Intel’s brand name for their top level collection of processors is the i7 Core. There are three types of processor in this range, identified as Westmere, Nehalem and Sandy Bridge and all are 64 bit x 86-64 cores. They are explicitly planned for the top end range of the desktop and laptop markets.
The diverse consumer types drop into four categories, each of which has been targeted by Intel.
The entry point consumer is directed towards the i3 Core range, while the mainstream consumer is directed towards the i5 Core range. The i7 range is the focus of this item and the Xenon range is aimed at servers as opposed to discrete computers.
The i7 Core processor as a range, comprises two dissimilar types of architecture and consequently two separate socket arrangements.
The i7 Core range fits amid the i5 and the Xenon ranges and has been planned to coordinate with them. Accordingly the low end i7 Core range has an matching architecture and socket layout as the high end i5 Core range while the high end i7 integrates with the low end Xenon range.
In short, the i7 Core processors have two distinct socket arrangements and you need to know which one you require. A rule of thumb is if you see yourself upgrading in the future. If you do, check out the i7 950 processor as it includes the same socket arrangement as the high end Xenon range.
The Core i7-9xx, the Bloomfield core processor, was the first of the i7 range to be released, along with the Xenon 3500 series counterpart. These are Intel’s high end processors and have been since 2009, they both share the 1366 socket arrangement with single and dual processor server processors.
The next processor to be introduced was the Lynnfield processor. It was used in the high end i5 range and the low end i7 range. The Lynnfield processors all use hyper-threading even though this is disabled whilst used in the i5 range. These processors directly connect to a Southbridge through a GT Direct Media Interface and connects to further devices via a PCI Express Link through a 1156 socket.
Intel’s Calpella platform is the i7 Core mobile variety and features the Clarksfield processor.
An added processor, labelled the Core i7-6xx, contains the Arrandale processor, which features integrated graphics and just two processors.
The extreme version of the i7 Core range features the Gulftown processor. This contains 6 cores, 32 nm process, Hyper-Threading (for a total of 12 logical threads), 12 MB of cache, Turbo Boost and Intel QuickPath connection bus.
There is a succeeding generation of Intel Core processor called Sandy Bridge which is based on microarchitecture also called Sandy Bridge. This was released on January 9, 2011.
Common manufacturer(s) - Intel
Max. CPU clock rate - 1.6 GHz to 3.40 GHz
QPI speeds - 4.8 GT/s to 6.4 GT/s
Min. feature size - 45 nm to 32 nm
Instruction set - x86, x86-64, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES-NI (Gulftown only)
Microarchitecture - Nehalem, Sandy Bridge
Cores 2-6
Socket(s)
LGA 1366
LGA 1156
LGA 1155
µPGA-988
BGA-1288
Core name(s)
Bloomfield
Lynnfield
Clarksfield
Clarksfield XM
Sandy Bridge}
