Benchmarks: Intel's first 45nm Penryn chip
Published: 11 Nov 2007
On 29 October 2007, Intel took the wraps off the first of its Penryn family of processors. The quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650, codenamed Yorkfield, replaces the QX6850 and will be available from 12 November. The new CPU runs at 3GHz and has a total of 12MB of Level 2 (L2) cache.
The Penryn architecture is a development of Intel's current Core technology. To complement the new QX9650 chip for high-end desktops, a quad-core server counterpart, codenamed Harpertown, is due to appear later this quarter. Compared with the previous generation of 65nm Core 2 processors, Penryn chips are manufactured with a 45-nanometre (nm) process.
Dual-core Penryn processors, which are codenamed Wolfdale, have 6MB of L2 cache (2 x 3MB); the quad-core Hapertown/Yorkfield chips are essentially two Wolfdale cores on the same package, and therefore have a larger 12MB (2 x 6MB) pool of L2 cache. The Penryn microarchitecture also offers more efficient execution and an upgrade to SSE4. The 47 new SSE4 instructions are mostly aimed at improving the performance of multimedia applications such as video compression. Although Intel offers quad-core Penryn processors for servers and desktops, notebooks will have to get along with dual-core chips for now.
Intel will announce further Penryn chips on 12 November. However, it's likely to take until the beginning of 2008 for most of these to become widely available.
Intel's first processor in the 45nm Penryn family (see table below) is a 3GHz quad-core desktop chip with 12MB of L2 cache, codenamed Yorkfield.
Intel's 45nm Penryn processors
| Server | Desktop | Mobile | |
| Name | Xeon | Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 | Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Duo |
| Quad core | Harpertown | Yorkfield | n/a |
| L2 cache | 2 x 6MB | 2 x 6MB | n/a |
| Dual core | Wolfdale | Wolfdale | Penryn |
| L2 cache | 2 x 3MB | 2 x 3MB | 2 x 3MB |
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Tech Guide Intel's new Penryn family of processors introduces a new 45nm fabrication process, along with a few architectural improvements. [12 Nov 2007]
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Review The CPU market is due for a lot of upheaval over the next 12 months, so you might be wise to wait for a clearer picture before plunking down $1000 or so on Intel's new Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad-core desktop processor. But if you want to claim ownership of the fastest multi-core CPU available today, look no further. [29 Oct 2007]
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