- P-Cores are large cores that offer excellent performance, but in return for being less energy efficient.
- E-Cores are smaller cores, allowing Intel to fit more in the same space and have lower power consumption.
Depending on the Intel Core 12 model, the number of P-Cores and E-Cores varies, but we have to clarify that the two work in unison and in a coordinated fashion. For the latter they use a third level of last level cache of 30 MB, which not only gives access to the same memory space to both types of cores, but also allows them to work together in the execution of the processes to be executed. .
Intel Core 12 and Amdahl’s Law
To understand what is intended to be achieved with the design of the Intel Core 12, we must keep in mind that each program is divided into two parts:
- A part that runs in series, on a single processor and therefore it will be necessary to be as fast as possible to accelerate its execution, so this part of the programs in the Intel Core 12 is managed by the P-Cores.
- The other part that can be run in parallel, so adding more CPUs will speed up the resolution of the same as not having a CPU. The E-Cores are in charge of this type of task.
We also can not forget that on a PC there are more tasks than we see and their correct assignment is important, it could be that while you are playing a game, the messaging app will update. day inbox. Gaming is a foreground process and email management is a background process, so it is best to assign these side tasks to a less powerful processor.
P-Colors versus E-Colors in a single wire
Starting with the P-Cores, which are the high performance cores, we see that their L2 cache is local to each processor, while the E-Cores have this level shared between several cores. Keep in mind that the first two levels of cache are not shared between the two types of cores.
But what interests us is the performance, and at the same clock speed we see that the P-Cores get 28% more performance compared to the tenth generation of Intel Core processors, while the E-Cores are at 1% above compared to the same generation. The E-Cores are therefore not cores with a power worthy of a netbook or any very low consumption system, but their single-threaded performance is at the level of Comet Lake.
Although the Intel Core 12 E-Cores are designed with energy efficiency in mind, they not only run at a lower clock speed, but also do not support HyperThreading.
Performance per Watt, PL1 and PL2
One way to measure the performance of one processor against another is to see how many watts or watts they are consuming to perform the same task. In the case of the Intel Core 12 we have two consumption profiles, in the so-called PL1 the processor consumption is fixed at 125 W, while in PL2 it is 241 W.
Now the two power states combine to result in an overall power consumption of up to 241 watts for high-end processors, a lower figure than its counterpart and predecessor.
According to Intel, if we compare the Intel Core i9-12900K to the i9-11900K, the former achieves with only 65W the same performance as the latter with four times the consumption. This is a leap in efficiency that we had not seen since the jump from Pentium IV to Core 2. Already in PL1 mode, the new Intel processor achieves 30% more performance than the previous generation with twice the consumption already almost equal to an additional 50% TDP.
The increase in efficiency comes in two ways, on the one hand by the use of a new manufacturing node which always gives advantages in consumption and clock speed, the second is by the use of a hybrid or heterogeneous architecture.
Performance in applications
Intel has also given the performance of the Intel Core i9-12900K over its direct rival, the Ryzen 9 5950X in several different types of applications. Starting with the games, we can see an increase from 3% in the case of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to 30% in Troy: Total War Saga.
If we go to content creation apps, the comparison that the blue mark made was between the i9-12900K and the i9-11900K, where you can see how in the PugetBench under Premiere Pro it goes up to 32% more, but it is that in After Effects it manages to double the performance.
Intel Thread Director
The control unit is the most important part of a CPU, after all it is in charge of two of the stages of the instruction cycle: capturing data and decoding instructions, the latter includes the proper assignment. to units. execution.
But in a hybrid or heterogeneous system, it is also important that each process runs as efficiently as possible. This is why Intel has added a new function to the Intel Core 12 control unit, which measures the execution time of each process to be executed and recommends to the operating system, Windows 11, where it is best to run. each process, whether in the P -Cores or the E-Cores.
In addition, it not only has the time cost of each instruction, but also the energy cost, because not all instructions consume the same amount. The goal is that a process that requires high performance does not go to E-Cores, resulting in slower execution, or a lightweight process does not go to P-Cores, wasting them. .
The Intel Core 12 processor family
The initial lineup of the Intel Core 12 is split into six different CPUs, three configurations with two variants, with and without an integrated GPU, although otherwise they are completely identical compared to their pair. Another highlight is the Intel Core i5-12600K and i5-12600KF variants where the overclocking functions of the Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 have been disabled.
Overclocking
A very important part of a processor is the ability to vary its clock speed and since this is the first processor under the Intel 7 node, there have also been improvements in manufacturing that allow it achieve high clock speeds with less with lower power consumption compared to previous generations of Intel processors, especially on the desktop where this node is first used.
The Intel Core 12 overclocking system allows the following changes to be made to both P-Cores and E-Cores:
- Possibility to activate and deactivate the execution of AVX instructions.
- HyperThreading can be disabled in P-Cores if needed in exchange for being able to gain more speed.
- The voltage can be adjusted at the individual level of each of the cores, so we can lower the clock speed of some to increase that of others.
- We have advanced options for overclocking that allow us to vary values such as TjMax, PLL and BCLK.
- Possibility to connect and disconnect the cores individually and separately from the rest.
Support for DDR5 and XMP 3.0 memory
The Intel Core 12 are the first PC processors on the market that support DDR5 memory, in particular they support DDR5-4800 modules, although they are compatible with faster memories, for this the controller of CPU memory is set at half speed to match signal times, so with the type of DDR5 RAM these processors will perform best, it is with DDR5-4800 in terms of instruction latency.
The Alder Lake-S architecture inherits all the capabilities of its predecessors when it comes to DDR4 memory, with which it is also compatible, and takes it to the new standard by creating version 3.0 of its memory overclocking standard. And is that one of the novelties of DDR5 memory is having voltage control in each memory module, which forced Intel to develop XMP 3.0. With this, the number of profiles available for Intel Core 12 has increased from 2 to 5.
I / O on Intel Core 12 and Z690 chipset
Today all processors integrate a series of I / O interfaces and it is here that the Intel Core 12 are once again the first to adopt a technology, in this case PCI Express 5.0 which doubles the bandwidth up to to version 4.0. The new processor integrates 16 lines, so it is ready for the new generation of graphics cards for games which will be released in 2022 and will use this standard.
Although we can’t forget that each processor goes a socket, in this case the LGA1700 and each socket goes to a motherboard with a specific chipset and Intel has opted for the 600 series chipsets being the most complete of all the Z690s. . The communication with which is done with the DMI 4.0 interface, which means doubling the bandwidth between the CPU and its Southbridge.
The I / O interfaces provided by the Z690 chipset to the Intel Core 12 are as follows:
- Integrated 6E (Gig +) WiFi radio.
- Add 12 PCI Express 4.0 lanes to which 16 must be added for 3.0 speed.
- Regarding USB connectivity, it supports version 3.2 of the standard with the following configurations: 4 x 2 ports, 10 x 2 ports and 10 x 1 ports. It also supports up to 14 USB 2.0 ports. .
- 8 SATA-III lines.
The chipset also integrates other Intel technologies such as Platform Trust Technology, essential to run Windows 11, but also support for Rapid Storage and Optane technologies.
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