Tuesday, July 14, 2009

California Gun Laws

Bureau of Firearms

Bureau of Firearms LogoThe Bureau of Firearms serves the people of California through education, regulation, and enforcement actions regarding the manufacture, sales, ownership, safety training, and transfer of firearms. Bureau of Firearms staff will be leaders in providing firearms expertise and information to law enforcement, legislators, and the general public in a comprehensive program to promote legitimate and responsible firearms possession and use by California residents.

GENERAL INFORMATION

NEW AND AMENDED FIREARMS LAWS

ASSAULT WEAPONS, LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINES AND .50 BMG RIFLES

HANDGUN AND LABORATORY CERTIFICATION

FIREARMS SAFETY DEVICES, LABORATORY CERTIFICATION, AND GUN SAFES

FIREARMS DEALER INFORMATION AND TOOLS

FIREARMS LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION

FIREARMS SHIPMENT VERIFICATION

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Supercomputers based on Xeon processors that have been in the top ten of the Top500 fastest supercomputers in the world are:

  • After upgrades from Pentium Pro to Xeon, ASCI Red reclaimed its #1 spot in 1999 with a speed of 2.4 TFLOPS.[23]
  • an Intel Xeon system at SGI in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Machine: SGI Altix ICE 8200 system with 3584 Quad-Core Clovertown processors at 3.0 GHz and InfiniBand interconnect. This supercomputer was listed in third place in November 2007, ahead of the fastest Itanium and Opteron-based supercomputers but behind two PowerPC-based Blue Gene systems.[24]

Xeon processor based system, in the top 20 of the fastest systems by memory bandwidth as measured by STREAM benchmark:[25]

  • an Intel Xeon virtual SMP system leveraging ScaleMP's Versatile SMP (vSMP) architecture with 128 cores and 1TB RAM.[26] This system aggregates 16 Stoakley platform (Seaburg chipset) systems with total of 32 Harpertown processors.
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Beckton

Beckton is a Nehalem-based processor with eight cores and uses buffering inside the chipset to support up to 16 standard DDR3 DIMMS per CPU socket without requiring the use of FB-DIMMS.[20] It has four (or more?) QuickPath interfaces, so it can be used in at least quad-socket configurations. Designed by the Digital Enterprise Group (DEG) Santa Clara Xeon Design Team, Beckton will be manufactured on the P1266 (45 nm) technology. It is expected to be launched in Q1 2010.[21] Beckton is also referred to as Nehalem-EX (EXpandable server market).

[edit] Jasper Forest

Jasper Forest is a Nehalem-based embedded processor with PCI Express connections on-die, core counts from 1 to 4 cores and power envelopes from 23 to 85 watts.

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"Paxville DP"

The first dual-core CPU branded Xeon, codenamed Paxville DP, product code 80551, was released by Intel on 10 October 2005. Paxville DP had NetBurst architecture, and was a dual-core equivalent of the single-core Irwindale (related to the Pentium D branded "Smithfield"") with 4 MB of L2 Cache (2 MB per core). The only Paxville DP model released ran at 2.8 GHz, featured an 800 MT/s front side bus, and was produced using a 90 nm process. Many[who?] consider the Paxville to be one of the worst processors ever released by Intel, owing to its massive power consumption and performance that at times was less than half of the competing dual-core Opterons, and not even clearly superior to single-core Opterons.[citation needed]

[edit] 7000-series "Paxville MP"

An MP-capable version of Paxville DP, codenamed Paxville MP, product code 80560, was released on 1 November 2005. There are two versions: one with 2 MB of L2 Cache (1 MB per core), and one with 4 MB of L2 (2 MB per core). Paxville MP, called the dual-core Xeon 7000-series, was produced using a 90 nm process. Paxville MP clock ranges between 2.67 GHz and 3.0 GHz (model numbers 7020-7041), with some models having a 667 MT/s FSB, and others having an 800 MT/s FSB.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
7020 2.66 2x1 667 165
7030 2.80 2x1 800 165
7040 3.00 2x2 667 165
7041 3.00 2x2 800 165

[edit] LV (ULV), "Sossaman"

On 14 March 2006, Intel released a dual-core processor codenamed Sossaman and branded as Xeon LV (low-voltage). Subsequently an ULV (ultra-low-voltage) version was released. The Sossaman was a low-/ultra-low-power and double-processor capable CPU (like AMD Quad FX), based on the "Yonah" processor, for ultradense non-consumer environment (i.e. targeted at the blade-server and embedded markets), and it was rated at a thermal design power (TDP) of 31 W (LV: 1.66 GHz and 2 GHz ) and 15 W (ULV: 1.66 GHz)[2]. As such, it supported most of the same features as earlier Xeons: Virtualization Technology, 667 MT/s front side bus, and dual-core processing, but it did not support 64-bit operations, so it could not run 64-bit-only server software, such as Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and therefore it was limited to only 16 GB of memory. A planned successor, codenamed "Merom MP" was to be a drop-in upgrade to allow Sossaman-based servers to upgrade to 64-bit capability. However, this was abandoned in favour of low-voltage versions of the Woodcrest LV processor leaving the Sossaman at a dead-end with no planned upgrades.

[edit] 5000-series "Dempsey"

On 23 May 2006, Intel released the dual-core CPU (Xeon branded 5000 series) codenamed Dempsey (product code 80555). Released as the Dual-Core Xeon 5000-series, Dempsey is a NetBurst architecture processor produced using a 65 nm process, and is virtually identical to Intel's "Presler" Pentium Extreme Edition, except for the addition of SMP support, which lets Dempsey operate in dual-processor systems. Dempsey ranges between 2.50 GHz and 3.73 GHz (model numbers 5020-5080). Some models have a 667 MT/s FSB, and others have a 1066 MT/s FSB. Dempsey has 4 MB of L2 Cache (2 MB per core). A Medium Voltage model, at 3.2 GHz and 1066 MT/s FSB (model number 5063), has also been released. Dempsey also introduces a new interface for Xeon processors: Socket J, also known as LGA 771. Dempsey was the was the first Xeon core in a long time to be somewhat competitive with its Opteron-based counterparts, although it could not claim a decisive lead in any performance metric - that would have to wait for its successor, the Woodcrest.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
5020 2.50 2x2 667 95
5030 2.66 2x2 667 95
5040 2.83 2x2 667 95
5050 3.00 2x2 667 95
5060 3.20 2x2 1066 130
5063 3.20 2x2 1066 95
5070 3.46 2x2 1066 130
5080 3.73 2x2 1066 130

[edit] 5100-series "Woodcrest"

On 26 June 2006, Intel released the dual-core CPU (Xeon branded 5100 series) codenamed Woodcrest (product code 80556); it was the first Intel Core microarchitecture processor to be launched on the market. It is a server and workstation version of the Intel Core 2 processor. Intel claims that it provides an 80% boost in performance, while reducing power consumption by 20% relative to the Pentium D.

Most models have a 1333 MT/s FSB, except for the 5110 and 5120, which have a 1066 MT/s FSB. The fastest processor (5160) operates at 3.0 GHz. All Woodcrests use LGA 771 and all except two models have a TDP of 65 W. The 5160 has a TDP of 80 W and the 5148LV (2.33 GHz) has a TDP of 40 W. The previous generation Xeons had a TDP of 130 W. All models support Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), the XD bit, and Virtualization Technology, with the "Demand Based Switching" power management option only on Dual-Core Xeon 5140 or above. Woodcrest has 4 MB of shared L2 Cache.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
5110 1.60 4 1066 65
5120 1.83 4 1066 65
5128 1.83 4 1066 40
5130 2.0 4 1333 65
5138 2.13 4 1066 35
5140 2.33 4 1333 65
5148 2.33 4 1333 40
5150 2.66 4 1333 65
5160 3.00 4 1333 80

[edit] 7100-series "Tulsa"

Released on 29 August 2006,[3] the 7100 series, codenamed Tulsa (product code 80550), is an improved version of Paxville MP, built on a 65 nm process, with 2 MB of L2 cache (1 MB per core) and up to 16 MB of L3 cache. It uses Socket 604 [1]. Tulsa was released in two lines: the N-line uses a 667 MT/s FSB, and the M-line uses an 800 MT/s FSB. The N-line ranges from 2.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz (model numbers 7110N-7150N), and the M-line ranges from 2.6 GHz to 3.4 GHz (model numbers 7110M-7140M). L3 cache ranges from 4 MB to 16 MB across the models.[4]

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) L3 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
7110N 2.50 2 4 667 95
7110M 2.60 2 4 800 95
7120N 3.00 2 4 667 95
7120M 3.00 2 4 800 95
7130N 3.16 2 8 667 150
7130M 3.20 2 8 800 150
7140N 3.33 2 16 667 150
7140M 3.40 2 16 800 150

[edit] 7200-series "Tigerton"

The 7200 series, codenamed Tigerton (product code 80564) is an MP-capable processor, similar to the 7300 series, but, in contrast, only one core is active on each silicon chip, and the other one is turned off (blocked), resulting as a dual-core capable processor. [2] [3][4] [5]

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E7210 2.40 2x4 1066 80
E7220 2.93 2x4 1066 81

[edit] 3000-series "Conroe"

The 3000 series, codenamed Conroe (product code 80557) dual-core Xeon (branded) CPU,[5] released at the end of September 2006, was just a rebranded version of the Intel's mainstream Conroe, otherwise branded as Core 2 Duo (for consumer desktops). Unlike most Xeon processors, they only supported single-CPU operation. They use Socket T (LGA775), operate on a 1066 MHz front-side bus, support Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology and Intel Virtualization Technology but do not support Hyper-Threading. Intel Processors with a number ending in "5" have a 1333 MT/s FSB.[6]

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
3040 1.86 2 1066 65
3050 2.13 2 1066 65
3055* 2.13 4 1066 65
3060 2.4 4 1066 65
3065 2.33 4 1333 65
3070 2.66 4 1066 65
3075 2.66 4 1333 65
3080* 2.93 4 1066 65
3085 3.00 4 1333 65
  • Models marked with a star are not present in intel's database [7]

[edit] 3100-series "Wolfdale"

The 3100 series, codenamed Wolfdale (product code 80570) dual-core Xeon (branded) CPU, was just rebranded version of the Intel's mainstream Wolfdale featuring the same 45 nm process and 6 MB of L2 cache. Unlike most Xeon processors, they only support single-CPU operation. They use Socket T (LGA775), operate on a 1333 MHz front-side bus, support Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology and Intel Virtualization Technology but do not support Hyper-Threading.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E3110 3.00 6 1333 65
L3110 3.00 6 1333 45
E3120 3.16 6 1333 65

[edit] 5200-series "Wolfdale DP"

On 11 November 2007, Intel released the dual-core CPU (Xeon branded 5200 series) codenamed Wolfdale DP (product code 80573)[8]. It is built on a 45 nm process like the desktop Core 2 Duo Wolfdale and the Xeon-SP Wolfdale, featuring Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), the XD bit, and Virtualization Technology. It is unclear whether the "Demand Based Switching" power management is available on the L5238.[9] Wolfdale has 6 MB of shared L2 Cache.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E5205 1.86 6 1066 65
L5238 2.66 6 1333 35
X5260 3.33 6 1333 80
X5270 3.50 6 1333 80
X5272 3.40 6 1600 80

[edit] Quad-Core and Multi-Core Xeon

[edit] 3200-series "Kentsfield"

Intel released relabeled versions of its quad-core (2x2) Core 2 Quad processor as the Xeon 3200-series (product code 80562) on 7 January 2007.[10] The 2x2 "quad-core" (dual-die dual-core[11]) comprised two separate dual-core die next to each other in one CPU package. The models are the X3210, X3220 and X3230, running at 2.13 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 2.66 GHz, respectively.[12] Like the 3000-series, these models only support single-CPU operation and operate on a 1066 MHz front-side bus. It is targeted at the "blade" market. The X3220 is also branded and sold as Core2 Quad Q6600, the X3230 as Q6700.

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
X3210 2.13 2x4 1066 100/105
X3220 2.40 2x4 1066 100/105
X3230 2.66 2x4 1066 100

[edit] 3300-series "Yorkfield"

Intel released relabeled versions of its quad-core Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Q9400 and Q9x50 processors as the Xeon 3300-series (product code 80569). It comprised two separate dual-core dies next to each other in one CPU package and manufactured in a 45 nm process. The models are the X3320, X3350, X3360 and X3370, running at 2.50 GHz, 2.66 GHz, 2.83 GHz and 3.0 GHz, respectively. The L2 cache is a unified 6 MB per die (except for the X3320 with a smaller 3 MB L2 cache per die), and a front-side bus of 1333 MHz. All models feature Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), the XD bit, and Virtualization Technology, as well as "Demand Based Switching".

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W) Socket Platform
X3320 2.50 2x3 1333 95 LGA 775
X3330 2.66 2x3 1333 95 LGA 775
X3350 2.66 2x6 1333 95 LGA 775
X3360 2.83 2x6 1333 95 LGA 775
X3370 3.00 2x6 1333 95 LGA 775
X3380 3.16 2x6 1333 95 LGA 775

[edit] 3500-series "Bloomfield"

Bloomfield is the codename for the successor to the Xeon Intel Core microarchitecture, is based on the Nehalem architecture and uses the same 45 nm manufacturing methods as Intel's Penryn. The first processor released with the Nehalem architecture is the desktop Intel Core i7, which was released in November 2008. This is the server version for single CPU systems. This is a single-socket Intel Xeon processor. The performance improvements over previous Xeon processors are based mainly on:

  • Integrated memory controller supporting two or three memory channels of DDR3 SDRAM or four FB-DIMM channels
  • A new point-to-point processor interconnect QuickPath, replacing the legacy front side bus
  • Simultaneous multithreading by multiple cores and hyperthreading (2x per core).
model Speed (GHz) L3 Cache (MB) QPI speed (GT/s) DDR3 Clock (MHz) TDP (W) Cores Threads Turbo-Boost
W3503 2.40 4 4.8 1066 130 2 2 No
W3505 2.53 4 4.8 1066 130 2 2 No
W3520 2.66 8 4.8 1066 130 4 8 Yes
W3540 2.93 8 4.8 1066 130 4 8 Yes
W3570 3.2 8 6.4 1333 130 4 8 Yes

[edit] 5300-series "Clovertown"

A quad-core (2x2) successor of the Woodcrest for DP segment, consisting of two dual-core Woodcrest chips in one package similarly to the dual-core Pentium D branded CPUs (two single-core chips) or the quad-core Kentsfield. The Clovertown has been usually implemented with two Woodcrest dies on a multi-chip module, with 8 MB of L2 cache (4 MB per die). Like Woodcrest, lower models use a 1066 MT/s FSB, and higher models use a 1333 MT/s FSB. Intel released Clovertown, product code 80563, on 14 November 2006[13] with models E5310, E5320, E5335, E5345, and X5355, ranging from 1.6 GHz to 2.66 GHz. The E and X designations are borrowed from Intel's Core 2 model numbering scheme; an ending of -0 implies a 1066 MT/s FSB, and an ending of -5 implies a 1333 MT/s FSB.[12] All models have a TDP of 80 W with the exception of the X5355, which has a TDP of 120 W. A low-voltage version of Clovertown with a TDP of 50 W has a model numbers L5310, L5320 and L5335 (1.6 GHz, 1.86 GHz and 2.0 GHz respectively). The 3.0 GHz X5365 arrived in July 2007, and became available in the Apple Mac Pro [6] on 4 April 2007.[7][14] The X5365 is among the fastest processors, performing up to around 38 GFLOPS in the LINPACK benchmark. [8]

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E5310 1.60 2x4 1066 80
L5310 1.60 2x4 1066 50
E5320 1.83 2x4 1066 80
L5320 1.83 2x4 1066 50
E5335 2.00 2x4 1333 80
L5335 2.00 2x4 1333 50
E5345 2.33 2x4 1333 80
X5355 2.66 2x4 1333 120
X5365 3.00 2x4 1333 120

[edit] 5400-series "Harpertown"

On 11 November 2007 Intel presented Yorkfield based Xeons - called Harpertown (product code 80574) - to the public.[9] This family consists of dual die quad-core CPUs manufactured on a 45 nm process and featuring 1333 MHz to 1600 MHz front-side buses, with TDP rated from 50 W to 150 W depending on the model. These processors fit in the LGA771 socket. All models feature Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), the XD bit, and Virtualization Technology, as well as the Demand Based Switching, except the E5405, which lacks this feature[15]. The supplementary character in front of the model-number represents the thermal rating: an L depicts an TDP of 50 W, an E depicts 80 W whereas a X is 120 W TDP or above. The speed of 3.00 GHz comes as four models, two models with 80 W TDP two other models with 120 W TDP with 1333 MHz or 1600 MHz front-side bus respectively. The fastest Harpertown is the X5492 whose TDP of 150 W is higher than those of the Prescott-based Xeon DP but having twice as many cores. (The X5482 is also sold under the name "Core 2 Extreme QX9775" for use in the Intel SkullTrail system.)

Intel 1600 MHz front-side bus Xeon processors will drop into the Seaburg chipset whereas several mainboards featuring the Intel 5000/5200-chipset are enabled to run the processors with 1333 MHz front-side bus processors. Seaburg features support for dual PCIe 2.0 x16 slots and up to 128 GB of memory.[16][17]

Model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E5405 2.00 2x6 1333 80
E5410 2.33 2x6 1333 80
L5410 2.33 2x6 1333 50
E5420 2.50 2x6 1333 80
L5420 2.50 2x6 1333 50
E5430 2.66 2x6 1333 80
L5430 2.66 2x6 1333 50
E5440 2.83 2x6 1333 80
X5450 3.00 2x6 1333 120
E5450 3.00 2x6 1333 80
X5460 3.16 2x6 1333 120
X5470 3.33 2x6 1333 120
E5462 2.80 2x6 1600 80
X5472 3.00 2x6 1600 120
E5472 3.00 2x6 1600 80
X5482 3.20 2x6 1600 150
X5492 3.40 2x6 1600 150

[edit] 7300-series "Tigerton"

The 7300 series, codenamed Tigerton (product code 80565) is a four-socket (packaged in Socket 604) and more capable quad-core processor, consisting of two dual core Core2 architecture silicon chips on a single ceramic module, similar to Intel's Xeon 5300 series Clovertown processor modules. It was announced on 5 September 2007 [10], and is currently shipping.

The 7300 series uses Intel's Caneland (Clarksboro) platform.

Intel claims the 7300 series Xeons offer more than twice the performance and more than three times the performance per watt as Intel's previous generation 7100 series. The 7300 series' Caneland chipset provides a point to point interface allowing the full front side bus bandwidth per processor.

The 7xxx series is aimed at the large server market, supporting configurations of up to 32 CPUs per host.

model Speed (GHz) L2 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W)
E7310 1.60 2x2 1066 80
E7320 2.13 2x2 1066 80
E7330 2.40 2x3 1066 80
E7340 2.40 2x4 1066 80
L7345 1.86 2x4 1066 50
X7350 2.93 2x4 1066 130

[edit] 7400-series "Dunnington"

Dunnington[18] - the last CPU of the Penryn generation and Intel's first multi-core (above two) die - features a single-die six- (or hexa-) core design with three unified 3 MB L2 caches (resembling three merged 45 nm dual-core Wolfdale dies), and 96 KB L1 cache (Data) and 16 MB of L3 cache. It features 1066 MHz FSB, fits into the Tigerton's mPGA604 socket, and is compatible with the both the Intel Caneland, and IBM X4 chipsets. These processors support DDR2-1066 (533 MHz), and have a maximum TDP below 130 W. They are intended for blades and other stacked computer systems. Availability is scheduled for the second half of 2008. It will be followed shortly by the Nehalem microarchitecture.

Dunnington die micrograph.

Announced on Sept. 15, 2008. Intel link

model Speed (GHz) L3 Cache (MB) FSB (MHz) TDP (W) Cores
E7420 2.13 8 1066 90 4
E7430 2.13 12 1066 90 4
E7440 2.40 16 1066 90 4
L7445 2.13 12 1066 50 4
E7450 2.40 12 1066 90 6
L7455 2.13 12 1066 65 6
X7460 2.66 16 1066 130 6

[edit] 5500-series "Nehalem-EP" (Gainestown)

Nehalem-EP is the codename production name is "Gainestown" for the successor to the Xeon Intel Core microarchitecture, is based on the Nehalem architecture and uses the same 45 nm manufacturing methods as Intel's Penryn. The first processor released with the Nehalem architecture is the desktop Intel Core i7, which was released in November 2008. Server processors of the Xeon 55xx range were first supplied to testers in December 2008.[19]

The performance improvements over previous Xeon processors are based mainly on:

  • Integrated memory controller supporting two or three memory channels of DDR3 SDRAM or four FB-DIMM channels
  • A new point-to-point processor interconnect QuickPath, replacing the legacy front side bus
  • Hyperthreading (2x per core, starting from 5520), that was already present in pre-Core Duo processors.
model Speed (GHz) L3 Cache (MB) QPI speed (GT/s) DDR3 Clock (MHz) TDP (W) Cores Threads Turbo-Boost
E5502 1.86 4 4.8 800 80 2 2 No
E5504 2.00 4 4.8 800 80 4 4 No
E5506 2.13 4 4.8 800 80 4 4 No
L5506 2.13 4 4.8 800 60 4 4 No
E5520 2.26 8 5.86 1066 80 4 8 Yes
L5520 2.26 8 5.86 1066 60 4 8 Yes
E5530 2.40 8 5.86 1066 80 4 8 Yes
E5540 2.53 8 5.86 1066 80 4 8 Yes
X5550 2.66 8 6.4 1333 95 4 8 Yes
X5560 2.80 8 6.4 1333 95 4 8 Yes
X5570 2.93 8 6.4 1333 95 4 8 Yes
W5580 3.20 8 6.4 1333 130 4 8 Yes
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Due to a lack of success with Intel's Itanium and Itanium 2 processors, AMD was able to introduce x86-64, a 64-bit extension to the x86 architecture. Intel followed suit by including Intel 64 (formerly EM64T; it is almost identical to AMD64) in the 90 nm version of the Pentium 4 ("Prescott"), and a Xeon version codenamed "Nocona" was released in 2004. Released with it were the E7525 (workstation), E7520 and E7320 (both server) chipsets, which added support for PCI Express, DDR-II and Serial ATA. The Xeon was noticeably slower than AMD's Opteron, although it could be faster in situations where Hyper-Threading came into play.

A slightly updated core called "Irwindale" was released in early 2005, with twice the L2 cache of Nocona and able to reduce its clock speed during low processor demand. Although it was a bit more competitive than the Nocona had been, independent tests showed that AMD's Opteron still outperformed Irwindale.

64-bit Xeon MPs were introduced in April 2005. The cheaper "Cranford" was an MP version of Nocona, while the more expensive "Potomac" was a Cranford with 8 MB of L3 cache. All these Prescott-derived Xeons have the product code 80546.

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Prestonia

In 2002 Intel released a 130 nm version of Xeon branded CPU, codenamed "Prestonia". It supported Intel's new Hyper-Threading technology and had a 512 KB L2 cache. This was based on the "Northwood" Pentium 4 core. A new server chipset, E7500 (which allowed the use of dual-channel DDR SDRAM), was released to support this processor in servers, and soon the bus speed was boosted to 533 MT/s (accompanied by new chipsets: the E7501 for servers and the E7505 for workstations). The Prestonia performed much better than its predecessor and noticeably better than Athlon MP. The support of new features in the E75xx series also gave it a key advantage over the Pentium III Xeon and Athlon MP branded CPUs (both stuck with rather old chipsets), and it quickly became the top-selling server/workstation processor.

[edit] Gallatin

Subsequent to the Prestonia was the "Gallatin", which had an L3 cache of 1 MB or 2 MB. Its Xeon MP version also performed much better than the Foster MP, and was popular in servers. Later experience with the 130 nm process allowed Intel to create the Xeon MP branded Gallatin with 4 MB cache. The Xeon branded Prestonia and Gallatin were designated 80532, like Northwood.

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In mid-2001, the Xeon brand was introduced ("Pentium" was dropped from the name). The initial variant that used the new NetBurst architecture, "Foster", was slightly different from the desktop Pentium 4 ("Willamette"). It was a decent chip for workstations, but for server applications it was almost always outperformed by the older Cascades 2 MB core and AMD's Athlon MP. Combined with the need to use expensive Rambus Dynamic RAM, the Foster's sales were somewhat unimpressive.

At most two Foster processors could be accommodated in a symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) system built with a mainstream chipset, so a second version (Foster MP) was introduced with a 1 MB L3 cache and the Jackson Hyper-Threading capacity. This improved performance slightly, but not enough to lift it out of third place. It was also priced much higher than the dual-processor (DP) versions. The Foster shared the 80528 product code with Willamette.

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In 1999, the Pentium II Xeon was replaced by the Pentium III Xeon. Reflecting the incremental changes from the Pentium II "Deschutes" core to the Pentium III "Katmai" core, the first Pentium III Xeon, named "Tanner", was just like its predecessor except for the addition of Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) and a few cache controller improvements. The second version, named "Cascades", was based on the Pentium III "Coppermine" core. The "Cascades" Xeon used a 133 MT/s bus and relatively small 256 KB on-die L2 cache resulting in almost the same capabilities as the Slot 1 Coppermine processors, which were capable of dual-processor operation but not quad-processor operation. To improve this situation, Intel released another version, officially also named "Cascades", but often referred to as "Cascades 2 MB". That came in two variants: with 1 MB or 2 MB of L2 cache. Its bus speed was fixed at 100 MT/s, though in practice the cache was able to offset this. Product codes for Tanner and Cascades mirrored that of Katmai and Coppermine; 80525 and 80526 respectively.
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Intel Xeon CPU's

The first Xeon-branded processor was the Pentium II Xeon (code-named "Drake"). It was released in 1998, replacing the Pentium Pro in Intel's server lineup. The Pentium II Xeon was a "Deschutes" Pentium II (and shared the same product code: 80523) with a full-speed 512 KB, 1 MB, or 2 MB L2 Cache. The L2 cache was implemeted with custom 512 KB SRAMs developed by Intel. The number of SRAMs depended on the amount of cache. A 512 KB configuration required one SRAM, a 1 MB configuration: two SRAMs, and a 2 MB configuration: four SRAMs on both sides of the PCB. Each SRAM was a 12.90 mm by 17.23 mm (222.21 mm²) die fabricated in a 0.35 µm four-layer metal CMOS process and packaged in a cavity-down wire-bonded Land Grid Array (LGA). The additional cache required a larger module and thus the Pentium II Xeon used a larger slot, Slot 2. It was supported by the 440GX dual-processor workstation chipset and the 450NX quad- or octo-processor chipset.
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Monday, May 25, 2009

Xbox 360

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
  • 3 symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
  • 2 hardware threads per core; 6 hardware threads total
  • 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core; 3 total
  • 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
  • 1 MB L2 cache
CPU Game Math Performance
  • 9 billion dot product operations per second
Custom ATI Graphics Processor
  • 500 MHz
  • 10 MB embedded DRAM
  • 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines
  • Unified shader architecture
Polygon Performance
  • 500 million triangles per second
Pixel Fill Rate
  • 16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA
Shader Performance
  • 48 billion shader operations per second
Memory
  • 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
  • 700 MHz DDR
  • Unified memory architecture
Memory Bandwidth
  • 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
  • 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
  • 21.6 GB/s front-side bus
Overall System Floating-Point Performance
  • 1 TFLOP
Storage
  • Detachable and upgradeable 20 GB hard drive
  • 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM
  • Memory unit support starting at 64 MB
I/O
  • Support for up to 4 wireless game controllers
  • 3 USB 2.0 ports
  • 2 memory unit slots
Optimized for Online
  • Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, Gamer Profile for digital identity and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies or listening to music
  • Built in Ethernet Port
  • Wi-Fi Ready: 802.11 A, B and G
  • Video Camera Ready
Digital Media Support
  • Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
  • Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs
  • Rip music to Xbox 360 hard drive
  • Custom playlists in every game
  • Windows Media Center Extender built in
  • Interactive, full screen 3D visualizers
HD Game Support
  • All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
  • Standard definition and high definition video output supported
Audio
  • Multichannel surround sound output
  • Supports 48 KHz 16-bit audio
  • 320 independent decompression channels
  • 32-bit audio processing
  • Over 256 audio channels
System Orientation
  • Stands vertically or horizontally
Customizable Face Plates
  • Interchangeable to personalize the console


Key Highlights

Hardware, software, and services: Unveiled to the world on MTV on Thursday, May 12, 2005, Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences. Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. The next generation is here.

Industrial design: A merger of form and function, Xbox 360 wraps powerful technology in a sophisticated exterior. Two of the most innovative design firms in the world—San Francisco-based Astro Studios and Osaka, Japan-based Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc.—came together to craft a sleek, stylish system that conveys the very essence of Xbox 360.

Xbox Gamer Guide: The Xbox Gamer Guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects you to your games, friends, music, movies, and downloadable content. Available at a touch of the Xbox Guide Button, the Xbox Gamer Guide gives you instant access to the experiences and content you want, from the gamer card of the player that just invited you to play online to new downloadable content for the game currently running.

Personalized interface: Xbox 360 lets you create your own unique system and experience. With interchangeable Xbox 360 Faces, it's easy and fun to change the appearance of your console. Switch on your system and customize the look and feel of the Xbox Gamer Guide and Xbox System Guide with unique "skins." From sleek and sophisticated to fun and funky, pick the Faces and skins that show your personality.

Ring of Light and Xbox Guide Button: Divided into four quadrants, the glowing Ring of Light and Xbox Guide Button visually connect you to your games, digital media, and the world of Xbox Live, the first global, unified online console games service. Featured on both the wireless and wired controllers, the Xbox Guide Button puts you in control of your experience. In addition to bringing up the Xbox Gamer Guide and the Xbox System Guide, the Xbox Guide Button lets you turn the system on and off without ever leaving the couch.

Xbox Live: Xbox Live is where games and entertainment come alive, the only unified place where you can play with anyone, anytime, anywhere. And the best just got better. Connect your Xbox 360 to your broadband connection and get instant access to Xbox Live Silver. Express your digital identity through your Gamertag and gamer card, talk with others using voice chat, and access Xbox Live Marketplace—all right out of the box, at no extra cost. Upgrade to Xbox Live Gold and enter the exciting world of multiplayer online gaming. With intelligent matchmaking, access to all your achievements and statistics, video chat and video messaging, and an enormous selection of games, Xbox Live Gold delivers your competition, on your terms.

Xbox Live Marketplace: Keep your favorite games fresh with instant access to new content. Xbox Live Marketplace is a one-stop shop to download new game trailers, demos, and episodic content, plus new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, and more. Accessible to everyone who establishes a broadband connection with their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace lets you personalize and extend your experience, on demand.

Games: Xbox 360 redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before. With Xbox 360, epic worlds are alive with detail, from thunderous skies rumbling over a mountain range to tiny blades of grass rustling together in the breeze. Vibrant characters display depth of emotion to evoke more dramatic responses, immersing you in the experience like never before. You’ll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound.

Digital entertainment: Amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and Xbox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft Windows XP-based PC.
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Cell Processor

Playstation 3 Cell Processor

The setup of the Cell processor is like having a team of processors all working together on one chip to handle the large computational workload needed to run next-generation video games. In order to understand how the Cell processor works, it helps to look at each of the major parts that comprise this processor.

The "Processing Element" of the Cell is a 3.2-GHz PowerPC core equipped with 512 KB of L2 cache. The PowerPC core is a type of microprocessor similar to the one you would find running the Apple G5. It's a powerful processor on its own and could easily run a computer by itself; but in the Cell, the PowerPC core is not the sole processor. Instead, it's more of a "managing processor." It delegates processing to the eight other processors on the chip, the Synergistic Processing Elements.

The computational workload comes in through the PowerPC core. The core then assesses the work that needs to be done, looks at what the SPEs are currently processing and decides how to best dole out the workload to achieve maximum efficiency.


­ The SPEs used in the Cell processor are each SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data), 128-bit vector processors. Vector processors are designed to quickly process several pieces of data at once. They were commonly used in the 1980s in large, powerful, scientific supercomputers and were created as a faster alternative to the more common scalar processor. Scalar processors can only work one data element at a time. Despite this limitation, advances in scalar design and performance have made the use of vector processors very rare these days in most computers. However, because of the vector processor's ability to handle several data elements at once, IBM resurrected this design for the Cell. There are eight SPEs on the chip, but only seven of them handle processing. The eighth SPE is built in as redundancy in case one of the other seven fails.

The SPEs each come loaded with 256 KB SRAM. This high-speed memory helps each SPE crunch numbers quickly. The SPE memory is also visible to the main Processing Element. This allows the PowerPC Core to utilize the resources of each SPE in the most efficient way possible. All of this amounts to unprecedented power for a piece of consumer electronics
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Features

PS3 Special Features

The PlayStation 3 has a front-loading, Blu-ray optical disc drive, and PlayStation 3 games will be distributed on Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs can hold up to 54 GB of content as opposed to the dual-layer DVD format currently used, which can only hold about 4.7 GB (or 8.5 GB in the DVD-9 format). Even though it has a Blu-ray disc drive, gamers can still play older PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games on the PlayStation 3. The disc drive can support:
  • CR-ROM
  • CDR+W
  • DVD
  • DVD-ROM
  • DVD-R
  • DVD+R
  • SACD

the 20GB and 60GB playstation 3
The 20GB and 60GB PlayStation 3 models.

The PlayStation 3 comes in two configurations -- a 60GB hard drive model and a 20GB hard drive model. Both models feature:

  • One Gigabit Ethernet port
  • Four USB ports
  • One HDMI output
  • Composite video (with dedicated AV cable)
  • S-video (with dedicated AV cable)
  • Component video (with dedicated AV cable)
  • Optical audio output
  • Bluetooth 2.0 EDR

The 60GB hard drive also includes:

  • Built-in 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity
  • Flash memory slots, which accept Compact Flash, Secure Digital and Memory Stick Duo

The PS3 audio has been upgraded. The new console supports:

There's no arguing with the success of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service. Xbox Live has created the first cohesive online console-gaming community, boasting more than millions of subscribers. The older PlayStation 2 can take multiplayer games online, too, but users needed to buy an extra network adapter to do so. Also, Sony left it up to each game company to build and host its own online gaming community, so the PlayStation 2 never offered the online structure that Xbox does.

After the 2005 Expo, we suggested that if Sony's hoping to stave off Microsoft's advance into the console market, a cohesive online community is going to be crucial. Apparently they agreed. With the release of the PS3, Sony has also opened the PlayStation Network for "online gaming, entertainment and digital distribution" [Source: PlayStation]. Unlike Xbox Live, there's no subscription fee. While some premium (read: pay) content will be sold in the network's store, online multiplayer gaming, audio and video chat and game downloads are free. -->

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Playstation 3

PS3 GPU: RSX "Reality Synthesizer"

Because graphics are so important to computers (and especially computers designed to play video games), there are microprocessors dedicated only to creating and displaying computer graphics. This processor is called the Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). One of the most anticipated aspects of the PlayStation 3 is the new GPU that was created for it -- the RSX "Reality Synthesizer."

a scene from 'the getaway 3'
©2006 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
The Reality Synthesizer GPU has the power to create the realistic environments of the upcoming (release date still TBA) PS3 game "The Getaway 3."

Sony designed the RSX with graphics-card manufacturer Nvidia. The RSX is based on Nvidia's GeForce graphics technology. It's a 550-MHz, 300-million-transistor graphics chip. To put that in perspective, according to this Nvidia press release, the number of transistors on the RSX is "more than the total number of transistors in both the central processing units and the graphics processing units of the three leading current-generation systems, combined."

Unlike the GPU in the Xbox 360, the RSX is built on the traditional independent vertex/pixel shader architecture. Shaders are computer programs that determine the final look of what you see on the screen when you're looking at computer animation. To learn about shaders, see our answer to this question, "What are Gouraud shading and texture mapping in 3-D video games?"

a scene from 'the getaway 3'
©2006 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Real-time lighting, shadows and reflections add to the level of realism in games like "The Getaway 3."

All of this translates to a level of graphic detail never before seen on a video-game console. With one HDMI output, the PlayStation 3 supports 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p.
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