Dual Core Processor

[Kalyan]

Dual Core Processor

Dual-core AMD Opteron™ processors represent the latest significant development in microprocessor technology. In this paper, using the IBM® eServer™ 326,examine the performance of dual-core Opteron processors.IBM measure the core performance under ideal work loads using the Linpack HPL benchmark, and show it to be 60% faster than the fastest single-core Opteron.

IBM measure unloaded memory latency and show that the dual-core processor's slower clock frequency makes the latency longer.

However, we also show that its memory throughput is 10% greater than single-core processors. Finally,Dual-core Opteron processors offer a significant performance advantage even on realistic applications.The real-world advantages of dual-core processors; specifically how the new dual-core AMD™ Opteron™ processors benefit users in a high-performance computing (HPC) environment.

The next step in advanced processor technology, following the ongoing transition to 64-bit computing, is the introduction of dual-core processors. Typical processors chips contain one processor core (the "brains" of the processor) surrounded by supporting circuitry, such as on-chip L2 cache, a memory controller (in some designs), and so on. A "2-way" server in this case would have two processor sockets, each containing one single-core chip. By contrast, dual-core processors contain two complete processor cores within one chip, along with dual L2 caches and the other supporting circuitry.

This offers the potential for greater performance and reduced latency, with lower power draw and heat output, than two physical processors would provide. The need to achieve higher performance without driving up power consumption and heat has become a critical concern for many IT organizations, given the density levels at which industry-standard servers are being deployed and the power and thermal constraints in today's data centers.

Forthcoming multi core processor architectures will be designed to boost performance and minimize heat output by integrating two or more processor cores into a single processor socket. This article introduces the multi core concept and discusses key factors that IT organizations should consider when determining how best to take advantage of multi core technology.