Intel Meteor Lake: Similar architecture to Raptor Lake, but with efficiency improvements

Intel stated that Meteor Lake’s P-Cores and E-Cores are architecturally very similar to Raptor Lake. The Redwood Cove P-Cores and Crestmont E-Cores are very similar to the Raptor Cove P-Cores and Gracemont E-Cores. The biggest change is the move to the Intel 4 process node. Intel 4 is a 4nm process that provides greater efficiency and performance. This is achieved through a number of improvements, including a new transistor architecture, improved manufacturing precision and new packaging technology. As a result of these improvements, Meteor Lake CPUs are said to deliver higher performance and efficiency than Raptor Lake CPUs. Meteor Lake CPUs will launch on December 14, 2023.

In an interview with ITHome, Timothy Wilson, vice president of the Design Engineering Group and general manager of Intel’s SOC Design division, confirmed that Meteor Lake’s P and E cores are architecturally very similar to the Raptor Lake cores.

Compared with the previous generation Raptor Lake, the microarchitecture of both P and E cores in Meteor Lake has some improvements. However, we have introduced Meteor Lake with the new Intel 4 process. In general, when we introduce new processes, we tend to reduce risk in terms of architecture. Once we achieve a stable process flow, we tend to make a bigger leap by improving the architecture. So, since this is a new big update for us, and we can also get the power efficiency benefits of Intel 4, we’ve made very few changes to the underlying architecture, so architecturally it’s very similar to EE from Raptor Lake. Cores and P cores.

Timothy Wilson (VP of Design Engineering Group and GM of SOC Design at Intel) via ITHome

Wilson said that while there will be some architectural improvements, they won’t be that significant since the Meteor Lake CPUs are built on a completely new node. Major upgrades will only come when the process becomes more stable and better in terms of overall return.

So it looks like Intel has taken a less risky path with its first EUV and microchip design. A major upgrade is expected to come next year in the form of Arrow Lake, which also introduces new P-Cores and E-Cores and uses Intel’s 20A processing node.

Efficiency and performance

Meteor Lake CPUs will focus on efficiency and performance. Codenamed Redwood Cove, P-Cores are designed to achieve efficient performance by improving the overall efficiency of the chip, increasing the bandwidth of each core, improving the performance monitoring unit, and improving feedback through Intel’s Thread Manager. Each P-Core has a 2MB ML cache, a 64KB I cache, and a 48KB data cache.

The electronic cores, codenamed Crestmont, deliver high performance per watt. They are optimized for simple tasks like web browsing and office applications.

Intel process node 4

Meteor Lake CPUs are manufactured on the Intel 4 processing node. Intel 4 is a 4nm process that provides greater efficiency and performance. This is achieved through a number of improvements, including a new transistor architecture, improved manufacturing precision and new packaging technology.

Prospects

Meteor Lake CPUs are expected to launch on December 14, 2023. They are used in a variety of products including laptops, desktops, and servers.

The main improvements are:

• Improving the International Patent Classification: Intel claims that the IPC of the Crestmont cores will be 4% higher than the Gracemont cores. This means they can get more work done at a given frequency.
• Accelerating artificial intelligence: Crestmont cores feature a new AI Accelerator designed to improve performance in AI applications.
• Improve branch prediction: Crestmont cores feature new and improved branch prediction designed to improve performance in branch-dense applications.
• Optimize feedback with Intel Thread Manager: Crestmont cores provide improved feedback to Intel’s thread manager, which is intended to help assign tasks more efficiently.

Crestmont cores have up to 4MB of L2 cache, a 32KB data cache (with ECC), and a 64KB I cache.

Combining e-cores with different performance profiles aims to improve the overall performance and efficiency of Meteor Lake CPUs. Low-power e-cores can be used for simple tasks like web browsing and email, while non-LP e-cores can be used for more demanding tasks like gaming and video editing. Additionally, the Intel 4 process node itself will result in some nice gains in terms of overall power efficiency. Intel 4 is a 4nm process that delivers greater efficiency and performance. According to ZDNet, Meteor Lake CPUs will launch later this year in laptop and mobility variants, as well as pre-installed desktop designs.

source: ITHome