pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

Multi-Core Processors

In October 1989, envisioning the future through the lens of Moore’s Law, four Intel technologists authored an article entitled Microprocessors Circa 2000 which predicted that multi-core processors could come to market soon after the turn of the century. Fifteen years later their predictions proved true, and multi-core processor capability development had become one of the top business and product initiatives for both Intel and rival chipmaker AMD.

Explained most simply, multi-core processor architecture entails silicon design engineers placing two or more processor-based computational engines within a single processor. This multi-core processor plugs directly into a single processor socket, but the operating system perceives each of its execution cores as a discrete logical processor with all the associated execution resources. This differs from Hyper-Threading technology, which computes with a single core using existing execution resources more efficiently to better enable threading.

By divvying up the computational work performed by a single microprocessor core in traditional microprocessors and spreading it over multiple execution cores, a multi-core processor can perform more work within a given clock cycle. To realise this performance gain, the software running on the platform must be written such that it can spread its workload across multiple execution cores. This functionality is called thread-level parallelism or threading. Applications and operating systems that are written to support it are referred to as threaded or multi-threaded.

A processor equipped with thread-level parallelism can execute completely separate threads of code. This can mean one thread running from an application and a second thread running from an operating system, or parallel threads running from within a single application. Thread-level parallelism is of particular benefit to many multimedia applications because many of their operations are capable of running in parallel.

When combined with Hyper-Threading, Intel dual-core processors will be able to process four software threads simultaneously by more efficiently using resources that otherwise may have remained idle:

Thread-level

The first Intel dual-core processor for desktop platforms, codenamed Smithfield and based on 90-nm process technology, debuted in 2005. The mainstream chip will be referred to as the Pentium D, and will be given a model number starting with 8. It will have Hyper-Threading disabled. The new dual core Pentium Extreme Edition will use the same numbering system as the Pentium D, and will differ only by having Hyper-Threading enabled.

  • Pentium Architecture
  • Pentium Pro
  • Pentium MMX Technology
  • Pentium II
  • Pentium SEC
  • Pentium “Deschutes
  • Pentium Xeon
  • Pentium III
  • Pentium Tualatin
  • Pentium 4
  • Pentium Northwood
  • Hyper-Threading Technology
  • Pentium Prescott
  • Pentium Processor Numbers
  • Multi-Core Processors
  • Pentium Smithfield
  • Pentium D
  • Pentium Roadmap

Filed Under: Pentium CPUs

Latest Articles

In-House Vs. Outsourced IT Services: Which Is Better for Your Business?

The technology that businesses use requires qualified and skilled IT personnel to ensure that it works as expected. For many businesses, choosing between hiring a full-time IT professional and outsourcing their IT services to an expert company like IT Support in London is not always so easy. In this … [Read More...]

Soundcard Consumer Info

The Sound Blaster Audigy card can also be connected to a variety of external consumer devices. Disabling and Uninstalling Soundcards How To Install a New Sound Card In Your PC Soundcard Optical Connections How To Connect Speaker Systems to Your Sound Card Connecting a Creative … [Read More...]

Hard Disk (hard drive) Operation

The disc platters are mounted on a single spindle that spins at a typical 10,000rpm. On EIDE and SCSI drives the disk controller is part of the drive itself. It controls the drive's servo-motors and translates the fluctuating voltages from the head into digital data for the CPU. Data is … [Read More...]

Gaming Laptop Security Guide: Protecting Your High-End Hardware Investment in 2025

Since Jacob took over PC Tech Guide, we’ve looked at how tech intersects with personal well-being and digital safety. Gaming laptops are now … [Read More...]

20 Cool Creative Commons Photographs About the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to have a huge impact on our lives. The market value for AI is estimated to have been worth $279.22 billion in 2024 and it … [Read More...]

13 Impressive Stats on the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to become much more important in our everyday lives. Many businesses are using it as well. While he has created a lot of … [Read More...]

Graphic Designers on Reddit Share their Views of AI

There are clearly a lot of positive things about AI. However, it is not a good thing for everyone. One of the things that many people are worried … [Read More...]

Redditors Talk About the Impact of AI on Freelance Writers

AI technology has had a huge impact on our lives. A 2023 survey by Pew Research found that 56% of people use AI at least once a day or once a week. … [Read More...]

11 Most Popular Books on Perl Programming

Perl is not the most popular programming language. It has only one million users, compared to 12 million that use Python. However, it has a lot of … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

SIMMs

Memory chips are generally packaged into small plastic or ceramic dual inline packages (DIPs) which are themselves … [Read More...]

Meeting the Agricultural Challenges of The Future with IoT

The Internet of Things is changing the future of many industries. One of the industries that will be most affected by the IoT is agriculture. It … [Read More...]

AMD Radeon R9 285 Graphics

The AMD Radeon R9 285, is the graphic card designed to meet the demand on maximum playing PC games better and faster like no other … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors