In the beginning of 2010, Intel presented their first CPUs manufactured in 32 nm lithography, therefore beginning the Tick phase. This refers to Intel’s development model, called Tick-Tock, designating two phases in development. The Tick phase means presenting a new manufacturing process developed on current architecture, whereas the following Tock phase means that Intel presents a completely new architecture.
After the 32 nm mid-range CPU models, intended for use with the LGA1156 socket, it was the logical thing to expect a new performance master for the prestigious X58 platform. The LGA1366 socket along with the X58 chipset remained reserved for the high-end segment, but has also remained overshadowed by the cheaper platform in the past few months. The prime cause for this is the price of P55-based motherboards and CPUs targeting the LGA1156 socket, both proven very overclockable. Intel rectifies this situation by presenting the first six-core (hexa-core) desktop CPU, in an attempt to separate the high-end segment from the mid-range once and for all and make its performance unreachable. Of course, we’re talking about the new Extreme Edition CPU, the Core i7 980X.
Technicalities
Gulftown, as the codename of this CPU goes, is technically almost identical to Bloomfields, i.e. it’s still the Nehalem microarchitecture that’s in question, with one new instruction, an improved manufacturing process and two additional cores.
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The new manufacturing process provided improved thermal characteristics, which enabled Intel to pack another pair of cores under the HIS while keeping the maximum TDP at 130 W, just like the quad-cores have. As ever, the new production process will come with improved overclocking capabilities as well, but before we get there, let’s have a look at the AES instruction. AES or Advanced Encryption Standard is an instruction which enables faster and more secure data encryption and decryption in appropriate software. This instruction debuted in the beginning of 2010 on the first 32 nm CPUs.
