In addition, the 45 nm die shrink of the Core microarchitecture adds SSE4.1 support to all Core 2 microprocessors manufactured at a 45 nm lithography, therefore increasing the calculation rate of the processors. All three chips are manufactured at a 65 nm lithography, and in 2008, a 45 nm lithography and support Front Side Bus speeds ranging from 533 MHz to 1600 MHz. Core 2 also introduced a quad-core performance variant to the single- and dual-core chips, branded Core 2 Quad, as well as an enthusiast variant, Core 2 Extreme. The new Core 2 Duo has tripled the amount of on-board cache to 6 MB. Another difference between the original Core Duo and the new Core 2 Duo is an increase in the amount of Level 2 cache. Unlike the Intel Core, Intel Core 2 is a 64-bit processor, supporting Intel 64.
The release of the mobile version of Intel Core 2 marks the reunification of Intel's desktop and mobile product lines as Core 2 processors were released for desktops and notebooks, unlike the first Intel Core CPUs that were targeted only for notebooks (although some small form factor and all-in-one desktops, like the iMac and the Mac Mini, also used Core processors). The successor to Core is the mobile version of the Intel Core 2 line of processors using cores based upon the Intel Core microarchitecture, released on July 27, 2006. CodenameĦ4-bit Core microarchitecture based Intel used the same strategy previously with the 486 CPU in which early 486SX CPUs were in fact manufactured as 486DX CPUs but with the FPU disabled. Depending on demand, Intel may also simply disable one of the cores to sell the chip at the Core Solo price-this requires less effort than launching and maintaining a separate line of CPUs that physically only have one core.
Intel Core Solo (product code 80538) uses the same two-core die as the Core Duo, but features only one active core. Intel Core Duo (product code 80539) consists of two cores on one die, a 2 MB L2 cache shared by both cores, and an arbiter bus that controls both L2 cache and FSB (front-side bus) access. September 2007 and Janumarked the discontinuation of a number of Core branded CPUs including several Core Solo, Core Duo, Celeron and one Core 2 Quad chip. In 2007, Intel began branding the Yonah core CPUs intended for mainstream mobile computers as Pentium Dual-Core, not to be confused with the desktop 64-bit Core microarchitecture CPUs also branded as Pentium Dual-Core.
Core Duo signified the beginning of Apple's shift to Intel processors across their entire line. The Core Duo was the CPU for the first generation MacBook Pro, while the Core Solo appeared in Apple's Mac mini line.
The Core series is also the first Intel processor used as the main CPU in an Apple Macintosh computer. Despite a major rebranding effort by Intel starting January 2006, some companies continued to market computers with the Yonah core marked as Pentium M. Hence, the 32-bit microarchitecture of Core branded CPUs – contrary to its name – had more in common with Pentium M branded CPUs than with the subsequent 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2branded CPUs. Its dual-core layout closely resembled two interconnected Pentium M branded CPUs packaged as a single die (piece) silicon chip ( IC). Intel launched the Core brand on Januwith the release of the 32-bit Yonah CPU – Intel's first dual-core mobile (low-power) processor. The Core brand comprised two branches: the Duo (dual-core) and Solo (Duo with one disabled core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor). It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst microarchitecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The processor family used a more enhanced version of the Intel P6 microarchitecture. The originals Core brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs, which derived from the Pentium M branded processors. Clock speed slowest 1.2 GHZ to fastest 3.7 GHZ (Intel core i7-4820K)(Or 4.0 GHZ via Intel Turbo Boost Technology) Enhanced Pentium M based įor details about the processor core, see Yonah (microprocessor).