IntelCore108108

Intel Core

Intel Core is a line of mid-to-high end consumer, workstation, and enthusiast central processing units (CPU) marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors displaced the existing mid-to-high end Pentium processors of the time, moving the Pentium to the entry level, and bumping the Celeron series of processors to low end. Identical or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server and workstation markets. As of June 2017, the lineup of Core processors included the Intel Core i9, Intel Core i7, Intel Core i5, and Intel Core i3, along with the Y - Series Intel Core CPUs. In early 2018, news reports indicated that security flaws, referred to as "Meltdown" and "Specter", were found "in virtually all Intel processors [made in the past two decades] that will require fixes within Windows, macOS and Linux". The flaw also affected cloud servers. At the time, Intel was not commenting on this issue. According to a New York Times report, "There is no easy fix for Specter ... as for Melt down, the software patch needed to fix the issue could slow down computers by as much as 30 percent". In mid 2018, the majority of Intel Core processors were found to possess a defect (the Foreshadow vulnerability), which undermines the Software Guard Extensions (SGX) feature of the processor. Although Intel Core is a brand that promises no internal consistency or continuity, the processors within this family have been, for the most part, broadly similar. The first products receiving this designation were the Core Solo and Core Duo Yonah processors for mobile from the Pentium M design tree, fabricated at 65 nm and brought to market in January 2006. These are substantially different in design than the rest of the Intel Core product group, having derived from the Pentium Pro lineage that predated Pentium 4.The first Intel Core desktop processor—and typical family member—came from the Conroe iteration, a 65 nm dual-core design fabricated brought to market in July 2006, based on the all-new Intel Core micro architecture with substantial enhancements in micro-architectural efficiency and performance, outperforming Pentium 4 across the board (or near to it), while operating at drastically lower clock rates. Maintaining high instructions per cycle (IPC) on a deeply pipelined and resourced out-of-order execution engine has remained a constant fixture of the Intel Core product group ever since. The new substantial bump in micro architecture came with the introduction of the 45 nm Bloomfield desktop processor in November 2008 on the Nehalem architecture, whose main advantage came from redesigned I/O and memory systems featuring the new Intel QuickPath Interconnect and an integrated memory controller supporting up to three channels of DDR3 memory. Subsequent performance improvements have tended toward making addition rather than profound change, such as adding the Advanced Vector Extensions instruction set extensions to Sandy Bridge, first released on 32 nm in January 2011. Time has also brought improved support for virtualization and a trend toward higher levels of system integration and management functionality (making it faster the CPU) through the ongoing evolution of facilities such as Intel Active Management Technology. The original Core brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs, which derived from the Pentium M branded processors. The processor family used an enhanced version of the Intel P6 micro architecture. It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst micro architecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core micro architecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The Core brand comprised two branches: the Duo (dual-core) and Solo (Duo with one disabled core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor).Intel launched the Core brand on January 6, 2006 with the release of the 32-bit Yonah CPU – Intel's first dual-core mobile (low-power) processor. Its dual-core layout closely resembled two interconnected Pentium M branded CPUs packaged as a single die (piece) silicon chip (IC). Hence, the 32-bit micro architecture of Core branded CPUs – contrary to its name – had more in common with Pentium M branded CPUs than with the subsequent 64-bit Core micro architecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. Despite a major rebranding effort by Intel starting January 2006, some companies continued to market computers with the Yonah core marked as Pentium M. The Core series is also the first Intel processor used as the main CPU in an Apple Macintosh computer. The Core Duo was the CPU for the first generation Mac Book Pro, while the Core Solo appeared in Apple's Mac Mini line. Core Duo signified the beginning of Apple's shift to Intel processors across their entire line .In 2007, Intel began branding the Yonah core CPUs intended for mainstream mobile computers as Pentium Dual-Core, not to be confused with the desktop 64-bit Core micro architecture CPUs also branded as Pentium Dual-Core. September 2007 and January 4, 2008 marked the discontinuation of a number of Core branded CPUs including several Core Solo, Core Duo, Celeron and one Core 2 Quad chip.