Intel Core2 Duo Processors

Maximum everything. Energy-efficient performance. Multimedia power.

	Based on Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor family is designed to provide powerful energy-efficient performance so you can do more at once without slowing down.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo desktop processors

With Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor, you'll experience revolutionary performance, unbelievable system responsiveness, and energy-efficiency second to none.

Big, big performance. More energy efficient.¹ Now available in smaller packages.

The Intel Core 2 Duo processor-based desktop PC was designed from the ground up for energy efficiency, letting you enjoy higher performing, ultra-quiet, sleek, and low power desktop PC designs.

Multitask with reckless abandon.

Do more at the same time, like playing your favorite music, running virus scan in the background, and all while you edit video or pictures. The powerful Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor provides you with the speed you need to perform any and all tasks imaginable.

Love your PC again.

Don’t settle for anything less than the very best. Find your perfect desktop powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and get the best processing technology money can buy. Only from Intel.

• • Up to 6MB L2 cache
• • Up to 1333 MHz front side bus

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo mobile processors

At the dual-core heart of Intel® Centrino®2 processor technology, the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor family features a faster FSB (up to 1066 MHz), higher clock speeds, and enhanced microarchitecture technologies, helping to maximize Intel®Centrino®2 processor technology's dual-core performance and power savings.

• • 6 MB of total L2 cache
• • Up to 1066 MHz front side bus

Source:intel.com

Microprocessor Introduction:

A microprocessor in-corporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit (CPU) on a single integrated circuit (IC).

The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using BCD arithmetic on 4-bit words. Other embedded uses of 4 and 8-bit microprocessors, such as terminals, printers, various kinds of automation etc, followed rather quickly. Affordable 8-bit microprocessors with 16-bit addressing also led to the first general purpose microcomputers in the mid-1970s.

Computer processors were for a long period constructed out of small and medium-scale ICs containing the equivalent of a few to a few hundred transistors. The integration of the whole CPU onto a single VLSI chip therefore greatly reduced the cost of processing capacity. From their humble beginnings, continued increases in microprocessor capacity have rendered other forms of computers almost completely obsolete (see history of computing hardware), with one or more microprocessor as processing element in everything from the smallest embedded systems and handheld devices to the largest mainframes and supercomputers

Intel PentiumD Processor:

In our last review concerning Intel's CPUs, we had tested the flagship Single-core processor from Intel, the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition which was also extremely expensive. This time, we have in our hands the 840 which is a Dual-Core CPU, running at 3.20GHz with 1MB L2 cache. Dual-Core processors are the new generation of CPUs and both Intel and AMD have already released not one, but over three different models.

The one we will review here costs approximately half the money of the P4 3.73GHz Extreme Editio and it is rather interesting to compare their performance. When you are about to get a new processor, most times, money will define which one is the most appropriate for your needs, otherwise we would all purchase the most expensive, thinking that we have also got the best. Is this true however?

Architecture	90 nm technology
L2 Cache	2x1MB
Clock Speed	3.20 GHz
Front Side Bus	800 MHz
Chipset	- Intel 955X Express chipset - Intel 945P Express chipset - Intel 945G Express chipset - Intel E7230 Chipset
Socket	LGA775

Retail Package

• Dual-Core: Provides two execution cores in one physical processor allowing the platform to do more in less time while enjoying smooth interaction with your PC.
• Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep® Technology: Available with the 840 and 830 processors, Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, which can result in decreased average power consumption and decreased average heat production. By decreasing power and heat on Desktop PCs, system builders can (depending on system configurations) potentially lower acoustics, and even develop more innovative small form factor designs. Additionally, this feature may help address power concerns in companies with sites approaching the limits of bounded electrical infrastructures. Combined with existing power saving features, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology may provide an excellent balance between providing power when you need it and conserving it when you don’t.
• Execute Disable Bit: This feature, combined with a supported operating system, allows memory to be marked as executable or non-executable. If code attempts to run in non-executable memory the processor raises an error to the operating system.
• Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology: Intel EM64T provides an enhancement to Intel’s 32-bit architecture by enabling the desktop processor platform to access larger amounts of memory. With appropriate 64-bit supporting hardware and software, platforms based on an Intel processor supporting Intel EM64T can enable use of extended virtual and physical memory.
• 90nm Process Technology: The 90nm process technology is the latest in Intel manufacturing and technology leadership allowing for next generation transistor advantages, such as strained silicon lattice to deliver faster transistors and potentially increased performance.
• Level 1 Cache: The Pentium D processor features two 16KB data caches. In addition to the data cache, each core includes an Execution Trace Cache that stores up to 12 K decoded micro-ops in the order of program execution. This can increase performance by removing the decoder from the main execution loop and makes more efficient usage of the cache storage space since instructions that are branched around are not stored.
• 2MB Level 2 Cache: The Intel Pentium D processor based upon Intel 90nm process technology has a 1MB L2 Advanced Transfer Cache for each core (2MB total) improving overall system performance by allowing each processor core to have faster access to larger amounts of the most often used data.
• Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 (SSE3): Single Instruction Multiple Data Extensions significantly accelerates performance of digital media applications and includes additional integer and cache ability instructions that may improve other aspects of performance.

Processor Features & Definitions
Architecture	Basic design of a microprocessor. May include process technology and/or other architectural enhancements.
Cache (MB/KB)	A temporary storage area for frequently accessed or recently accessed data. Having certain data stored in a cache speeds up the operation of the computer. Cache size is measured in megabytes (MB) or kilobytes (KB).
Clock Speed (GHz/MHz)	Speed of the processor's internal clock, which dictates how fast the processor can process data. Clock speed is usually measured in GHz (gigahertz, or billions of pulses per second).
Front Side Bus (GHz/MHz)	The connecting path between the processor and other key components such as the memory controller hub. FSB speed is measured in GHz or MHz.

The stock cooler that Intel includes in its retail version for the D 840 resembles the one used for the P4 series of processors. If you look more carefully however, you'll notice that there are some distinctive differences. The copper base, which exists in all of Intel's stock coolers, is more voluminous. The fins are also of a different design. This indicates that the heat dissipation required is going to be much greater than in single-core processors. This is something we will check on later.

source :internet