Next-Generation Processor Technologies

PRESENTED BY PANKAJ SHARMA

Presentation Outline
The companies involved The basics and benefits of 64 bit technology Modern processors: Other technologies The main competitors :AMD and Intel The Future Bibliography

Companies Involved
Apple - First to offer a 64-bit processor with the G5 system. AMD - Introduced 64 bit computing with its Athlon 64 processor. Intel - Has its own 64 bit Itanium processors meant for the server market.

64-bit Processor Basics

For approximately the last 10 years or so, 32-bit computing has been used since the introduction of Intel's 386 platform. So what does the bit count mean?
Size of registers extended to 64 bits
Integer and address data up to 64 bits in length can now be operated on 264 = 1.8 x 1019 integers can be represented with 64 bits vs. 232 = 4.3 x 109 with 32 bits

64 Bit Basics Continued

Stepping up from 32 to 64 bits does not mean doubling performance Certain applications will benefit, others will not

64 Bits and Memory Addressing

32-bit CPUs can only address up to 4GB of memory 64-bit CPU can potentially address 18 million terabytes (18 billion gigabytes)

What Applications Can Benefit Most From 64-bit?

Large databases Business and scientific simulation and modeling programs Highly graphics-intensive software (CAD, 3-D games) Cryptography

Other Processor Improvements

New & improved instruction set architectures More features available on-chip Larger caches Increased I/O and memory bandwidth Improved chipsets/ chipset organizations

The CPU As Part of a Larger System

As CPUs get faster and faster, they can process more and more data in a given amount of time But can the rest of the system keep up? System performance as a whole depends on more than just processor performance

The CPU As Part of a Larger System

The Current Spotlight: AMD Vs. Intel

The mainstream 64-bit processor battle is being fought by AMD and Intel Each company hopes to dominate the market with a different strategy AMD has focused on compatibility and adding new features to support the CPU core Intels strategy is based on the creation of an entirely new architecture

AMDs Approach
Provide a bridge between the 32-bit present and the 64-bit future Design processors for the server, workstation, and personal computing markets Beyond 64 bits: improve interaction of processor with memory and I/O

AMD-64 Architecture
64-bit extension of x86 32 and 64-bit support New 64-bit instructions 16 vs. 8 general purpose registers 12-stage pipeline Support for decoding of three instructions per cycle

Improving the Chipset

HyperTransport
Designed to replace traditional bus technology Improves bus speed and bandwidth Created to reduce bottlenecks, improve system performance Up to 1600 MHz, 9.6 GB/s per link

Integrated DDR Memory Controller

Memory controlled directly by CPU Point-to-point connection between the processor and memory; No intermediate hubs Improves memory bandwidth, decreases bottlenecks

AMD Opteron

AMD Opteron
Designed for servers and workstations Released April 2003 Up to 8-way configuration for servers and 4-way for workstations Using HyperTransport, point-to-point connections can be used in multiprocessor systems no bus sharing

AMD Opteron: The Numbers

Available now: 1.4 GHz, 1.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.0 GHz 3 Hyper-Transport links - peak bandwidth = 19.2 GB/s L1 caches: 128 KB, L2 cache: 1 MB .13 micron process

Athlon64 Architecture

Athlon64 USP
Designed for desktops and notebooks Released September 2003 AMDs hope: noticing that the Athlon 64 is comparable in price to existing 32-bit processors, consumers will purchase the processor to gain the added 64-bit functionality

Athlon64: The Numbers

Available now: 2.0 GHz Bus frequency (Hyper-Transport): 1600 MHz Peak processor-to-system bandwidth = 9.6 GB/s L1 caches: 128 KB, L2 cache: 1 MB .13 micron process

Intels Approach to the Market

Only producing a 64-bit processor for servers and workstations: Itanium Believe not currently enough market demand for 64-bit in PCs Will continue to improve Pentium 4 for desktop customers

Intels Itanium
Intel and HP announced cooperation in 1994; Development began as early as 1988 Developed separately from Pentium An entirely new processor A lot of buzz created

The Itanium Architecture

Brand new, not based on x86 Old concepts newly implemented Philosophically very different from AMD64 Significant departure from past mainstream architectures

The Itanium Architecture

Huge number of registers (128 general purpose) 10-stage pipeline Advanced prediction

Itanium Generation 1
Slated for 1998-1999 release Not released until June 2001 When finally released, 1 to 2 billion dollars had already been invested This will end up being one of the worlds worst investments, Im afraid
David House, former Intel Chief of Corporate Strategy

Itanium: The Verdict

A failure Hideously expensive Slow Poor performance Itanic, Unobtanium Wait for McKinley (Itanium 2), Itanium is simply a development platform.

Itanium 2: The Numbers

Available now: 1.5 GHz, 1.4 GHz, 1.3 GHz, 1 GHz 32KB level 1 caches, 256KB L2 cache, up to 6MB L3 cache System bus: 400 MHz, 6.4 GB/s peak bandwidth

The Pentium 4
Intel will continue to develop and improve the P4 New features, technologies, and improvements are being added A P5 in the future?

Hyper-Threading
Can process two independent threads simultaneously The computer sees two processors, even though there is physically only one Potential to significantly increase CPU efficiency Will see more and more software written to take advantage of Hyper-Threading

Hyper-Threading

Hyper-Threading

Current P4 Numbers
Up to 3.8 GHz 1000 MHz system bus, 6.4 GB/s peak bandwidth 16 KB L1 cache, 1 MB L2 cache

What About A P5?

Yamhill Intels Plan B Rumored 64-bit extensions to x86 Release date unknown

Other Developments
Both Intel and AMD are developing DualCore CPUs. Dual-Core means two processors effectively packaged as one. To be introduced by late 2005 Development of Multi-Core CPUs to follow

The Future
Opteron, Itanium, Athlon 64, and Pentium 4 will continue to be improved 90 nm process (.09 micron) Larger caches Faster clock rates 64-bit Microsoft Windows More 64-bit software

Competition Summary
Opteron and Itanium 2 competing in server and workstation markets Athlon 64 and Pentium 4 competing in desktop market Pentium 4 may be extended to 64-bits in the future

Who Will Win the Battle?

Will desktop consumers embrace 64-bit processors? Will corporations and labs be willing to fully switch over to 64-bit? Can AMD outmuscle a more powerful company?

Bibliography
Main Sources :
www.intel.com www.amd.com

Articles from
www.hardocp.com www.anandtech.com www.tomshardware.com