A novel method called “Software Defined Supercore,” which aims to combine two or more cores into a single virtual core, has been patented by Intel.
Intel, the US-based firm famed for producing some of the world’s best and most controversial semiconductors, has filed a new patent that seeks to boost CPU performance through software rather than hardware scaling. The technology, known as “Software Defined Supercore” or SDC for short, works by combining the processing capacity of two or more CPU cores and making them function as a more powerful single core.
This is accomplished by separating the single thread’s instructions into distinct blocks, which are then performed concurrently. In addition, each core performs a different part of a program, allowing for more instructions per clock with minimal overhead.
According to the company’s most recent patent, it is possible to improve a CPU’s single-threaded performance without increasing its frequency or voltage. By enabling the CPU to alternate between normal and performance modes according to workload, this method not only enhances core performance but also has the potential to increase performance per watt.
In order to boost single-core performance, CPUs typically have bigger cores that operate at higher frequencies. Although there are advantages to this method, it also takes more power and makes the CPU heat up more quickly when working on demanding tasks. Although there are some obstacles, Intel’s new strategy may enable it to increase a CPU’s single-core performance while controlling power consumption and thermals.
It’s challenging to divide work over several cores and still expect the program to execute sequentially, but Intel claims it was able to accomplish this by employing a number of strategies, including Shadow Store Buffer. However, because the technology is still in its early stages, it still faces several obstacles, such as low-latency inter core communication and synchronisation difficulty.
It will take some time to find out if SDC functions as planned, but this does seem promising. Intel has not yet disclosed how it plans to employ this technology in its upcoming devices.
