Evolution of multicore processors

In computing, a processor is the unit that reads and executes program instructions, which are fixed-length (typically 32 or 64 bit) or variable-length chunks of data. The data in the instruction tells the processor what to do. The instructions are very basic things like reading data from memory or sending data to the user display, but they are
processed so rapidly that we experience the results as the smooth operation of a program. Processors were originally developed with only one core. The core is the part of the processor that actually performs the reading and executing of instructions. Single-core processors can process only one instruction at a time. (To improve efficiency,

processors commonly utilize pipelines internally, which allow several instructions to be processed together; however, they are still consumed into the pipeline one at a time). A multi-core processor is composed of two or more independent cores. One can describe it as an integrated circuit which has two or more individual processors .
Manufacturers typically integrate the cores onto a single integrated circuit die (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP), or onto multiple dies in a single chip package.

A Brief History of Microprocessors

Intel manufactured the first microprocessor, the 4-bit 4004, in the early 1970s which was basically just a number-crunching machine. Shortly afterwards they developed the 8008 and 8080, both 8-bit, and Motorola followed suit with their 6800 which was equivalent to Intel’s 8080. The companies then fabricated 16-bit microproces-
sors, Motorola had their 68000 and Intel the 8086 and 8088; the former would be the basis for Intel’s 80386 , 32-bit and later their popular Pentium lineup which were in the first consumer-based PCs. Each generation of processors grew smaller, faster, dissipated more heat, and consumed more power.

Multicore Challenges
Hardware examples
aving multiple cores on a single chip gives rise to some problems and challenges. Power and temperature management are two concerns that can in-
Commercial
Why multi-core ?
crease exponentially with the addition of multiple cores. Memory/cache coherence is another challenge, using a multicore processor to its full potential is
another issue. If programmers don’t write applications that take advantage of multiple cores there is no gain, and in some cases there is a loss of perfor-
AMD The proximity of multiple CPU cores on the same die allows
1. Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2 family, dual-core desktop processors.
the cache coherency circuitry to operate at a much higher
mance. Application need to be written so that different parts can be run concurrently (without any ties to another part of the application that is being run
2. Athlon II, dual-, triple-, and quad-core desktop processors. clock-rate than is possible if the signals have to travel
simultaneously).
3. Opteron, dual-, quad-, hex-, 8-, and 12-core server/workstation processors.
off-chip.
Power and Temperature If two cores were placed on a single chip without any modification, the chip would, in theory, consume 4. Phenom, dual-, triple-, quad-, and hex-core desktop processors.
twice as much power and generate a large amount of heat. In the extreme case, if processor overheats your computer may even combust. To account for 5. Sempron X2, dual-core entry level processors.
Combining equivalent CPUs on a single die significantly

this each design above runs the multiple cores at a lower frequency to reduce power consumption. To combat unnecessary power consumption many de- 6. Turion 64 X2, dual-core laptop processors. improves the performance of cache snoop (alternative: Bus snooping)
signs also incorporate a power control unit that has the authority to shut down unused cores or limit the amount of power. By powering off unused cores 7. Radeon and FireStream multi-core GPU/GPGPU (10 cores, 16 5-issue wide superscalar stream processors per core) operations. Put simply, this means that signals between different
and using clock gating the amount of leakage in the chip is reduced. IBM CPUs travel shorter distances, and therefore those signals

To lessen the heat generated by multiple cores on a single chip, the chip is architected so that the number of hot spots doesn’t grow too large and the heat 1. POWER4, the world's first non-embedded dual-core processor, released in 2001.
is spread out across the chip. The majority of the heat in the CELL processor is dissipated in the Power Processing Element and the rest is spread across the 2. POWER5, a dual-core processor, released in 2004.
Synergistic Processing Elements. The CELL processor follows a common trend to build temperature monitoring into the system, with its one linear sensor 3. POWER6, a dual-core processor, released in 2007.
and ten internal digital sensors. 4. POWER7, a 4,6,8-core processor, released in 2010.
5. PowerPC 970MP, a dual-core processor, used in the Apple Power Mac G5.
6. Xenon, a triple-core, SMT-capable, PowerPC microprocessor used in
the Microsoft Xbox 360 game console.
degrade less. These higher-quality signals allow more data to be sent
in a given time period, since individual signals can be shorter and do
not need to be repeated as often.
The largest boost in performance will likely be noticed in improved
response-time while running CPU-intensive processes, like antivirus
scans, ripping/burning media (requiring file conversion), or

searching for folders. For example, if the automatic virus-scan runs

Intel
while a movie is being watched, the application running the movie is
1. Celeron Dual-Core, the first dual-core processor for the budget/entry-level market.

2. Core Duo, a dual-core processor.

far less likely to be starved of processor power, as the antivirus pro-

3. Core 2 Duo, a dual-core processor.

gram will be assigned to a different processor core than the one
Multithreading Using multithreading or other parallel processing techniques to get the most performance out of the
4. Core 2 Quad, 2 dual-core dies packaged in a multi-chip module. running the movie playback.
multicore processor. With the possible exception of Java, there are no widely used commercial development languages with [multithreaded] ex-tensions.
5. Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7, a family of multi-core processors, the successor of
Rebuilding applications to be multithreaded means a complete rework by programmers in most cases. Programmers have to write applications with sub- the Core 2 Duo and the Core 2 Quad.

routines able to be run in different cores, meaning that data dependencies will have to be resolved or accounted for (e.g. latency in communication or us- 6. Itanium 2, a dual-core processor.

ing a shared cache). Applications should be balanced. If one core is being used much more than another, the programmer is not taking full advantage of 7. Pentium D, 2 single-core dies packaged in a multi-chip module.

the multi-core system. Some companies have heard the call and designed new products with multicore capabilities; Microsoft and Apple’s newest operat- 8. Pentium Extreme Edition, 2 single-core dies packaged in a multi-chip module.

ing systems can run on up to 4 cores.

i t t e d by
Subm
9. Pentium Dual-Core, a dual-core processor.

10. Xeon dual-, quad-, hexa-, and octo-core processors.

Nvidia Cx-01
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Conclusion 1. GeForce 9 multi-core GPU (8 cores, 16 scalar stream processors per core) Bipin C
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C h o w dhury Cx-03
2. GeForce 200 multi-core GPU (10 cores, 24 scalar stream processors per core) Mrinmo
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Before multicore processors the performance increase from generation to generation was easy to see, an increase in frequency. This model broke when 3. Tesla multi-core GPGPU (10 cores, 24 scalar stream processors per core) B i p l a b
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the high frequencies caused processors to run at speeds that caused increased power consumption and heat dissipation at detrimental levels. Adding Man
Sun Microsystems andi Cx-06
multiple cores within a processor gave the solution of running at lower frequencies, but added interesting new problems. R ani M
1. MAJC 5200, two-core VLIW processor b a t i S aren Cx-07
Sila
Multicore processors are architected to adhere to reasonable power consumption, heat dissipation, and cache coherence protocols. However, many 2. UltraSPARC IV and UltraSPARC IV+, dual-core processors. e n a t h Das Cx-08
Som
ta S a n fui
issues remain unsolved. In order to use a multicore processor at full capacity the applications run on the system must be multithreaded. There are rela- 3. UltraSPARC T1, an eight-core, 32-thread processor. Sudip
tively few applications (and more importantly few programmers with the know-how) written with any level of parallelism. The memory systems and in- 4. UltraSPARC T2, an eight-core, 64-concurrent-thread processor.

terconnection networks also need improvement. And finally, it is still unclear whether homogeneous or heterogeneous cores are more efficient.