Bulldozer (microarchitecture)

Processors Bulldozer, according to AMD representatives, have a completely new architecture compared to previous generations of AMD K8 and AMD K10 . It is known that Bulldozer processors for the first time support new x86 instructions ( SSE4.1 , SSE4.2 , CVT16 , AVX and XOP , including the 4-operand FMAC module). Bulldozer contain up to 8 cores for the desktop segment, up to 16 cores for the server segment, and are compatible with the M-SPACE modular processor architecture. Introduced support for a new version of AMD Direct Connect technology and four HyperTransport 3.1 channels per processor. The ability to work with DDR3 memory and AMD G3MX memory expansion technology allows you to increase processor bandwidth. Also improved power management ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

The new processors received support for Turbo Core 2 technology, which allows increasing the nominal frequency of the processor from 3.5 to 4 GHz and significantly improving performance similarly to Intel Turbo Boost technology ^[6] .

Bulldozer server processors support the LR-DIMM ultra-high-capacity RAM modules implemented in their integrated memory controllers ^[7] .

The first family of processors of the Bulldozer microarchitecture was the Zambezi desktop family in the 2nd quarter of 2011 under Socket AM3 + ^{[8] [9]} , which is produced by the contractor company GlobalFoundries ^[10] . Zambezi executed on 32 nm process technology; The first appeared 8-core with TDP from 95 to 125 W depending on the clock frequency and 8 MB of L2 cache, then 6-and 4-core with TDP of 95 W and with 6 and 4 MB of L2 cache, respectively ^[11] .

In the last quarter of 2011, the Orochi family ^{[12] [13] appeared} . The 8-core Orochi family processors will receive 16 MB of shared cache ^[14] . Both families will have a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller ^[15] .

In the 3rd quarter of 2011, the release of Interlagos processors was scheduled, which have 16 computing cores, a four-channel DDR3 memory controller. Also in 2011, the less powerful Valencia family was released with support for dual-channel DDR3 memory ^[16] .

In the same year, AMD wanted to release Terramar and Sepang server chips, which would have up to 20 cores, 32 nm process technology, an integrated 4-channel DDR3 memory controller and PCI Express 3.0 controller. But plans have changed, and now AMD is preparing other server CPUs - Abu Dhabi , which includes up to 16 Piledriver cores (heirs of Bulldozer), and chips called Seoul are stocked for dual-socket servers, including up to 8 of these cores ^{[17] [18 ] [18 ] ]} .

In the summer of 2013, AMD announced the AMD FX-9590 processor with a frequency of up to 5 GHz (Turbo) ^[19] .

Table of desktop processors ^[20] :

AMD has released three series based on this microarchitecture for servers: Opteron 3200 (Zurich, up to 8 cores), Opteron 4200 series (codenamed Valencia, up to 8 cores) and Opteron 6200 series (codenamed Interlagos, supporting up to 16 cores) ^{[ 21]} .

In August 2011, the AMD FX-8150 processor was able to overclock to 8.429 GHz; this result was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records ^[22] . And on May 28, 2012, an absolute frequency record was set for all processors - the Thai ksin overclocker overclocked the AMD FX-8150 processor to 8.805 GHz with one active module ^[23] , but the site administration blocked the result. A little later, overclocker added the result of 9.062 GHz ^[24] . This result was also banned on hwbot. After that, a scandal began on the near-computer forums.

The officially recognized record is still owned by AndreYang and is 8.585 GHz ^[25] .

• AMD FX Microprocessor List
• Piledriver- based Trinity APU ^[26] - a development of Bulldozer
• Socket AM3 +
• AMD Turbo Core

• AMD Ships First "Bulldozer" Processors. First Production-Ready “Interlagos” Processor Revenue Shipments Now Underway // AMD, 9/7/2011
• AMD's Bulldozer Microarchitecture // RealWorldTech, August 26, 2010
• AMD Bulldozer processor microarchitecture // ComputerPress No. 11'2010, Sergey Pakhomov
• AMD Bulldozer and Bobcat: Next-Generation Architectures // THG Edition, August 27, 2010
• Test results for AMD Bulldozer processor // Agner Fog, 2012-03-02
• The microarchitecture of Intel, AMD and VIA CPUs. An optimization guide for assembly programmers and compiler makers // Agner Fog. “14 AMD Bulldozer and Piledriver pipeline” (page 172, 2013-09-04)