Nehalem will be fundamentally different from the Core architecture for no less than two reasons. The company will move the memory controller from the core logic on the motherboard to the processor die. This tactic has been a cornerstone for the AMD K8 architecture since 2003.

In addition, Nehalem will also feature a new bus interconnect, currently dubbed Quick Path Interconnect. This new interconnect behaves very similar to HyperTransport, currently used on all AMD platforms since K8.

A new bus and memory controller means a new socket design. Existing motherboards are not compatible with Nehalem-based processors. The new desktop socket, labeled LGA1366, will completely replace the existing LGA775 interconnect.



Intel Slates "Nehalem" for Q4 2008

Intel has started shipping its long awaited low-power chip for wireless devices, but the company is clearly starting at the high end of the market.

The Centrino Atom--which took almost four years to develop--is the world's fastest chip under 3 watts of power, according to Intel. The first Atoms run at speeds up to 1.8GHz and sport a thermal ceiling of 0.65 to 2.4 watts. By contrast, the average laptop chip runs at 3.3GHz and consumes 35 watts at a peak.

The company unveiled the chip at the Intel Developer Forum taking place in Shanghai this week. Intel also said that the first chips based around Nehalem, a new chip architecture for desktops, notebooks and servers, will come out this year. Nehalem is designed to go up to eight cores. (Hubba, hubba.)

Then there is a whole new architecture coming in 2010 code-named Sandy Bridge.



Intel trots out wireless chips, discusses eight cores at IDF

Today, we have the exclusive look at a full fledged X58 system. The new chipset will be the foundation Zoomfor Nehalem and Intel already indicated to us that the new platform will deliver a large boost in performance across all applications compared to currently available products.

Our sources indicated that Intel will release Bloomfield, the first of the Nehalem family at 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz and on an LGA1366-pin platform. Intel's X58 chipOur test system used the 2.93GHz, but we can confirm that significantly higher clock frequencies are available.

Unfortunately, NDAs [Non Disclosure Agreements] prohibit us from publishing performance benchmarks, but those will definitely come later when Nehalem nears its launch.



'Nehalem' at 2.9GHz and X58

Just for reference, a similarly configured Core 2 Extreme X6800 at 2.93 GHz delivers a CPU score of 7417 - roughly a 29 percent difference clock for clock. When compared to a similarly equipped AMD Athlon FX-62 system, the gap widened even more, to a staggering 36 percent difference, with ’Nehalem’ taking a long distance lead.

Performance between an early quad-core Nehalem at 2.93 GHz and a Core 2 Extreme QX6800 running at the same frequency reveals more than an 11 percent difference in performance.

Meanwhile, Nehalem takes an even larger lead with a 24 percent between it and the higher clocked QuadFX Athlon FX-74. It’s interesting to note here that the quad core FX-74 is only roughly 7 percent faster than the dual-core Athlon FX-62m which is quite an old CPU now.

Nehalem is still faster than the fastest Penom 9950 BE by 28 percent.



'Nehalem' 2.93 GHz Benches Revealed

Last month, we saw a purported Intel roadmap lay out Intel's plan for desktop variants of Nehalem. According to that roadmap, a 2.66GHz Bloomfield CPU will come out in the fourth quarter of this year at around $340, but Intel won't offer cheaper Nehalem variants until the second quarter of 2009.

Further down the line, Intel will deliver a Havendale CPU with two cores, Hyper-Threading support, 4MB of cache, and two DDR3 channels. Pricing for Havendale processors will apparently range from where the Pentium E2200 sits now ($79.99) up to the same spot as an upcoming Core 2 Duo E8600. The rumor mill hints the E8600 will also launch soon at $266.

So, if this information is all accurate, dual-core/quad-thread Lynnfields will cost $80-266, and quad-core/eight-thread Havendales will range from $210 to $530. Bloomfield will take care of the high end of Intel's CPU line, thanks to its triple-channel DDR3 memory support and perhaps higher clock speeds.



Cheap Nehalem variants coming in the third quarter of 2009

Intel has scores of futuristic, potentially game-changing research projects but Nehalem is bet-the-farm reality. The first Nehalem chips--and the first drops of what should become a giant revenue stream--will arrive later this year. So, it is not surprising that real silicon and real systems are starting to appear.

What is Nehalem exactly? The architecture will scale from two to eight processor cores, have faster chip-to-chip communication (Intel calls this technology QuickPath), do a better job of adjusting performance levels to suit power needs, and have a higher level of integration (more logic will be built directly onto the processor die).

Nehalem will support faster DDR3 memory. And this points to one of Nehalem's major departures from past Intel processors: the memory controller--which talks to the DDR3 chips--is now on the processor die. Previously, this was off-chip. In short, higher levels of integration generally means higher performance.



Nehalem: Intel's near future gets real

In advance of its annual US Developers' Forum next week, Intel today formally announced its branding for the generation of processors we've been calling by its code-name, Nehalem. Rather than stay the current course of emphasizing the number of cores -- in which case, it might have been Core 4 -- Intel will formally christen its desktop version of Nehalem with the new brand nomenclature Core i7.

Nehalem will be its seventh, as the new design -- to be officially unveiled next week -- is expected to completely erase two of rival AMD's main architectural claims against Intel:

First, Core i7 will very likely be a true quad-core processor. The company's current Penryn architecture, quad-core Core 2 and Xeon processors, are actually double-dual-core units that package two dual-core processors onto one die.

Second, the separate memory controller and the front side bus will become historical remnants, as Nehalem will integrate its memory controller onto the CPU, and adjust its caching methodology to compensate.

Intel readies the world for 'generation 7' of its CPUs

I think I should get one for testing purposes. I will test if it's a good CPU for a very demanding website with lots of statistics generated from a database.

When interested Intel can send me the CPU and a fitting mainboard + memory. I'll return it when testing is done.

Which might be this site
LOL

Well, uhm, why not

More 'Nehalem' Details, 6-cores


Intel announced that the first ’Nehalem’ family of processors to be made available will be desktop processors (Core i7) and high-performance server products code-named Nehalem-EP.

Intel said it is planning to manufacture a second server derivative designed for the expandable server market ("Nehalem-EX&quot, as well as desktop (Havendale and Lynnfield) and mobile (Auburndale and Clarksfield) client versions in the second half of 2009.

All Nehalem processors will be quad-core versions initially, processing up to eight threads simultaneously, thanks to the use of a revived and updated Hyperthreading technology.


More . . .

We’ve learned that the 3.2GHz Nehalem can easily overclock all the way to 4GHz or more, on air. If you use water or LN2 you are in for much higher speeds but the initial 4GHz+ gives you a clear idea that Nehalem will be as overclockable as the Yorkfield generation of Core 2 Quad CPUs.

This is a good news for all Intel fans as good overclocking is slowly becoming a trademark of Intel’s high end generation.

We are not sure that slower clocked Nehalem’s will overclock so good but at least 3.2GHz will. There are still some issues with overclocking but since Intel won’t really launch probably before November, there is still time to polish them out.


Nehalem overclocks to 4GHz+

Intel's only competition is Moore's Law:

And AMD, IBM, Sun.

It's not all speed that counts

BTW: nothing seems to beat a Cell at the moment.

First Core i7 processors targeted for high-performance desktop systems and based on the new Nehalem micro-architecture will be announced this November. However, their mobile analogues should start conquering the market much later. The future mobile platform that will use new processor architecture is scheduled to be announced only in 2009. Today it is referred to as Calpella.

Of course, the main heroes of the Calpella platform will be new processors based on next generation Nehalem micro-architecture. Intel anticipates to introduce two modifications of these mobile processors: quad-core Clarksfield and dual-core Auburndale. These two CPUs will differ not only by the number of processor cores. Mainstream Auburndale processor will have an integrated graphics core with increased graphics performance, advanced HD visual capabilities and integrated HDMI and DisplayPort support.

The top of the line Clarksfield will have up to 8MB of Intel Smart Cache, integrated memory controller supporting dual-channel DDR3-1333 and support discrete graphics (one or two cards). Auburndale’s cache will be 4MB big, but it will have full support for dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM. The processor will have integrated graphics core and allow one add-on graphics card. Both CPUs will support Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading technologies.




Nehalem Processors to Come to Notebooks in Mid 2009: Centrino 3 Mobile Platform to Transfer North Bridge Functions into CPU

Intel "Nehalem" Chip Design Demo'd for Developers

Intel's Pat Gelsinger demos Nehalem, Intel's next chip design, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco August 2008. New designs has new features built in like Turbo Mode for performance and energy efficiency. See 3-D visualization, game and weather modeling demonstrated using Nehalem designed computer processors.

Intel Vice President Kirk Skaugen showcases Intel's upcoming Nehalem microprocessor. Design team member K7 joins Kirk on stage during his IDF Taipei keynote.

[Advisory: the audio isn't very good]

Preview of Intel's upcoming Nehalem CPU motherboards


[Only 40 seconds long, no audio, but the chart about 2/3rds of the way through is worth a pause]

Intel's Glenn Hinton talks Nehalem

Glenn Hinton, Nehalem's lead architect and Intel Fellow talks about Intel's exciting 2008 CPU Nehalem and the Quickpath architecture

Inside the Chips at IDF - Nehalem, System on a Chip, ...


At the 2008 Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco the future was clear: visual computing. From games to television, from large systems to handhelds, the demand on hardware and software platforms will be to run large amounts of data more efficiently with less power.

Some of the breakthroughs to bring video and audio more easily and seamlessly to users include the scalable Nehalem chip architecture, the Media Processor CE 3100, and the architecture codenamed Larrabee.

As for Intel Core i7 processors, a Canadian retailer had listed prices online for the upcoming processors. The Intel Core i7 920, 940 and 965 Extreme Edition processors had been listed for (CAD) $339.95, $649.95 and $1,099.95, respectively.

The official prices for these processors when purchased in bulk from Intel are expected to be $284, $562 and $999, respectively, with an expected release date set for November.

Although this early look at the retail prices for X58 motherboards and processors may not be representative of final retail pricing, it does give the consumer an idea of what an Intel Core i7 system will cost.

Along with the cost of triple channel DDR3 memory, it would seem like an Intel Core i7 system will be on the expensive side.



More . . .

CPUs based on this architecture will have an embedded memory controller supporting three DDR3 channels, three cache levels, the return of HyperThreading technology, a new external bus called QuickPath and more. In this tutorial we will explain what’s new on this architecture.


Below we summarized a list of Nehalem main features, and we will explain what they mean on next pages:

• Based on Intel Core microarchitecture.
  


• Two to eight cores.
  


• Integrated DDR3 triple-channel memory controller.
  


• Individual 256 KB L2 memory caches for each core.
  


• 8 MB L3 memory cache.
  


• New SSE 4.2 instruction set (seven new instructions).
  


• HyperThreading technology.
  


• Turbo mode (auto overclocking).
  


• Enhancements to the microarchitecture (support for macro-fusion under 64-bit mode, improved Loop Stream Detector, six dispatch ports, etc).
  


• Enhancements on the prediction unit, with the addition of a second Branch Target Buffer (BTB ).
  


• A second 512-entry Translation Look-aside Buffer (TLB ).
  


• Optimized for unaligned SSE instructions.
  


• Improved virtualization performance (60% improvement on round-trip virtualization latency compared to 65-nm Core 2 CPUs and 20% improvement compared to 45-nm Core 2 CPUs, according to Intel).
  


• New QuickPath Interconnect external bus.
  


• New power control unit.
  


• 45 nm manufacturing technology at launch, with future models at 32 nm (CPUs codenamed “Westmere”).
  


• New socket with 1366 pins.

It is important to remember that Core 2 CPUs manufactured under 45-nm technology have extra features compared to the Core 2 CPUs manufactured under 65-nm technology. All these features are present on Nehalem-based CPUs are the most significant ones are:

• SSE4.1 instruction set (47 new SSE instructions).
  


• Deep Power Down Technology (only on mobile CPUs, also known as C6 state).
  


• Enhanced Intel Dynamic Acceleration Technology (only on mobile CPUs).
  


• Fast Radix-16 Divider (FPU enhancement).
  


• Super Shuffle engine (FPU enhancement).
  


• Enhanced Virtualization Technology (between 25% and 75% performance improvement on virtual machine transition time).

More . . .