I don’t usually discuss PC, workstation, and server processors because I’m all about embedded processors these days. But Intel’s photo of the first Core i7 processor stopped me and I thought I’d write something. Here’s the photo:

The image shows four x86 processor cores arrayed across the top. Each core runs at 2.66 GHz (faster cores that exceed 3 GHz will appear in the future). Each of the four on-chip processor cores has its own 64-Kbyte L1 and 256-Kbyte L2 caches. The four on-chip processor cores share an on-chip, 8-Mbyte L3 cache and, of course, main memory external to the chip. An integrated, high-speed DDR3 memory controller links that off-chip main memory to the processor chip. In all, this is a very powerful machine.

Unfortunately, I get the impression from my many conversations with embedded systems designers that a lot of embedded designers think this is the right way to architect embedded systems. When they see three levels of on-chip cache used for this class of processor, they start to believe that all processors need caches—that cache memories are just part of the game now. What they forget or ignore is that processors in the same league with Intel’s Core i7 chip cost hundreds of dollars and dissipate many tens of Watts. This is a great league, but it’s not the embedded league.

INTEL (TICKER: INTC) and Nokia (NOK) announced a strategic alliance to develop Intel architecture-based mobile chips and open-source software. The goal appears to be creating open and standards-based technologies to explore new ideas and products in mobile computing and communications.

Collaborative efforts between the two companies will be centered around these three initiatives: definition of mobile chipset based on Intel architecture; development of open-source software infrastructure such as Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin; and Intel licensing of Nokia's HSPA/3G modem internet protocol ...

Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world’s largest chip foundries, just announced a marketing collaboration involving Intel’s Atom processor. Atom is Intel’s effort to downsize its processor chips to fit into the realm of emerging smart devices below the Personal Computer space. TSMC will work closely with Intel to port some of the Atom processors to its own process and design flows. TSMC will also have the ability to do engineering on the chip to build customized versions for the large number of existing TSMC customers. However, Intel will have ownership of the final device and the customer, as Intel will be selling the custom designed chips that TSMC designs and builds in its foundry.

As PC sales wane, and their chip revenues along with them, Intel looks to additional sources for revenues. Consumer products represent a massive potential market, though at clearly lower margins and price points. But, Intel’s cost of operations makes it a supplier at too high a price to go after the cut-throat and highly price sensitive consumer market. And Intel is not set up for customized, System On Chip (SOC) solutions the market demands. Enter a partner that can bring all of this capability to Intel – TSMC.

This is a direct attack by Intel on competing processors, especially the ARM processor, which is trying to move upstream from the smart phone and embedded gadgets market it currently dominates, while Intel is trying to move downstream with Atom into this overlapping space. The battleground in the middle will be aggressive and likely bloody, with huge potential returns. And while Intel’s attack is primarily on ARM, it also has profound effect on other players – AMD, Qualcomm (Snapdragon), Nvidia, TI, and even Marvel to whom Intel sold off its own ARM-based processor (XSc

Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world’s largest chip foundries, just announced a marketing collaboration involving Intel’s Atom processor. Atom is Intel’s effort to downsize its processor chips to fit into the realm of emerging smart devices below the Personal Computer space. TSMC will work closely with Intel to port some of the Atom processors to its own process and design flows. TSMC will also have the ability to do engineering on the chip to build customized versions for the large number of existing TSMC customers. However, Intel will have ownership of the final device and the customer, as Intel will be selling the custom designed chips that TSMC designs and builds in its foundry.

As PC sales wane, and their chip revenues along with them, Intel looks to additional sources for revenues. Consumer products represent a massive potential market, though at clearly lower margins and price points. But, Intel’s cost of operations makes it a supplier at too high a price to go after the cut-throat and highly price sensitive consumer market. And Intel is not set up for customized, System On Chip (SOC) solutions the market demands. Enter a partner that can bring all of this capability to Intel – TSMC.

This is a direct attack by Intel on competing processors, especially the ARM processor, which is trying to move upstream from the smart phone and embedded gadgets market it currently dominates, while Intel is trying to move downstream with Atom into this overlapping space. The battleground in the middle will be aggressive and likely bloody, with huge potential returns. And while Intel’s attack is primarily on ARM, it also has profound effect on other players – AMD, Qualcomm (Snapdragon), Nvidia, TI, and even Marvel to whom Intel sold off its own ARM-based processor (XSc

I don’t usually discuss PC, workstation, and server processors because I’m all about embedded processors these days. But Intel’s photo of the first Core i7 processor stopped me and I thought I’d write something. Here’s the photo:

The image shows four x86 processor cores arrayed across the top. Each core runs at 2.66 GHz (faster cores that exceed 3 GHz will appear in the future). Each of the four on-chip processor cores has its own 64-Kbyte L1 and 256-Kbyte L2 caches. The four on-chip processor cores share an on-chip, 8-Mbyte L3 cache and, of course, main memory external to the chip. An integrated, high-speed DDR3 memory controller links that off-chip main memory to the processor chip. In all, this is a very powerful machine.

Unfortunately, I get the impression from my many conversations with embedded systems designers that a lot of embedded designers think this is the right way to architect embedded systems. When they see three levels of on-chip cache used for this class of processor, they start to believe that all processors need caches—that cache memories are just part of the game now. What they forget or ignore is that processors in the same league with Intel’s Core i7 chip cost hundreds of dollars and dissipate many tens of Watts. This is a great league, but it’s not the embedded league.

Leaders of the pack seeking monster performance, look no further. With four execution cores, the Intel Core 2 Quad processor blows through processor-intensive tasks in demanding multitasking environments and makes the most of highly threaded applications. Whether you're creating multimedia, annihilating your gaming enemies, or running compute-intensive applications at one time, new quad-core processing will change the way you do everything. Pioneer the new world of quad-core and unleash the power of multithreading.
General

* MPN: BX80580Q8200
* Product Type: Processor

Processor

* Type / Form Factor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
* Multi-Core Technology: Quad-Core
* 64-bit Computing: Yes
* Processor Qty: 1
* Clock Speed: 2.33 GHz
* Bus Speed: 1333 MHz
* Compatible Processor Socket: LGA775 Socket
* Manufacturing Process: 45 nm
* Thermal Design Power: 95 W
* Thermal Specification: 71.4 °C
* Architecture Features: Enhanced SpeedStep technology, Execute Disable Bit capability, Intel 64 Technology, Enhanced Halt State (C1E), Intel Thermal Monitor 2

Cache memory

* Installed Size: L2 cache - 4 MB

Expansion / connectivity

* Compatible Slots: 1 x processor - LGA775 Socket


Miscellaneous

* Package Type: Intel Boxed

Manufacturer warranty

* Service & Support: 3 years warranty

Intel announced a technology partnership with Nokia that could potentially give the chip maker the breakthrough it has been looking for into the mobile market.

The companies said last night they would work together on a new class of mobile computing devices, but would not say when they would come to market or give details on the kind of wireless products they hoped to develop together.

Analysts saw the pact as strategically important for Intel in the long term because it gains the world's top cellphone maker as a potential client.

But given the lack of details, analysts said it could take one or two years for products to come to market, and it remained to be seen if they would find favour with consumers.

"Intel at least has its foot in the door. It's an important and strategic customer," said Gartner analyst Jon Erensen, who sees the partnership as a way for Intel to get into the market for advanced phones known as smartphones.

However, he added, "You're probably talking about something like 2011 before you get down to the power consumption and integration (levels) you'd need for that kind of device."

Analysts said the deal gives Intel a chance to take on leading cellphone chip makers Qualcomm Inc and Texas Instruments, a big Nokia supplier.

It could also mean stiffer competition for ARM Holdings , which supplies core cellphone processors to both Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, and whose customers rely in part on software from Wind River Systems.

Intel said earlier this month that it would buy Wind River, whose software speeds up and connects devices made by Samsung Electronics, Apple, Hewlett-Packard Co and Motorola.

Intel, whose microprocessors are found in eight out of 10 personal computers, already works with LG Electronics on mobile devices. The agreement with Finland's Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker, is a bigger step.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini has said that the handheld, embedded and netbook markets would be as important for the company as the PC market in the near future.

Under the agreement, Intel will buy intellectual property from Nokia related to high-speed wireless technology. They also plan to collaborate on open-source mobile Linux software projects, which some analysts say will compete with Google's Android software in the netbook and mobile Internet device (MID) market.

Intel and Nokia said they aimed to define "a new mobile platform beyond today's smartphones, notebooks and netbooks" for hardware, software and mobile Internet services. They stressed the pact was about their technology collaboration and not about specific products.

The LGA1366 interposer (from ASSET InterTech) enables design, test and field repair engineers to access the debug port on the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series and Core i7 processors (based on Intel’s new Nehalem microarchitecture) after the processors have been placed on a circuit board. The LGA1366 interposer’s standard Intel debug port (XDP) header connector enables third-party CPU emulation tools to access the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series and Core i7 processor debug ports, even when a XDP header is not provided on the circuit board. The LGA1366 interposer is available now with pricing starting at $2,900.

The LGA1366 interposer features a direct interface between the CPU on an assembled circuit board and PCT on the ScanWorks platform. The non-intrusive PCT test technology can apply tests, diagnostics, and debug routines to the entire circuit board through the Intel processor without placing physical probes anywhere on the board. Unlike intrusive test technologies like ICT, which require expensive bed-of-nails fixtures for testing circuit boards, PCT on ScanWorks is a non-intrusive technology that relies on software. It tests the electrical integrity of a board and applies functional tests at processor speeds through the CPU’s debug port.

In addition to the enhanced test coverage that ASSET’s interposers and top-side adapters make possible in manufacturing, they can also be applied very effectively in repair operations. Some circuit boards are broken to the point where they cannot launch an operating system (OS) or even the kernel of the OS, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). Since most functional test techniques require a running BIOS or OS, traditional functional tests cannot be performed on these circuit boards and they cannot be repaired. Fortunately, ScanWorks’ PCT tests do not require an OS or BIOS. As a result, the precise diagnostics of PCT can locate faults and failures on otherwise dead circuit boards. The manufacturer can then repair these boards and recoup some of the costs associated with them.

Cost and size considerations often cause many circuit board manufacturers to either remove the circuitry required to access the processor’s debug port or to remove the connectors on the circuit board which would link to this circuitry. ASSET’s interposers and top-side adapters overcome this problem for the purposes of the more cost-effective non-intrusive board test technologies such as processor-controlled test (PCT) on ASSET’s ScanWorks platform for embedded instrumentation. In addition to providing a lower cost-of-test, non-intrusive board test (NBT) also offers improved test coverage over the older intrusive test technologies such as in-circuit test (ICT).