Intel Debuts 48-Core SCC x86 Processor

**RobRich** · December 3rd, 2009, 01:59 PM

Building upon the ambitious Tera-scale Computing Research Program, Intel on Wednesday publicly demonstrated its prototype Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC) processor. The chip features 48 cores, comprised of 24 dual-core tiles, operating atop an on-die mesh network bus architecture. The platform is compatible with the IA-32 x86 instruction set, meaning Windows, Linux, and several other leading operating systems have immediate support.

The SCC prototype packs 1.3 billion transistors on a single 45nm CMOS High-K metal gate fabricated die running at 1GHz to 3GHz with a power envelope of 25 to 125 watts, backed by 384KB of integrated shared memory for mesh network message passing and quad-channel DDR3 external memory bus support. While peak theoretical performance potential is some 10 to 20 times greater than the current Intel "Nehalem" family x86 processor line, the SCC approach predominately relies upon parallel processing via relatively simplistic cores - a stark contrast to complex architectures commonly utilized for typical single-chip x86 workloads. To place the computing difference in terms of existing Intel product lines, one could draw a vague comparison between a current quad-core Core i7 versus something more akin to a 48-core Atom processor.

While Intel does not intend the currently demonstrated Single-chip Cloud Computer prototype to ever reach true production level status, the project does point towards a future entrenched in parallel computing technologies. The company plans to ship approximately 100 of the prototypes starting next year so developers can better implement and evaluate software techniques targeting highly parallel computing workloads. It is also noteworthy to mention Intel's SCC demonstration comes only a few weeks after Tilera formally announced an 100-core mesh network parallel computing RISC processor, the TILE-Gx100, which is tentatively scheduled for a first-quarter 2011 commercial launch.