rightclock' their hardware to...

the Bloomfield architecture is similar to that of the AMD architecture due to the on-die MCH. Over-clocking will be possible with the 900 series and a motherboard equipped with the X58

Intel X58

The Intel X58 is an Intel chip designed to connect Intel processors with Intel QuickPath Interconnect interface to peripheral devices. Supported processors implement the Nehalem microarchitecture and therefore have an integrated memory controller , so the X58 does not have a memory interface...

chipset. In early October 2008, reports surfaced that it will not be possible to use "performance" DDR3 DIMMs that require voltages higher than 1.65v, because the integrated memory controller

Memory controller

The memory controller is a digital circuit which manages the flow of data going to and from the main memory. It can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip, such as on the die of a microprocessor...

within the Core i7 will be damaged.

Bloomfield has three memory channels, and the channel bandwidth can be selected by setting the memory multiplier. However, in early benchmarks, when the clock rate is set higher than a threshold (1333 for the 965XE) the processor will only access two memory channels simultaneously. A 965XE has higher memory throughput with 3xDDR3-1333 than with 3xDDR3-1600, and 2xDDR3-1600 has almost identical throughput to 3xDDR3-1333.

Drawbacks

The Core i7 Bloomfield does not support error-correcting memory

ECC memory

Error-correcting code memory is a type of computer data storage that can detect and correct the more common kinds of internal data corruption...

. Some motherboards with an LGA 1366 socket support both Core i7 and the Xeon 35xx and 55xx series processors, and advertise support for ECC memory. However ECC functionality is only available if a Xeon is installed, not if a Core i7 is installed.

Product evolution

The Core i7 950 and the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition were introduced in March 2009 with prices similar to the prices for the 940 and 965 Extreme Edition, respectively, but with better performance in each case. Intel has scheduled the discontinuation of the 940 and 965XE for Q3 2009. Intel announced discontinuations in other older families at the same time.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Features

Brand names

Processor cores

Performance

Overclocking

Drawbacks

Product evolution

See also

External links