Content deleted Content added
Guy Harris (talk | contribs) Mark a dead link as such. |
No edit summary Tags: Visual edit Disambiguation links added |
||
Line 5:
[[File:Athlon64x2-6400plus.jpg|thumb|An [[AMD]] [[Athlon 64 X2|Athlon X2 6400+]] dual-core processor]]
A '''multi-core processor''' is a [[microprocessor]] on a single [[integrated circuit]] with two or more separate [[Central processing unit|processing units]], called cores (for example, ''[[dual]]-core'' or ''[[quad]]-core''), each of which reads and executes [[Instruction set|program instructions]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid80_gci1015740,00.html|publisher= TechTarget|title= Definition: multi-core processor|last= Rouse|first= Margaret|date= March 27, 2007|access-date= March 6, 2013|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100805052158/http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid80_gci1015740,00.html|archive-date= August 5, 2010}}</ref> The instructions are ordinary [[Instruction set|CPU instructions]] (such as add, move data, and branch) but the single processor can run instructions on separate cores at the same time, increasing overall speed for programs that support [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multithreading]] or other [[parallel computing]] techniques.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/multicore/review.pdf|title=Multicore Processors – A Necessity|last=Schauer|first=Bryan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125035151/http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/multicore/review.pdf|archive-date=2011-11-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> Manufacturers typically integrate the cores onto a single integrated circuit [[Die (integrated circuit)|die]] (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP) or onto multiple dies in a single [[Chip carrier|chip package]]. The microprocessors currently used in almost all personal computers are multi-core.
A multi-core processor implements [[multiprocessing]] in a single physical package. Designers may couple cores in a multi-core device tightly or loosely. For example, cores may or may not share [[CPU cache|caches]], and they may implement [[message passing]] or [[shared memory|shared-memory]] inter-core communication methods. Common [[network topology|network topologies]] used to interconnect cores include [[bus network|bus]], [[ring network|ring]], two-dimensional [[mesh networking|mesh]], and [[crossbar switch|crossbar]]. Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores; [[heterogeneous computing|heterogeneous]] multi-core systems have cores that are not identical (e.g. [[ARM big.LITTLE|big.LITTLE]] have heterogeneous cores that share the same [[Instruction set architecture|instruction set]], while [[AMD Accelerated Processing Unit]]s have cores that do not share the same instruction set). Just as with single-processor systems, cores in multi-core systems may implement architectures such as [[Very long instruction word|VLIW]], [[Superscalar processor|superscalar]], [[Vector processor|vector]], or [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multithreading]].
Line 27:
The parallelization of software is a significant ongoing topic of research. Cointegration of multiprocessor applications provides flexibility in network architecture design. Adaptability within parallel models is an additional feature of systems utilizing these protocols.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Duran |first1=A |title=Ompss: a proposal for programming heterogeneous multi-core architectures |journal=Parallel Processing Letters |date=2011 |volume=21 |issue=2|pages=173–193 |doi=10.1142/S0129626411000151 }}</ref>
In the consumer market, dual-core processors (that is, microprocessors with two units) started becoming commonplace in the late 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of dual core |url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/dual-core |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref> Quad-core processors were also being adopted for higher-end systems. In the late 2010s, hexa-core (six cores) started entering the mainstream.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intel taking its six-core processors mainstream in 2018 with Coffee Lake family |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-taking-its-six-core-processors-mainstream-in-2018-with-coffee-lake-family/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=ZDNET |language=en}}</ref>
==Terminology==
| |||