Computing
Core Wars or the Journey
from Single to Multi-core Processors
Berlin
Computer speed used to be determined by actual speed - the speed
at which its processor rotated.
But more and more, speed has become a function of capacity as
manufacturers shove more central processing units or cores into
their processors to boost power and speed. Just as people are
getting used to dual-core processors, computers with four cores
or quad-cores are coming on the market. Some servers and
workstations already have chips with eight cores.
Just a few years ago, several computers had to be linked
together to get serious computing power. Then, multiple printed
circuits, each with their own processor were housed in one
computer. Now multi-core processors, chips with multiple central
processing units that have their own independent processor, are
here. Large systems have given way to smaller, energy efficient
units, says Carsten Albrecht, a computer scientist at the
Institute for Technical Information at the University of Lübeck.
"The new standard is computing power per watt."
Advanced integration techniques and energy savings were major
reasons for developing multiple core processors. Another reason
was the rotational speed of the old processors. As they got
faster, they gave off more heat ... sometimes reaching
uncomfortable levels.
The first dual core chips hit the consumer market at Easter 2005
and companies like IBM have sold quad-core processors since the
end of that year. Intel launched them on the market in early
2007. But as long as prices remains higher than 2,000 euros
(around $2,700), consumer interest will remain limited. It might
take systems like AMD's planned new generation of two and four
core chips processors to turn some gamers onto quad-core.
The average shopper probably won't have to get involved in the
core wars.
"If I only need Word and the Internet, then I check that the
computer is affordable, not whether it has two or more cores,"
says Albrecht. But people who work intensely with their
computers will quickly see the advantages of an additional core.
Background programs that use a lot of computing power, like
virus scanners, firewalls or desktop search engines don't slow
down the computer as much as multiple core processors.
The multiple cores also reduce the risk of a complete system
crash. But multiple cores do not solve every problem. If a
processor's capacity - particularly its second cache where
temporary data is stored - is not up to standard, the multiple
cores will not help much says Stiftung Warentest, a Berlin-based
consumer product information organization. The cache should be
as large as possible for data intensive operations.
It's also important to remember that two cores do not
necessarily double computer power. Nor do four cores quadruple
power. Operating systems like Windows, Mac OS or Linux can
divide duties between the different cores. But the time saved by
this simultaneous work also depends on whether the program being
used is designed to use multiple cores.
To get more speed, chip circuits are shrinking down to nanometre
sizes. The number of transistors in a processor will continue to
double every two years and researchers will continue to encode
more sophisticated commands into the silicon. There are already
processors with eight cores on the market with no end in sight
for processor capacity.
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