Intel Core i7 processor is the product of the next-generation Nehalem architecture, which features the latest innovations and is the most sophisticated in the world. It is currently one of the fastest processors and is highly acclaimed by the entire IT community as a technical marvel.
This is the first time Intel has introduced such an advanced single-die chip with four cores for the desktop market. All of its previous quad-core chips had two dies on a single chip. The new technology is meant to boost performance on demand and maximize data throughput. This is also the first mainstream Intel chip with an integrated memory controller.
Intel claims that these Core i7 processors are the best desktop processors in the world. The combination of Intel Turbo Boost technology and Intel Hyper-Threading technology provides users the ability to multitask applications faster and with wonderful digital media creation.
According to Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group, “Intel has delivered the fastest desktop processor on Earth to the most demanding users on Earth, the ones who are using their PCs for video, gaming and music. “When you couple what is Intel’s biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel’s solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow.”
Main Changes to the Processor
The three main architectural changes to Core i7 are; faster memory, hyper-threading and turbo mode.
At the center of the new architecture is a change in the way the chip can access memory. Core i7 receives data directly from the system RAM, instead of the CPU communicating with the memory via the Front Side Bus. In fact, it was AMD that pioneered this integrated controller strategy a few years back. With this technology, users will find it very beneficial with applications that access a lot of memory on a frequent basis.
The Quickpath Interconnect technology Intel uses, makes the i7 processor transfer incoming as well as outgoing bytes faster. Core i7 has 8 MB L3 cache with a very efficient cache subsystem, along with an integrated memory controller with 3 channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, which results in up to 25.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth. This high bandwidth and lower latency is great as it provides amazing performance for data-intensive applications.
The hyper-threading feature allows it to run up to 8 threads at a time, which means the performance output for anything using this processor is excellent; which includes gaming, video editing and every other activity on the computer and internet. In comparison with the previous Intel processors, this new processor is forty times faster and does not consume any extra power. This power saving technology was earlier mostly found in notebooks but now it is also available in Core i7 Intel based desktops.
Intel i7 processor’s Turbo Boost technology can adjust the speed of the CPU dynamically. This chip has the capacity to switch off the cores that are not in use and supply all the power to the core that is in use, making it run faster, maximizing speed for all the demanding applications, accelerating performance for the workload in a most effective manner.
The Intel HD Boost works by providing the best processing efficiency, improving a wide variety of multimedia applications. The DX58SO board is specifically designed to use the high power of the new Intel Core i7 processors for the support of the multi threading features, ATI CrossfireX technologies and 3 channels DDR3 RAM.
To experience the best out of the latest PC games, such as World at War and Far Cry2, a computing platform that can provide excellent graphics and high-level multi-threading features is needed and Intel Core i7 provides exactly that.
With the intelligent multi-core technology that gets into overdrive as soon as user activity intensifies, Intel Core i7 delivers breakthrough performance in everything a user does on the computer; from gaming to all other applications. This chip is heading the list of the best in the market right now and people, who spend a lot of time on their computers and are particular about getting the best out of their computers, need look no further than Intel Core i7.