What is all this about Processor Core Names??

[h_kunte]

Hello all...

I keep coming about these names for AMD Athlon processor core like Venice, Newcastle, Winchester et all...

Can anyone explain why all these names have been given, & what they mean to a novice like me?

Are they upgraded versions of the same processor? If yes, then which is the latest processor in the Athlon 64 series???

Peace

 

[d]

processor core names are a means of distinguishing various models within a single range....like there are different sockets(754 and 939), diff manufacturing processes, clock speeds, cache sizes, etc...for example in the athlon64 3200+, the newcastle core is a socket 754 which runs at 2200 Mhz and has a 512 KB Cache.....the clawhammer core is a socket 939 which runs at 2000 Mhz and has a 1 MB Cache....so this is what core code names are....like u hv within the octavia range ambiente, elegance, L&K, Rider, RS etc....(this is out of the topic, entirely....tho the only things i relate to are computers and cars ) ...regards to ur specific query, it depends on what athlon ur looking for....athlon64, athlon X2(dual core), and athlon64 FX....the latest are respectively 4000+ , FX X2 4800+ and FX - 57. cheers...

 

[h_kunte]

OK, well thanx "d"....Can u also tell me where a "Venice" core AMD Athlon 3000+ proccy stands? I mean what r its specifications? I tried to know more about the same using CPU-Z, but could make much sense of what I saw...Novice here u see.....

Peace

 

[d]

Details of the Athlon64 3000+ Venice



AMD Athlon 64 3000+
1.8GHz Venice Core
512KB L2 Cache
90nm
Socket 939


that okay, mate?


cheers

 

[h_kunte]

Ya thanx once again "d"

Can u clarify one more thing? Whats all this about L1 cache & L2 cache ?

My CPU-Z report says:

L1 data = 64 KB
L1 code = 64 KB
Level 2 = 512 KB

What do those 3 values mean to me?

Thanx a lot once again...Know that I am troubling you with baby's stuff.....

Peace

 

[d]

umm...data is first loaded into the L2 cache and then into the L1 Cache...the L1 cache is the closest to the processor, and that's where the processor reads its instructions directly from...and if the L1 cache doesnt contain the necessary instructions, it checks the L2 cache.


so upto 512 KB of instructions can be loaded into L2, and from L2 64 KB of cache is selectively loaded into L1.....in general, the more the cache, the better....cuz cache memory is faster than RAM cuz it is closer to the processor....

as for the baby stuff, u kno some stuff, i kno some stuff....i'm still not clear on a variety of things.....n tht's wht the forum is for!

 

[h_kunte]

@d

Thanx once again dude...

So u mean to say one has got to choose a proccy which has the maximum "L2" cache memory right?

What is the max cache mem that processors nowadays have???

Thanx once again

 

[manmay]

ofcousre having a large cache mem gives good result .

but what exactly is cache mem.

suppose a file of say 450 kb is very frequently called by the os.so this file would be temporarily stored in the cache. now first of all the processor checks the l1 cache for the availablity of this file, on not finding the file it checks the l2 and then the l3......having more more of cache like l4 and l5 does not increase speed......if this file is found in the cache then the system dosent have to consult the ram it directly loads the file from the cache......which is much much faster then the ram

cache is actually a more faster version of ram.
it is closest to the processor but very costly.

i think till now 2 mb l2 cache is the max limit available. for eg in the centrinos.

since the centrinos have a lower clock frequency so to counter this the intel guys have put more l2 cache on this processor.

but having a large l2 cache does not always ensure that u will get the best experience.becoz if a file is not in the cache then ultimately the proccy has to fetch the file from the ram or lastly from the hd.

if i'm wrong some where then pl correct me...


i hope one day comes that the hdd is eliminated and the hdd consists of a collection of large no of rams making up a hdd and voluminous caches
l1- 50 mb
l2- 500 mb
l3-5 gb

jus imagine ......

.....ok ok enough........ stop day dreaming.....or rather night dreaming...