A family of 64-bit CPUs from Intel that was introduced in mid-2006. Code-named Penryn, the Core 2 CPUs were the first chips to use Intel's Core microarchitecture. Note that Core 2 Duo and Core Duo chips without the "2" are not the same (see
Intel Core).
Solo, Duo, Extreme and Quad
Core 2 Solo chips were single processor CPUs intended for the value market, while Core 2 Duo chips were dual-core models for mainstream desktop and notebook computers. For servers and workstations, Core 2 Extremes were also dual core with higher clock and bus speeds.
In late 2006, Intel introduced Core 2 Quad chips, which were two dual-core Core 2 chips in a single package with separate 4MB caches.
Core 2 Advancements
Wide Dynamic Execution executes four instructions in one clock cycle, and compare and branch instructions were combined into one (see
microcode). Intelligent Power Capability powers down unused elements on the chip, and Advanced Smart Cache shares the L2 cache among processors, allowing the core that needs more cache memory to have it. Smart Memory Access determines which data in memory can be cached and executes instructions down the pipeline ahead of time. Advanced Digital Media Boost compresses/decompresses 128 bits in one clock cycle instead of two.