Laptops today have more computing power than ever before. This is especially true now that Intel has released their new Core i5 and i7 800 series processors. In this article we'll take a closer look at these fast chips and the dream machines from Dell that include them.
This marks the first time Intel’s flagship CPU microarchitecture, which has been codenamed Nehalem, has trickled down and made its way into the mainstream. Nehalem first made its debut in desktop form utilizing the Core i7 line of processors. Since then, it has basically dominated the performance segment of the market.
Simply put, these are the fastest desktop processors currently on the market, and it seems as if consumers know it, because sales are through the roof. We’ll get to desktops in a moment, though. First, let’s find out more about these incredibly fast processors.
Codename: Lynnfield & Bloomfield
Both the Lynnfield and Bloomfield processors have special features that will greatly impact a user’s PC experience. But wait, what are the Lynnfield and Bloomfield processors? Just keep this in mind from here on out: Lynnfield refers to the new Core i5 and i7 processors that use dual channel memory. Bloomfield refers to the current Core i7 processors that use triple channel memory. Many in the blogosphere predicted that the Lynnfield processor would be far more popular than the Bloomfield because it’s thought to be the much faster, more capable processor, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Aside from the obvious physical differences between Lynnfield and Bloomfield (the Lynnfield is about a quarter inch smaller in size compared to the Bloomfield Core i7), they also have different features to offer the consumer. For example, Lynnfield features an on-die PCI express controller. This enables it to cut down on GPU communication latencies, which was a major design issue previously. It’s hard to say for sure this early in the game, but this feature may have been included for future support of video cards, though Intel’s remaining quiet on the issue.
According to Intel, here’s how their Lynnfield series of processors specifically break down:
Intel Core i7-800 processor series
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology delivers 8-threaded performance on 4 cores
Intel Turbo Boost Technology
8M Intel Smart Cache
Integrated Memory Controller with support for 2 channels of DDR3 1333 memory
PCI Express 2.0 discrete graphics flexibility for multiple graphics card configurations
Socket LGA 1156
Intel Core i5-700 processor series
Intel Turbo Boost Technology
8M Intel Smart Cache
Integrated Memory Controller with support for 2 channels of DDR3 1333 memory
PCI Express 2.0 discrete graphics flexibility for multiple graphics card configurations
Socket LGA 1156
Intel’s new processors are also accompanied by a new P55 Express chipset, which comes jam-packed with new changes and features. As previously mentioned, the new Core i5 and i7 processors are based on Nehalem and share similar cores, but Intel has also changed the integrated memory controller configuration, brought PCI Express connectivity on-die, and overhauled their Turbo Mode functionality to offer increased performance and speed, depending on the app being used.
So, what good are these processors to the average user? Chances are a majority of us aren’t going to replace our PC’s already-existing motherboard with a P55-based motherboard. We may, however, be interested in some new Dell desktops that utilize Intel’s processing power. Let’s take a look at the Studio XPS 8000 and 9000.
No comments:
Post a Comment