HardwareProcessorsOne thread per core: ‘we can deliver better than Hyper-Threading performance without Hyper-Threading’ claims Intel for Lunar LakeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareProcessorsOne thread per core: ‘we can deliver better than Hyper-Threading performance without Hyper-Threading’ claims Intel for Lunar LakeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Intel)
Intel is ditching Hyper-Threading with its latest Lunar Lake processors. The simultaneous multithreading technology that has steadily delivered two threads per core for decades is being removed from itsLunar Lake processorsin favour of more power efficient P-cores and relying more on E-cores for multithreaded performance, as previous rumours had suggested.
“We can scale using E-cores and therefore we have decided to actually not use Hyper-Threading,” says Intel’s Arik Gihon, lead client CPU SoC architect.
Intel argues that a hybrid architecture using Thread Director—i.e. Lunar Lake, Meteor Lake, and any desktop chip post-Alder Lake—will prioritise physical cores over threads, which reduces the need for Hyper-threading.
“Our E-cores are getting so good, we can deliver better than SMT, better than Hyper-Threading performance, without Hyper-Threading”, says Intel’s Robert Hallock.
“We get so much more out of these cores.”
Many frequently used applications on thin-and-light laptops, Intel argues, utilise four threads or below.
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That’s an interesting take, most of all as we’ve seen the opposite being argued for increasing thread counts over the years. Though Intel isn’t talking about games or intensive applications best suited to a desktop or a performance-first chip just—Lunar Lake is all about efficiency—though there are rumours ofArrow Lake desktop chips without Hyper-Threading, too.
The Lion Cove P-cores are reportedly tuned for single-thread efficiency without Hyper-Threading, which means a gain of around 5% performance/power and 15% performance/power/area versus the core with Hyper-Threading enabled. However, there is a reduction in performance/area of around 15%.
(Image credit: Intel)
“Remember, Hyper-Threading doesn’t come for free,” says Ori Lempel, senior principal engineer of Intel’s latest P-core
“It replicates architectural state. It adds arbitration point along the pipeline. It requires various furnace mechanisms, and even dedicated security hardware.”
It’s a trade-off, and one that Intel is willing to make for Lunar Lake and a low-power laptop chip. That said, Intel has a better idea of the benefits than we do. It’s yet to share real-world battery benchmarks for Lunar Lake, only mentioning so far that Lunar Lake runs up to 40% lower SoC power than Meteor Lake.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
Best CPU for gaming: Top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game first.
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