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- Date:
- Wednesday, August 20, 2008
- Author:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Intel Nehalem Technology Overview Webcast
Intel's Rajesh Kumar, Director of Circuit & Lowe Power Technologies, talks about the Nehalem series of processors and what exactly the big changes are with it compared to current generation technology in this higher resolution video.
As was discussed here previously, one of Intel's first desktop Nehalem-based parts will be released later this year under the branding of "Core i7" from Intel.
The first products in this new family of processors, which will be in production in Q4 and feature a unique mix of performance and energy efficiency, will also carry a new identifier and be formally branded the Intel® Core™ i7 processor. Believe it or not, this new naming scheme should make it easier for PC buyers to decide which technology is right for them. The “i7” identifier is the first of several new identifiers to come as different Nehalem-based products launch over the next year.
Below is Intel's Rajesh Kumar, Director of Circuit & Lowe Power Technologies, talking about the Nehalem series of processors and what exactly the big changes are with it compared to current generation technology. This video is a capture of the entire webcast presentation. Below as well are all the accompanying slides that are used in the presentation that may be easier to read along with in an extra open window.
This video is approximately 20 minutes long and we did miss a small part of the middle of the presentation, but all the "meat" of the presentation is still very much intact. Below are the slides that were presented by Rajesh.
The biggest points to take away from the presentation are:
- Nehalem is an entire family of products that span from Server to Mobile.
- Fast by design with quicker connects between cores and greatly improved memory bandwidth.
- Hyperthreading greatly improves efficiency.
- Power Management has been GREATLY redefined from previous chips both through new techniques as well as physical transistors being changed.
A couple of you have sent mails about the new "Turbo Mode” as well. It is not like that old button we had. With Nehalem's Turbo Mode, if the processor is in a power saving state on 1, 2, or 3 of the cores, it can actually ramp up the speed of the core(s) that are needed for the application that is being given priority. So given a situation where running ALL cores at speed X creates an unreasonable TDP, running speed X on 1, 2, or even 3 cores may not be an issue.
On Production Times:
The company's first desktop PC chips branded Intel® Core™ i7 processors and initial energy-efficient, high-performance server products (codenamed "Nehalem-EP") will be first to production. Intel is also planning to manufacture a second server derivative designed for the expandable sever market ("Nehalem-EX"), and desktop ("Havendale" and "Lynnfield") and mobile ("Auburndale" and "Clarksfield") client versions in the second half of 2009.
While the battle cry has been “Nehalem this year!” by enthusiasts, it looks as though desktop for 2009 may not be the priority. Certainly though we can expect 4 core Nehalem processors capable of handling 8 threads with Hyperthreading on the desktop first. Our information tells us that we will in fact see desktop Nehalem for sale in late 2008, although we would not expect it to be for the lower end of the marketplace. To put it simply, considering how strong Intel’s current Core 2 lineup is, there is no sense for it to cannibalize it throughout the BTS and Holiday selling seasons.
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