Year created | 2004 |
---|---|
Created by | Intel · Dell · HP · IBM |
Supersedes | AGP · PCI · PCI-X |
Width in bits | 1–32 |
Number of devices | One device each on each endpoint of each connection. PCI Express switches can create multiple endpoints out of one endpoint to allow sharing one endpoint with multiple devices. |
Capacity | Per lane (each direction):
So, a 16-lane slot (each direction):
|
Style | Serial |
Hotplugging interface | Yes, if ExpressCard, Mobile PCI Express Module or XQD card |
External interface | Yes, with PCI Express External Cabling, such as Thunderbolt |
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP bus standards.
A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual central processing units (called "cores"), which are the units that read and execute program instructions.[1] The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions such as add, move data, and branch, but the multiple cores can run multiple instructions at the same time, increasing overall speed for programs amenable to parallel computing.[2] Manufacturers typically integrate the cores onto a single integrated circuit die (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP), or onto multiple dies in a single chip package.
Processors were originally developed with only one core. A dual-core processor has two cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X2, Intel Core Duo), a quad-core processor contains four cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X4, Intel's quad-core processors, see i3, i5, and i7 at Intel Core), a hexa-core processor contains six cores (e.g. AMD Phenom II X6, Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 980X), an octo-core processor or octa-core processor contains eight cores (e.g. Intel Xeon E7-2820, AMD FX-8350), a deca-core processor contains ten cores (e.g. Intel Xeon E7-2850). A multi-core processor implements multiprocessing in a single physical package. Designers may couple cores in a multi-core device tightly or loosely. For example, cores may or may not share caches, and they may implement message passing or shared memory inter-core communication methods. Common network topologies to interconnect cores include bus, ring, two-dimensional mesh, and crossbar. Homogeneous multi-core systems include only identical cores, heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical. Just as with single-processor systems, cores in multi-core systems may implement architectures such as superscalar, VLIW, vector processing, SIMD, or multithreading.
Pentium is a brand used for a series of x86-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel. In its most current form, a Pentium processor is a consumer-level product that Intel rates as "two stars",[1] meaning that it is above the low-end Atom and Celeron products but below the faster Core i3, i5 and i7 lines as well as the high-end Xeon processors.
The name Pentium is originally derived from the Greek word pente (πέντε), meaning "five" (as the original Pentium processors used Intel's fifth-generation microarchitecture, the P5), and the Latin ending -ium. The current Pentium processors only share the name but are in fact based on the same processor chips that are used in the Intel Core but are typically used with a lower clock frequency, a partially disabled L3 cache and some of the advanced features such as hyper-threading and virtualization disabled.