What is meant by processor "Architecture" and can different values be used in the same motherboard?

Just looking at processor options for potential upgrades and I'm kinda confused what is going to limit me. Is it the Architecture, Chipset, or FSB speed that is going to dictate the what processor's can fit?

 

Architecture - Like CPU microarchitecture -- Core 2, Core, Pentium, etc

Well, CPU compatibility depends upon all three factors. Socket type/PGA is most important, I think.

Check out this CPU Guide.

 

mgray, like i said in your other post, download cpu-z and tell us what chipset your ASUS has. If the chipset only supports core duo, than you are stuck with a core duo. If you have a new chipset like the i945 series you can use the socket M merom, core 2 duo chips.

K-TRON

 

K-Tron, the i945 is the only one to support Core Duo. Anything earlier is Pentium M, anything later is Core 2 Duo.
945 chipsets only came with Socket M, so if there's BIOS support, yes you can upgrade to a Core 2 Duo.

Architecture - The design of the CPU core itself. i.e. "Core" for all Core 2 chips, "NetBurst" for all Pentium 4/Ds, "P6" for Pentium Pro/II/III/M, "Nehalem" for Core i7, etc.

 

Sorry, what I meant by Architecture, was the difference in the posted values of 25nm, 45nm, 65nm as shown here http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/chart/coreduo.htm

I wont be able to download cpu-z as I'm not actually on my laptop(but will tomorrow), although for what it's worth, I know that when I was researching it back in the day, people here were saying that with a Bios Upgrade, it would support Merom(Core 2). I didn't know there were different sockets of Merom

So as I understand it, in order...

1) The Chipset eg. 945 is what I go looking for in a motherboard to decide if it takes a processor I'm wanting

2) Within a Chipset is a socket eg. within chipset 945 is a socket M(can there be multiple sockets in a single chipset?) and I use this to further narrow my motherboard/processor choice?

 

You cannot take one factor into account, and then consider cpu compatibility, All 3 are equally important and are not take into account sequentially.

Your computer supports Core Duo, and Socket M Core 2 Duo (Merom, 65nm) - if the BIOS supports them as well.

The CPUs you can choose from are the following:

Considering that the BIOS supports all of them as well. If it doesn't, then on starting the notebook, the BIOS won't have the codes to recognize the CPU and will just sit dumb and your notebook won't start.

 

Ok thanks for the info....its almost impossible to find a T2600 or a T2700!!

But what does the nm mean in eg. 25nm 45nm 65nm?

 

nm is the process size in which the processor core is cut into the silicon/germanium wafer.
The smaller the process size the smaller the core can be, thus the closer the parts are to each other, thus higher efficiency and less heat.

I believe all socket M chips are 65nm.

Just so you know, a T2600 2.16Ghz processor is no where near the same speed of a T7400 2.16Ghz processor.
I know of two people who have T7200's for cheap.

K-TRON

 

Because a microprocessor is basically a complex labrynth of circuits, the fabrication process (measured in nanometers) refers to the size of the smallest component on the CPU die. The smaller the fabrication process, the lower the temps and better performance (this is because smaller components allow chip manufacturers to basically cram more transistors onto the chip).

 

It is basically the size of a transistor=45nm (nanometer = 1×10⁻⁹m). The first transistors used were something this big. In the 80s, there were like 2000 transistors on a chip, now there are 800 million in a Penryn, and with 32nm - there will be 1.9 billion.

Therefore more transistors can be packed onto a single chip. Basically the CPU design is the same, but due to the smaller transistors, the processor itself becomes smaller - known as a die shrink. This allows for more L2 Cache on the chip itself, and due to the use of hafnium, the current leakage is reduced (therefore lower high thermal power dissipation), transistor switching improves (which results in clearer signals). The wafer production cost itself is the same, so each processor kinda becomes cheaper to make.

All in all, you get more L2 cache, lower power consumption, which allows for higher frequencies. (I've seen videos of [email protected] Air-Cooled )

 

Hey what is Merom 2M? I just see it listed in the processor list above and never seen it before.

And just to confirm, you guys are saying that Core 2 is faster than Core Duo? I thought the only noticeable difference was that Core 2 was 64bit vs Duo which is 32. Also thought I heard battery time is slightly less with Core 2 vs Duo.

 

Merom-2M is a modified Merom core to only have 2MB of Level 2 cache instead of 4MB.

Core 2 is indeed faster than Core (1). They are on completely different architectures - the Core 2 Duo is built on the Core Architecture which combines Pentium 4 and Pentium M technology with new innovations, while the Core (1) Duo is essentially two Pentium Ms stapled together architecture-wise.
Core 2 is indeed 64-bit vs. the 32-bit Core (1), but I wouldn't know about battery time.

 

Why would anyone want to lower their cache??

 

Its more like a budget release from Intel. They disable 2MB L2 Cache of the total 4MB on the die (T5xxx series). If you need a performance version, you get the T7xxx with the full 4MB enabled.

 

Once again, thanks for teaching me!

 

Exept for the t7100 and t7250 they still ahve 2mb l2 cache