- Monday, 9 November 2009
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First Clarkdale benchmarks surface
FOLLOWING NEWS that Intel has retired Havendale even before it launched, having replaced it with Clarkdale, some pics and benchmarks of the upcoming Intel Clarkdale processor have been posted to the Xtremesystems' forum, courtesy of JCornell.
Clarkdale is the desktop counterpart to Arrandale, combining a 32nm CPU with a 45nm GPU on separate dies but in the same package. The processor is a dual-core hyper-threaded unit built on the Westmere Nehalem-shrink, features Turbo Boost tech and 4MB of 'smart cache' (L3 in fact, and in addition to 256KB per CPU core). The memory controller is now also integrated into the package, providing dual DDR3-1333 channels.
The multi-chip die package will also cut out one entire chip (or rather, integrate it) and plug into the Ibex Peak chipset (P55 and P57 mobos). The lack of the usual northbridge controller hub complements the die shrink that leads us to Intel's claim of a 65W part.
At Xtremesystems, the early bird upped some pics of the Clarkdale processor with CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp caps of a 2.4GHz (133MHz x 18) clock with Intel Havendale graphics taking up 32MB of RAM. Unfortunately, that's just about all the info the utilities gathered from the processor, as these are yet to be updated.
If the slideware we've seen is any measure of the 45nm IGP on the Clarkdale package, it will be substantially larger than the current crop of G4x series IGPs but a not so distant cousin.
As it stands now, Clarkdale looks to be at least 10 per cent faster than an equally-clocked 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8600, even though SuperPI is traditionally averse to HyperThreading. 18.125 seconds crunching 1M PI is nothing to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately, you'll have to stay tuned for 3D performance as the benchmarking is only at the beginning... µ
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wow is this the first hybrid cpu + gpu? I know the cpu and the gpu is not on the same die, but they are on the same package.
The drawback though is that GPU no matter how fast would have to use PC RAM not GDR memory, so the memory bandwidth and latency may be the real bottleneck on GPU power.
But there is also advantages of putting GPU so close to CPU.
I wonder whaat are the specs of GPU core.
I don't think Intel IGP's are powerful enough to get "bottlenecked" by that. They're aimed at mainstream, so if they can play blu-ray and do aero in vista, they're good enough. This should offer performance improvements though, because it's on 45nm (so more transistors and higher clocks) and because it's close to the CPU.
Single-chip CPU+GPU has been done for ages if you look beyond x86. For example TI's OMAP line is basically a computer on a single chip, including fast ARM cores, a DSP, a GPU, memory controller and much more. Even flash and DRAM are on the same package. AMD and Intel are many years behind, which is why you don't see x86 in mobile phones and other small devices.
If the gpu can access very fast 128MB+ of RAM then it might be a gamer's platform, otherwise it's "just" a mainstream part.
Integrated GPU-CPU's have been done before they were just never that good.
Good old Cyrix Media GX processor had hardware VGA and Audio on the CPU
sorry, I meant first x86 hybrid of course, which was hot topic ever since AMD introduced term Fusion. Of course embedded device world and other non x86 chip world might have seen unspeakable hybrids both on big and small dies, for mass production and for special purpose use only.
But this particular time we are talking about mainstream cpu + gpu in one package.
Question is - is it any good? I think the mainstream cpu integrated gpu's will outsell external gpu's eventually - all we need is mainstream gpu performance and better than shi**y bandwidth to make most games playable on medium settings on fine resolution.
It might and might not happen, but all of you who think that this simply can not happen, think what happened to Sound Card market? It is kind of extra since mobo makers started to integrate more or less normal sound chips in their boards.
Being first, this cpu/gpu has right to be Work In Progress. Yet, main idea for Graphics is to hit 333 Mhz/s level. Maybe two onboard processors will lower that Need For Speed, yet @ 65 W., its Open Book Still To Be Written. How about 200 Mhz/s Core Model @ say, Oh, 85W? At Least DDR3 Would BoostUp to Standard. STeWie drashek