A few words about Intel technology
The other day, the habrayuzer Boomburum invited me to an Intel presentation on the new technology and processors of the Core i3, i5 and i7 family. In general, he already told about the conference everything that was on it, but especially without going into technical details. Therefore, I will try to correct the situation.
Under the cut, I’ll talk about the demonstrated Intel vPro and Intel Turbo Boost technologies, as well as a few words about the new graphics chip integrated into the processor and Intel Wireless Display technology. First things first.
Intel vPro is a technology that allows system administrators and tech support staff to do their jobs much easier and more efficiently. Its principle of operation is to present a hardware remote access via a local network, even if the network adapter from the system devices is simply removed from the “patient” computer, in other words, there are no drivers, the device is not active or, say, something with something it conflicts.
Right at the presentation, we were shown how real-time user support is provided over the network, which has the network adapter drivers removed, and the “system administrator” computer was connected all the time, including during the reboot, displaying all the boot information on the “sysadmin” monitor .
In general terms: this miracle technology works thanks to the network interface card integrated into the processor at the hardware level. When a connection request and control digits are dictated by the user and entered by the system administrator ( to protect the user from unauthorized connections) , the CPU receives a command to parallelize the graphic data and send the second stream to the specified address via the low-level controller of the network adapter. After that, the system administrator can see the state of the computer (and manage it remotely) even while the operating system is not yet loaded.
I repeat - the client side of this technology is completely hardware and does not require any installation of additional remote access control software, such as Remote Administrator.
vPro also works over the Internet if there is a server in the local network that “looks into the Internet” and receives remote commands that are further broadcast over the network directly to the recipient. Of course, encryption and other delights of network security are supported.
This is wired in BIOS, the firmware volume of which has grown to 8 megabytes. Most likely, the software to it is free, but the Intel site does not provide any information on this question, and our staff psychics are on vacation, but no one excludes the possibility of third-party solutions using this technology.
')
The second interesting technology that was demonstrated to us was Intel Turbo Boost . Currently, it is used only by Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. It works like this: if a single-threaded / badly “parallel” application, the system disables the “extra” processor cores, increasing the multiplier for the rest, increasing its frequency (the entire processor remains within its TDP) . The system is also able to increase / decrease the frequency of the graphics processor built into the CPU. In the running single-threaded test, we were shown how from 2.3 GHz the processor itself increases the frequency to 2.6, simply turning off additional cores (which are not currently in use) and increasing the multiplier of the remaining one. The video adapter changed the frequency from 370 MHz to 730 (and only in the 3D test, when such acceleration was really needed) , at a nominal value of 500 MHz.
Accordingly, Turbo Boost allows you to save laptop resources when high performance is not necessary (working in a text editor, surfing the Internet, working with other basic functionality) , and at the same time getting additional power when necessary - in games, with image processing / video, in any demanding operations.
If the application is multi-threaded and parallels well, but does not require increased performance of the graphics chip, the multiplier of both processor cores will be increased by reducing the frequency of the video core in order to stay within the specified thermal package.
Separately, I want to mention the new integrated graphics core. Everyone remembers the Intel GMA 4500, which could offer us nothing but playing simple video and working with the system - its performance was inferior to even the simplest discrete solutions. Intel's new HD Graphics chip is not something revolutionary, but its performance has grown noticeably. Now the power is enough for simple games (like TrackMania Nations, which we showed at the demonstration), photo processing (in packages like Adobe Photoshop) and comfortable high-definition video playback, moreover, thanks to the integrated core of the processor, the implementation that magic vPro.
Well, the latest novelty for today is Intel Wireless Display , a wireless high-definition video. The technology is presented as a convenient and simple solution for laptops that will (and some already can) transmit the signal to a bundled device (HDMI adapter) connected to your TV and transmit / receive the signal. The data transfer rate allows you to broadcast high-definition video in real time, and at the same time, you will not need to pull something somewhere along the way. It is enough to connect the HDMI module to the plasma panel / LCD monitor / TV once, and you can forget about such torment forever - press the button - and the image immediately appeared on the big screen.
In general, these technologies can hardly be called revolutionary, rather, a good step forward. But the fact of such achievements is very good. Yes, there were no super-productive solutions at the presentation, but similar results on the 32-nm process technology (in terms of TDP / performance ratio) and the demonstrated technologies of dynamic redistribution of resources are really damn good.
Progress does not stand still, and this is good.
Under the cut, I’ll talk about the demonstrated Intel vPro and Intel Turbo Boost technologies, as well as a few words about the new graphics chip integrated into the processor and Intel Wireless Display technology. First things first.
vPro
Intel vPro is a technology that allows system administrators and tech support staff to do their jobs much easier and more efficiently. Its principle of operation is to present a hardware remote access via a local network, even if the network adapter from the system devices is simply removed from the “patient” computer, in other words, there are no drivers, the device is not active or, say, something with something it conflicts.
Right at the presentation, we were shown how real-time user support is provided over the network, which has the network adapter drivers removed, and the “system administrator” computer was connected all the time, including during the reboot, displaying all the boot information on the “sysadmin” monitor .
In general terms: this miracle technology works thanks to the network interface card integrated into the processor at the hardware level. When a connection request and control digits are dictated by the user and entered by the system administrator ( to protect the user from unauthorized connections) , the CPU receives a command to parallelize the graphic data and send the second stream to the specified address via the low-level controller of the network adapter. After that, the system administrator can see the state of the computer (and manage it remotely) even while the operating system is not yet loaded.
I repeat - the client side of this technology is completely hardware and does not require any installation of additional remote access control software, such as Remote Administrator.
vPro also works over the Internet if there is a server in the local network that “looks into the Internet” and receives remote commands that are further broadcast over the network directly to the recipient. Of course, encryption and other delights of network security are supported.
This is wired in BIOS, the firmware volume of which has grown to 8 megabytes. Most likely, the software to it is free, but the Intel site does not provide any information on this question, and our staff psychics are on vacation, but no one excludes the possibility of third-party solutions using this technology.
')
Intel Turbo Boost
The second interesting technology that was demonstrated to us was Intel Turbo Boost . Currently, it is used only by Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. It works like this: if a single-threaded / badly “parallel” application, the system disables the “extra” processor cores, increasing the multiplier for the rest, increasing its frequency (the entire processor remains within its TDP) . The system is also able to increase / decrease the frequency of the graphics processor built into the CPU. In the running single-threaded test, we were shown how from 2.3 GHz the processor itself increases the frequency to 2.6, simply turning off additional cores (which are not currently in use) and increasing the multiplier of the remaining one. The video adapter changed the frequency from 370 MHz to 730 (and only in the 3D test, when such acceleration was really needed) , at a nominal value of 500 MHz.
Accordingly, Turbo Boost allows you to save laptop resources when high performance is not necessary (working in a text editor, surfing the Internet, working with other basic functionality) , and at the same time getting additional power when necessary - in games, with image processing / video, in any demanding operations.
If the application is multi-threaded and parallels well, but does not require increased performance of the graphics chip, the multiplier of both processor cores will be increased by reducing the frequency of the video core in order to stay within the specified thermal package.
Separately, I want to mention the new integrated graphics core. Everyone remembers the Intel GMA 4500, which could offer us nothing but playing simple video and working with the system - its performance was inferior to even the simplest discrete solutions. Intel's new HD Graphics chip is not something revolutionary, but its performance has grown noticeably. Now the power is enough for simple games (like TrackMania Nations, which we showed at the demonstration), photo processing (in packages like Adobe Photoshop) and comfortable high-definition video playback, moreover, thanks to the integrated core of the processor, the implementation that magic vPro.
Intel Wireless Display
Well, the latest novelty for today is Intel Wireless Display , a wireless high-definition video. The technology is presented as a convenient and simple solution for laptops that will (and some already can) transmit the signal to a bundled device (HDMI adapter) connected to your TV and transmit / receive the signal. The data transfer rate allows you to broadcast high-definition video in real time, and at the same time, you will not need to pull something somewhere along the way. It is enough to connect the HDMI module to the plasma panel / LCD monitor / TV once, and you can forget about such torment forever - press the button - and the image immediately appeared on the big screen.
In general, these technologies can hardly be called revolutionary, rather, a good step forward. But the fact of such achievements is very good. Yes, there were no super-productive solutions at the presentation, but similar results on the 32-nm process technology (in terms of TDP / performance ratio) and the demonstrated technologies of dynamic redistribution of resources are really damn good.
Progress does not stand still, and this is good.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/81522/
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