Computer Science
Number of cores
The number of cores refers to the number of processing units within a computer's central processing unit (CPU). Each core can execute instructions independently, allowing for faster processing of multiple tasks simultaneously. The more cores a CPU has, the more efficiently it can handle complex tasks and multitasking.
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6 Key excerpts on "Number of cores"
eBook - ePub- Sanjay Saxena, Sudip Paul(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Apple Academic Press(Publisher)
The usage of several cores decides the name, for example, if two processors are integrated on a single silicon chip it is a dual-core processor (processing capacity is depending on design, like 32, 64) vice versa. Figure 4.16 illustrates the idea of the core distribution. The major task is the CPU has to coordinate with all the cores for proper handling of tasks. FIGURE 4.16 Illustration of processor cores in multi-core chips. Figure 4.17 shows today’s top supercomputers in the market and their corresponding Number of cores used; it shows that the usage of processing cores is increasing widely. The major thing is communication between the cores and resources without degrading the performance of the system. Figure 4.18 shows some of the parallel computing architectures to achieve the same. 4.9.2 MULTITHREAD Thread: Process with own instructions and data, it may be a part of a parallel program of a multiprocessor or maybe an independent program. FIGURE 4.17 Illustration of processing core usage in supercomputers, ©Statista 2020. FIGURE 4.18 Parallel computer architectures: (a) on-chip parallelism; (b) a coprocessor level; (c) a multiprocessor level; (d) a multicomputer level; and (e) a grid level. Multithread: Multiple threads to share the functional units of one processor via overlapping. The processor must duplicate the independent state of each thread, for example, a separate copy of the register file, a separate core, and for running independent programs, a separate page table. In multithread execution thread switching, like an alternate thread for every clock should run
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Learning Press(Publisher)
The amount of performance gained by the use of a multi-core processor depends very much on the software algorithms and implementation. In particular, the possible gains are limited by the fraction of the software that can be parallelized to run on multiple cores simultaneously; this effect is described by Amdahl's law. In the best case, so-called embarrassingly parallel problems may realize speedup factors near the Number of cores, or beyond even that if the problem is split up enough to fit within each processor's or core's cache(s) due to the fact that the much slower main memory system is avoided. ________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ________________________ Many typical applications, however, do not realize such large speedup factors. The parallelization of software is a significant on-going topic of research. Terminology The terms multi-core and dual-core most commonly refer to some sort of central processing unit (CPU), but are sometimes also applied to digital signal processors (DSP) and system-on-a-chip (SoC). Additionally, some use these terms to refer only to multi-core microprocessors that are manufactured on the same integrated circuit die. These people generally refer to separate microprocessor dies in the same package by another name, such as multi-chip module . Here we uses both the terms multi-core and dual-core to reference microelectronic CPUs manufactured on the same integrated circuit, unless otherwise noted. In contrast to multi-core systems, the term multi-CPU refers to multiple physically separate processing-units (which often contain special circuitry to facilitate communication between each other). The terms many-core and massively multi-core sometimes occur to describe multi-core architectures with an especially high Number of cores (tens or hundreds). Some systems use many soft microprocessor cores placed on a single FPGA. Each core can be considered a semiconductor intellectual property core as well as a CPU core.
eBook - PDF- Greg Tomsho(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Modern operating systems support multithreading, which, as discussed in Module 2, is the ability to run two or more parts of a process, known as threads, at the same time. A thread is the smallest block of computer code that can be independently scheduled for execution. For example, if a user is running a word processor, one thread might accept input from the keyboard and format it on the screen while another thread does a spell check as the user types. Switching between threads takes a considerable number of CPU instructions to accomplish, so it was only practical to begin including this feature in OSs when CPUs became powerful enough to support it. Modern CPUs with multiple cores are designed specifically for multithreading, so switching between threads is extremely efficient when compared to the operation in older CPUs. Some Intel CPUs contain a feature called hyper-threading. Hyper-threading (HT) allows two threads to run on each CPU core simultaneously. This feature increases the amount of work a CPU can do in a given time period. When monitoring a hyper- threading CPU with a program such as Task Manager, each CPU core is actually seen as two logical processors, so a four-core CPU will be reported as having eight logical processors. Figure 3-5 illustrates this point; a single CPU on the system has four cores, and each core can process two threads simultaneously, giving eight logical processors. MODULE 3 The Central Processing Unit (CPU) 123 Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
eBook - PDF- Abraham Silberschatz, Peter B. Galvin, Greg Gagne(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Such a system must be written carefully, as we shall see in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. The definition of multiprocessor has evolved over time and now includes multicore systems, in which multiple computing cores reside on a single chip. Multicore systems can be more efficient than multiple chips with single cores because on-chip communication is faster than between-chip communication. 1.3 Computer-System Architecture 17 Figure 1.8 Symmetric multiprocessing architecture. In addition, one chip with multiple cores uses significantly less power than multiple single-core chips, an important issue for mobile devices as well as laptops. In Figure 1.9, we show a dual-core design with two cores on the same pro- cessor chip. In this design, each core has its own register set, as well as its own local cache, often known as a level 1, or L1, cache. Notice, too, that a level 2 (L2) cache is local to the chip but is shared by the two processing cores. Most archi- tectures adopt this approach, combining local and shared caches, where local, lower-level caches are generally smaller and faster than higher-level shared Figure 1.9 A dual-core design with two cores on the same chip. 18 Chapter 1 Introduction DEFINITIONS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM COMPONENTS • CPU —The hardware that executes instructions. • Processor —A physical chip that contains one or more CPUs. • Core —The basic computation unit of the CPU. • Multicore — Including multiple computing cores on the same CPU. • Multiprocessor — Including multiple processors. Although virtually all systems are now multicore, we use the general term CPU when referring to a single computational unit of a computer system and core as well as multicore when specifically referring to one or more cores on a CPU. caches. Aside from architectural considerations, such as cache, memory, and bus contention, a multicore processor with N cores appears to the operating sys- tem as N standard CPUs.
- Mark C. Lewis, Lisa Lacher(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Chapman and Hall/CRC(Publisher)
Programs do not just give you the apps on your phone, they are running when you talk on the phone to compress your speech into a digital form and send it out to a local tower where another program examines it and sends it on toward the destination. On the way, it likely passes through multiple locations and gets handled by one or more programs at each stop. At some point on the other end, another program takes the digital, compressed form and expands it back out to analog that can be sent to a speaker so the person you are talking to can hear it. Someone wrote each of those programs and over time more programs are being written that serve more and more different purposes in our lives. In the last section we mentioned that newer processors have multiple cores on them. The availability of multiple cores (and perhaps multiple processors) is significant for software as well. First, they give the OS the ability to have multiple things happening at one time. All but the simplest of operating systems perform multitasking. Multitasking is a method that allows multiple tasks to be performed during the same time period and allows the OS to have multiple programs or processes running simultaneously. This can be done on a single core by giving each process a short bit of time and then switching between them. When there are multiple cores present, it allows the programs to truly run multiple processes all at once, which is known as multiprocessing. Each process can also exploit its own parallelism by creating multiple threads. The OS is still responsible for scheduling what threads are active at any given time. This allows a single program to utilize more of the resources of a machine than what is present on a single core. While this does not matter for some specialized applications, the use of multiple cores has become more and more commonplace and the core count on large machines as well as smaller devices is currently climbing at an exponential rate.
eBook - PDF- Alvin Albuero De Luna(Author)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Arcler Press(Publisher)
A single processor can only execute one instruction at a time; it is not feasible to run many programs at the same time on a single processor. A program may require a resource, like an input device, that has significant latency, or a program may initiate a slow process, like sending output to a printer, to complete its task. As a result, the CPU would be considered “idle” (unused). So that the processor remains active at all times, the execution of like a program is stopped, and the OS switches to running another application on the same computer. It will seem to the user that the apps are running at the same time as one another (Medvegy et al., 2002; Tkalcic and Tasic, 2003). Soon later, the concept of a “program” was broadened to include the concept of an “executing program and its surroundings.” The notion of a process was introduced, and it became important with the advent of reentrant code, which was also introduced. Threads were introduced a little later (Gatos et al., 2004; Piotrowski, 2012). 4.8. TYPES OF CENTRAL PROCESSING UNITS (CPUS) There are six different types of CPUs available. Single-core, dual-core, quad-core, Hexa-core, octa-core, and deca-core processors are all available. These are the six different types of CPUs that may be found in computers, laptops, and mobile phones. The multithreading, efficiency, speed, clock frequency, cache, and effective functioning of mobile and computer devices are all determined by these sorts of CPUs (Lipkin, 1984; Matsuzawa, 2003). Computer Processing and Processors 145 The speed at which software applications run is determined by the CPU’s power. In PCs, the primary manufacturers are Intel and AMD, while in mobile devices, the main manufacturers are MediaTek, Qualcomm, Apple Bionic, and Samsung (Exynos), each of which has its form of CPU. Let’s look at the many sorts of CPU processors and their characteristics (Figure 4.10).
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