X-bit labs

AMD K10 Micro-Architecture (page 11)

Category: CPU

by Yury Malich

[ 08/17/2007 | 10:06 AM ]

Conclusion

All the information on the new AMD processors hasn’t been released yet that is why we may still experience some surprises. However, we have enough knowledge to make the main conclusions about the new micro-architecture. Due to numerous core improvements new AMD processor promises to deliver a significant performance boost compared with the predecessor, especially in applications with intensive floating-point calculations. This CPU can compete successfully with Intel processors working at the same clock speed in a large number of applications and win the competition. New applications designed taking into account unique processor features, such as effective unaligned load and support of large 1GB pages, may also get an additional performance improvement.

However, the new CPU also has some weak spots compared with the Intel competitors. Here I have to point out caching and prefetch systems that may have a negative effect on performance in some applications. But the greatest issue in the fight for highest performance will most probably be the working frequency that is expected to be not high enough at first.

We would like to wish AMD to conquer new frequencies very soon and will continue keeping an eye on the competition between the two companies aimed at winning our, computer users’, hearts.

The author would like to thank Maria Malich and Sergey Romanov aka GReY for editorial help.