The Intel Developer Forum is undoubtedly one of the most interesting press events of the year. In IDF, Intel not only outlines the future of their upcoming products, but also gives an idea for the path of which the whole computer industry will follow.

One of the main innovations in technology that we will see take a large role in 2007 is undoubtedly the release of Quad Core architectures. In 2007, we will see Quad Core CPUs begin to make a transition into everyday servers, workstations, and desktop PCs. In the course of the next few weeks, we will be seeing Intel introduce their server Quad Core processor the Xeon DP which will be based on the “Clovertown” Core. We will also be seeing Intel introduce their Core 2 Quad QX6700 which will be based on the Kentsfield core.

Intel has been able to create their Quad Core architecturse by supporting Core Dual Core on the same processor. The Kentsfield architecture, in the simplest explanation of its workings, is basically two Core 2 Duo processors packed onto the same processor. Intel’s Cloverton architecture, on the other hand, is basically two Xeon DP Woodcrest CPUs in the same processor. Both architectures connect through the front side bus, which is a simpler solution compared to when Intel will have to begin constructing a new die that will have all four processing cores on it with a shared L2 cache.

Intel Kentsfield processor with protective plate removed
The two separate silicon blocks each have two cores

The Kentsfield and Clovertown CPUs both come with 8 megabytes of L2 Cache. This is achieved by each two cores having 4Mbytes of L2 cache. The four cores are not located on their own pieces of Silicon. Instead, Intel has opted upon placing two separate dual core cores side by side in the same processor. The two dual core cores have their own separate L2 cache.

Looking into the future, the first 8-core architecture that will be released from Intel will utilize a unified L2 cache for the cores, be based on a 45nm production process, and most importantly have all cores on the same piece of silicon. The current code name of the architecture is Yorkfield. The architecture is expected to make an appearance in the third quarter of 2007.

The test platforms that Intel provided are identical to each other except for the processors. The first test system was equipped with the Core 2 Quadro QX6700, while the other test system had the Core 2 Extreme X6800, which is currently the fastest CPU that Intel has available for desktop systems.

The motherboard used in both test systems was the D975XBX2, also notoriously known as “BadAxe 2”. The motherboard is based on the Intel 975X chipset. The chipset’s specifications are identical to all other 975X chipsets that are available for commerce. The video card used was a NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2, while for memory the system was equipped with 2 modules of 1 Gbyte Corsair XMS of DDR2-800 memory with timings of 4-4-4-12. The hard drive was a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10.

The operating system was Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Professional, as can be seen from the above photograph, recognized the Quad core processor and all of its four cores.

Core 2 Extreme X6800	Core 2 Quad QX6700

The above CPU-Z screenshots show that the hardware configurations for the test systems, except for the processors, are completely identically to each other. The main item of differentiation between the processors, besides the number of cores, is the clock speed. The Core 2 Extreme X6800 runs at a frequency of 2.93 GHz, while the Core 2 Quad QX6700 runs at a speed of 2.66 GHz.