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Core 2 Duo jargon decoder

Intel's dual-core technical talk translated

Execute Disable Bit

Intel says: "A malicious worm can create a flood of code that overwhelms the processor. Execute Disable Bit allows the processor to classify areas in memory where application code can execute and where it cannot. When a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer, the processor disables code execution, preventing damage and worm propagation."

We say: Execute Disable Bit is a hardware feature within the processor that acts as a safety catch to prevent a virus sneaking in nasty software code. It requires OS support which was added in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and of course you still need anti-virus, firewall, spyware removal and e-mail filtering software to keep all the other nasties at bay.

Extended Memory 64 Technology

Intel says: "Introduced in 2004 for workstations and high-performance computer server platforms, Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T) allows server, workstation, and desktop platforms to access larger amounts of memory. This enhancement allows a processor to run newly written 64-bit code and access larger amounts of memory than 32-bit code. With appropriate Intel EM64T-supporting hardware and software, Intel EM64T-based platforms can enable use of both extended virtual and physical memory.”

We say: The main benefit of 64-bit software is a move beyond the 4GB RAM limit in your PC. This won’t cause many of us sleepless nights for another year, by which time Windows Vista should finally be up and running. The other advantage of 64-bit is that it allows games developers to create truly enormous maps. You thought Far Cry was free-ranging? Think again. With 64-bit you can have an entire planet in a single map.

Intelligent Power Gating

Intel says: "Takes advantage of the Core microarchitecture's ultra-fine grained logic control optimised energy usage delivering more performance per watt."

We say: This technology turns off parts of each core that's aren't being used. That saves energy, so the consumes less electricity and doesn't run hot, making it cheaper to run. Intelligent Power Gating is always ready to turn sleeping components back on the moment they're needed again.

LaGrande Technology

Intel says: "LaGrande Technology (LT) is a highly versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel processors and chipsets that enhance the digital platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. LT helps protect against software-based attacks and helps protect the confidentiality and integrity of data stored or created on the client PC. It does this by enabling an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system. In turn, this can help to protect vital data and processes from being compromised by malicious software running on the platform."

We say: Malicious software can weasel its way into your PC in a number of ways but if it reaches the chipset then you have major problems. An example is a key logger which detects every key stroke that you make and which could even change what the user is typing. Other code can access system memory or graphics memory, so LaGrande employs the Trusted Platform Module to create a hardware protection layer that treats your computer as a series of secure encrypted compartments. The malicious code isn’t Trusted and is therefore cut out of the loop.

This technology requires a LaGrande CPU and a motherboard with a LaGrande chipset and TPM chip. Look closely and you'll see that many models of Intel motherboards from the past year include a TPM chip that is just waiting to burst into action.

Micro-ops Fusion

Intel says: "Combines common pairs of instructions into a single instruction during decoding, then executes then as a single instruction."

We say: It's a clever way of processing one instruction instead of two, taking half the time to get the same result. Of course, how often these pairs of instructions will appear in a given program depends on what that program does and how it was written, so the benefits can vary considerably. But the fewer instructions the Core 2 Duo needs to process, the faster it will finish the task at hand."

Smart Memory Access (SMA)

Intel says: "SMA improves system performance by optimising the use of the available data bandwidth."

We say: Core 2 Duo chips are better at getting the right information from the right chunk of memory at the right time. That allows the chip to continue processing your data without having to wait while the wrong information is ditched and the correct stuff retrieved and used in its place. Again, that makes for faster-running apps.

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