Nehalem (microarchitecture)

Nehalem

Logo for Core i7 Bloomfield processors
L1 cache	64 KB per core
L2 cache	256 KB per core
L3 cache	4 MB to 24 MB shared
Model	Core Series
Created	November 2008
Transistors	731M 45 nm (C0, D0)
Architecture	Nehalem x86
Instructions	MMX
Extensions	x86-64, Intel 64 SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4, SSE4.1, SSE4.2 VT-x, VT-d
Socket(s)	LGA 1156 LGA 1366 LGA 1567 µPGA 988
Predecessor	Core (tock) Penryn (tick)
Successor	Westmere (tick) Sandy Bridge (tock)

Nehalem /nəˈheɪləm/ is the codename for an Intel processor microarchitecture, which is the successor to the older Core microarchitecture. A preview system with two Nehalem processors was shown at Intel Developer Forum in 2007, and the first processor released with the Nehalem architecture was the desktop Core i7, which was released in November 2008. The first generation of the Intel Core series of processors, Nehalem designs led to the introduction of Core i7 and i5 models (no Core i3 is based on Nehalem). The subsequent Westmere and Sandy Bridge designs would include Core i3 processors.

"Nehalem" is a recycled Intel codename and namesake of the Nehalem River. It is an architecture that differs radically from Netburst, while retaining some of the latter's minor features. Nehalem-based microprocessors use the 45 nm process, run at higher clock speeds, and are more energy-efficient than Penryn microprocessors. Hyper-threading is reintroduced, along with a reduction in L2 cache size, as well as an enlarged L3 cache that is shared among all cores.

Nehalem was replaced with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, released in January 2011.