The Intel Quad Core processor is any of a line of computer chips in the top-tier Core 2 brand of semiconductor manufacturer Intel. The lineup was introduced in 2008, two years after the debut of the Core 2 family. Officially known as Intel Core 2 Quad, the processors represent the Core 2's highest level of features and performance. As of March 2011 there are 18 Intel Quad Core CPUs.
General Description
Each Intel Quad Core chip has a model number with the letter Q as a prefix. The Quad or Quad Core suffix refers to the CPU's four cores, or processing units. This gives it a faster processing time than the Core 2's single-core or dual-core chips, dubbed Solo and Duo, respectively.
Intel manufactures the Core 2 Quad chip using the 45 nanometer (nm) or the larger 65 nm lithographic node. Two of the chips---the Q6600 and Q6700---contain this larger node.
Speeds
Each processor has a clock speed, a measure of how fast it executes its basic functions. The highest-performing Intel Quad Core processor is the Q9650, with a clock speed of three gigahertz (GHz). The Q8200 is the slowest, with a processing speed of 2.33 GHz.
Processors also have a front-side bus (FSB) speed, a measure of the rate at which the front-side bus of the computer transfers data from the CPU to the motherboard. The 45 nm versions of the Intel Core 2 Quad have an FSB speed of 1,333 megahertz (MHz), while the 65 nm chips are slower at 1,066 MHz.
Power
The Intel Quad Core chips have a TDP, or thermal design point. This is the amount of power a chip consumes. The 65 nm Q6600 and Q6700 chips preserve the least power, since their maximum TDP is 105 watts (W) while that of the 45 nm is 95 W. The 45 nm models also have "S" counterparts, their more power-efficient versions. The Q9550S, Q9505S, Q9400S, Q8400S and Q8200S thus have a maximum TDP of 65 W.
L2 Cache
The L2 cache, or level two cache, is the CPU's secondary bank. This is where the processor can gain high-speed memory access to the computer's most frequently-used data, thus speeding up the processing rate. The Q9550 and Q9650 have 12 MB, which puts them at the top of the Intel Quad Core heap. The smallest L2 cache of the Intel Core 2 Quad lineup is four MB.
Tags: Quad Core, Intel Quad, Intel Quad Core, Core Quad, Intel Core, Intel Core Quad