Seminars

Monday, May 16th

Seminar One: Multicore Processors for Computing and Networking
Presented by Kevin Krewell, Editor-in-Chief, Microprocessor Report, In-Stat
and Jim McGregor, Principal Analyst, In-Stat

This seminar will explore the design trade-offs of multicore processors from leading CPU vendors such as AMCC, AMD, Broadcom, IBM, Intel, PMC-Sierra, and Sun. New designs are not limiting themselves to two, or even four cores, but are building eight and even sixteen 64-bit microprocessors on one die. These first and second-generation designs are straightforward integration of multiprocessor systems onto one chip. But even as Moore's Law allows designers to integrate more cores onto one die, there are many design constraints with regard to power, I/O, and memory system design that need to be addressed.

Not all of the multicore processors are taking a homogeneous core approach. One of the most publicized examples is the Cell processor with one Power architecture core and eight SIMD processors. While symmetric cores may be optimal for data intensive workloads, it may not be preferable for media workloads.

The seminar will address the issues of core selection, core interconnect strategies, memory and I/O system design, die size and power trade-offs, and different target workloads using the real-world examples of these leading vendors.

Thursday, May 19th

Seminar Two: High Performance SoC for Low Power Applications
Presented by Max Baron, Principal Analyst, In-Stat

Max Baron's seminar will explain how systems-on-chip vendors use architecture, microarchitecture, software, and power management to obtain the high performance required for the mobile markets while achieving the best combination of power consumption, level of integration, and flexibility.

Following a brief tutorial including the latest strategies used in design for low power, and the trends envisioned for 90nm processes and below, the seminar will analyze and compare more than 25 core, chip and SoC products including latest introductions aimed at cellular telephones, digital cameras, PDAs and other power-aware systems.