Core i7 (Nehalem) reviews

[Angstromicus]

With optical processors, it'd probably be easier to use different frequencies of light in the same transistors to drastically increase data throughput.

[cheesepuffly]

Should i be hating my self that in a 900 kid school, i would be the only one who understands all this? (last year that is, this year im homeschooled)


Something i read a bit ago about something in pencils being better then silicon and getting us up to Terrahertz.

[OvermindDL1]

Silicon has enough super-conducting qualities down to about 40 atoms in size, upon which it generates too much heat and because too inefficient to use.  However, graphene (like pencils have graphite, they are close) becomes, oddly enough, an even better super-conductor then Silicon at sizes easily down to 10 atoms in length (the theoretical smallest standard transistor without employing quantum trickery is 10 atoms in length), but becomes near useless in electronics when extending beyond about 42 or so atoms as I recall.
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[Zero Angel]

Very interesting stuff OM -- for a material to possess both conducting and insulating properties. How does it work? Do the extra electrons jump 'around' the thin wires of graphene?

*fires up Wikipedia*

[Red Devil]

So we'll be hearing things like, "Oh man, I just got a #2B and it's fast!"  "Oh yeah?  I got a #9H and it'll smoke your rig."

[TheJamsh]

I thinks its to do with the materials ability to withstand potential difference. Because the electrons 'jump', having a smaller 'distance' no doubt makes it easier to 'pull' electrons along when a high enough voltage is applied.

ANY element will conduct electricity when the voltage accross it is high enough, the issue is that most of the time the voltage needs to be incredibly high, and the current often makes it explode or heat up beyond use.

Germanium (i think thats the right name) is used in some transistors because it needs a lower voltage to start conducting electricity (something like 0.2V +-). Without impurities, Silicon wouldnt conduct electricty at all (well apart from in the instance i just described where the voltage and current would be un-useably high and melt it).

Allowing electrons to 'move' requires impurities in the substance, which when added to the base element add or take away an extra electron per molecule. Its just a case of finding the right combination of materials to make a 'super-conductor' of some description.

[Angstromicus]

Are there two spellings?

Nahalem and Nehalem.

Newegg has a core i7 ad on their CPU category page. Mouse over that ad shows "Intel Nahalem". Are they right too, or dead wrong    ?

[VSMIT]

They be dead wrong.  I remember seeing a poster by Intel spelling it "Nehalem."

VSMIT.