High-end Performance Becomes Affordable with Intel Core i7 950 Processor

There had been growing anticipation as people waited to see what the successor to the highly successful Intel Core 2 line would have to offer. And the developers at Intel did not disappoint with the new Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz CPU offering significant improvements in both architecture and performance but at affordable prices.

The first noticeable difference between the Core i7 950 and the previous versions is that there is now an integrated memory controller that helps control the triple-channel DDR3 memory. There are separate buses for memory and for I/O requests. Since the CPU does not have to depend on a single external bus nor does it have to communicate requests to an external controller first, there is great improvement in CPU performance. Called the QuickPath Interconnect, the external bus has two datapaths – one for incoming and one for outgoing data – with a transfer rate of almost 12.6 GB/s in each direction. The unique integrated memory controller now has three channels running in parallel. This essentially allows all the three DDR3 memory modules to be accessed at one time resulting in a substantial increase in the available bandwidth when compared to a dual-channel architecture.

It is also interesting to note the difference in the cache structure. The Core 2 Quad has one L1 cache and two L2 caches - three memory caches in all. The L1 cache is shared by all the cores whereas there is one L2 cache for each pair of cores. The Core i7 950 on the other hand has just one L1 cache just like the Core 2 Quad but has separate L2 caches of 256 KB for each one of the four cores. In addition, there is a third L3 cache of 8MB that is shared by all the four cores. This allows the CPU to store more frequently accessed data in the cache and also to bring them faster.

The Intel Core i7 950 also has better data processing capabilities as compared to the Core 2. When programs are written with X86 instructions, the CPU has to first decode them into microinstructions so that the execution units can understand them and execute them. The Core 2 was the first to implement the concept of macro-fusion that allowed two X86 instructions to be translated into a single microinstruction – this meant that the CPU had to essentially do only half the work when compared to the Core 2.Though this did have its limitations, it greatly increased performance while at the same time reducing the heat generated and the power consumed. The biggest drawback in the working of macro-fusion in Core 2 was that it could only be performed when the processor was working in the 32-bit mode. This is where the Core i7 950 scores over the Core 2 – first, macro-fusion can be performed in both the 32-bit as well as the 64-bit modes and secondly, there is additional support for multiple branching instructions allowing the CPU to handle many things at the same time.

The Core i7 950 also has a new feature called the Turbo Boost. Since not all applications use all the four cores in the processor, it is a waste of power to keep the other cores running while only two or three cores are being used. Turbo Boost allows the cores that are not being used to enter a sleep state and to use the power of the unused cores to speed up the active cores.

 It is hardly surprising then that with these innovative features in the Core i7 950 that have resulted in significant enhancements to the CPU performance, Intel has once again emerged as the leader in the microprocessor industry.

We provides cutting-edge Custom Built PCs fitted with the Intel’s Core i7 950 CPU that provide superior performance in almost all aspects such as gaming, video and music production as well as multitasking. Speak to an Evetech representative today to have a Core i7 950 PC custom built for you.

Related Products

Intel Core i7 960 Basic PC Intel Core i7 960 Processor R 8,099.00 Inc VAT FEATURES Gigabyte UD3R MB Core i7 960 3.2GHz CPU 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD GeForce GT 440 1GB	Core i7 GTX 550 Ti Gamer Intel Core i7 2600 Processor R 9,999.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB i7 2600 (8x3.4GHz) CPU 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD GTX 550 Ti 1GB Overclocked	i7 4.6GHz 7950 Overclocked Gamer Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 16,499.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB 7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384bit	i7 GTX 570 Overclocked Extreme Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 15,099.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB i7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD GTX 570 1.28GB OC Card
i7 4.6GHz GTX 560 Ti Overclocked Gamer Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 13,799.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB 7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD GTX 560 Ti 1GB Overclocked	i7 Overclocked GTX 570 SLI Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 19,699.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB i7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD 2 x GTX 570 1.28GB OC SLI	i7 4.6GHz Overclocked 6990 Extreme Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 19,999.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB i7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 500GB SATA3 HDD ASUS HD 6990 4GB Card	i7 4.6GHz OC GTX 580 Intel Core i7 2600K Processor R 17,999.00 Inc VAT FEATURES ASUS P8P67 EVO B3 MB i7 2600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz 8GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM 1TB SATA3 HDD + 60 SSD NVIDIA GTX 580 3GB Card