What is Lynnfield Processor? (Explained)

What is Lynnfield Processor?

Typically, the processors with four cores from Intel come with the codename Lynnfield, which uses the Nehalem microarchitecture in its build, replacing the older Yorkfield processors based on Penryn.

From a technical point of view, the Lynnfield processors are manufactured by using the same 45 nm fabrication technology.

There are as many as 774 million transistors in its build, along with an LGA 1156 socket with PCIe and DMI links, a new bus interface, and memory.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The Lynnfield processors are built on the Nehalem microarchitecture and are created on the 45 nm technology node.
• These particular processors are typically powered with 774 million transistors and come with four cores operating at a speed ranging between 2.40 GHz and 3.06 GHz.
• The architecture uses an LGA 1156 socket type, which offers a DMI and a PCI link, and some models of these CPUs may even support hyperthreading technology.
• There is a new memory and bus interface included in the microarchitecture of the Lynnfield processors, which adds to the performance level and speed of these CPUs.
• These processors, however, do not come with any Graphics Processing Units integrated in them but are good to use in the high-performance desktop systems and Data Plane servers.

Understanding Lynnfield Processor

The Lynnfield processors are the replacements for the older Yorkfield processors based on Penryn.

Ideally, this is the codename of the quad-core CPUs built on the Nehalem microarchitecture from the house of Intel.

Designed by Intel and released in September 2009, these processors come with features and functionalities that make them a good option to use in the performance desktop systems as well as in the server computers.

Socket

If you look into the architecture of the Lynnfield processors, you will see that it is quite similar to that of the earlier Gainestown and Bloomfield microprocessors, being related to them in different aspects, which are also used in high-end desktop computers and server systems.

However, there is a notable difference between the two designs.

The difference lies in the fact that the architecture of Lynnfield processor uses a Land Grid Array, or an LGA 1156 socket type, in its design instead of the traditional LGA 1366 socket used by the Gainestown and Bloomfield processors.

These specific processors are typically compatible with only Socket 1156 motherboards.  It is these LGA 1156 sockets that give the Lynnfield processors the additional DMI and PCIe links.

These links were typically connected to the PU chips previously through a dedicated Northbridge chip by Intel, which was called the I/O hub or the memory controller hub.

Brand Names

The Lynnfield processors are sold under different brand names and in separate configurations, such as:

• The Intel Core i5 7xx series
• The Intel Core i7 8xx series
• The Intel Xeon X34xx and Xeon L34xx series.

Typically, the new Lynnfield processors introduced by Intel were the Intel Core i5 750, Core i7 860 and Core i7 870 models. The Intel Xeon models were included later to the Lynnfield CPU line.

The Lynnfield processors are also available in mobile versions and are typically referred to as Clarksfield.

Each of the Lynnfield processors typically consists of distinct features and capabilities. Here is a brief description of all their different brands of processors, summarized for you, along with their target market, clock frequency range and features.

Core i5

The Intel Core i5 7xx and the Core i5 7xxS series processors are typically targeted for the performance desktop market segment.

The four cores of these specific models do not offer support for hyperthreading technology but come with an operating frequency ranging between 2.67 GHz and 2.80 GHz for the former and 2.40 GHz for the latter model.

These i5 Lynnfield processors can support a Random Access Memory or RAM up to a maximum of 16 GB, though, unofficially, they can support double that amount. However, these processors do not support ECC or Error Correction Code memory.

Core i7

Typically, the Intel Core i7 8xx, Core i7 875K, and the Core i7 8xxS series processors are also targeted at the performance desktop market segment.

The four cores of these specific models, however, offer support for hyperthreading technology and the operating frequencies of the cores of each model are different.

For example:

• The cores of the first model can operate within a speed ranging between 2.80 GHz and 3.07 GHz.
• As for the i7 875 processors, the operating frequency of the cores is typically 2.93 GHz when unlocked.
• And, as for the i7 8xxS models, the frequency of the cores ranges between 2.53 GHz and 2.67 GHz.

These i7 Lynnfield processors also offer similar types of RAM support of a maximum up to 16 GB officially, and up to 32 GB, unofficially. However, these processors do not support ECC memory as well.

Intel Xeon

The Intel Xeon X34xx Lynnfield processors are typically designed for the User Plane, which is also called the Data Plane market segment.

The cores of these high-end processors operate at a frequency ranging between 1.86 GHz and 3.07 GHz, with a few specific models of them offering hyperthreading support.

These particular processors, however, can support a maximum RAM amount of up to 32 GB and also have the ability to support ECC memory.

Features

Built on the 45 nm fabrication process technology, these processors come with new inclusions such as:

• A new memory
• A new bus interface
• Direct Media Interface or DMI link
• Peripheral Component Interconnect Express or PCIe interface

These inclusions enhance its performance level as well as its speed of executing any operation by a significant margin.

However, there is no Intel Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) built into any of the Lynnfield series of processors.

Some of the other features of the Lynnfield processors can be summarized as follows:

• The four cores of the processors have an average maximum CPU clock rate ranging between 2.40 GHz and 3.06 GHz.
• The processor comes with a Level 2 cache measuring 256 KB in each of the four cores and an L3 cache measuring up to 8 MB.
• The architecture supports all features of Nehalem which include vPro and Turbo Boost.
• The Direct Media Interface link comes with a reasonably high data transfer rate of up to 2.5 GT/s.
• Though there is no Graphics Processing Unit integrated into the system, the processors typically come with an integrated graphics controller.
• The Thermal Design Power or TDP of the Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Lynnfield processors typically ranges between 82 watts and 95 watts, while the TDP of the Intel Xeon processors has a much wider range of 45 watts and 95 watts.

Instruction Set Architecture and Extensions Support

The x86-64 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) is supported by the Lynnfield processors along with a few extensions such as:

• MMX or MultiMedia eXtensions
• SSE or Streaming SIMD Extensions, along with all its variants such as SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, and SSE4.2

Conclusion

Built on the Nehalem microarchitecture and 45 nm technology node with an LGA 1156 socket, the Lynnfield CPU is quite a good replacement for the Yorkfield CPU chips based on the older Penryn.

With four cores and a number of transistors more than 700 million, these chips are good to use in desktop and server systems.