Merom (microprocessor)

Merom

Produced	From 2006 to 2009
Max. CPU clock rate	1.6 GHz to 2.6 GHz
FSB speeds	533 MHz to 800 MHz
Instruction set	x86_64 (64-bit)
Microarchitecture	Core
CPUID code	06Fx (Merom-L: 1066x)
Product code	537
Cores	2 (Merom-L: 1)
L2 cache	Merom: 4 MiB Merom-2M: 2 MiB Merom-L: 1 MiB
Application	Mobile
Socket(s)	Socket M Socket P
Brand name(s)	Mobile Celeron 5xx Mobile Celeron Dual-Core E1xxx Mobile Pentium Dual-Core T2xxx Mobile Pentium Dual-Core T3xxx Core 2 Duo T5xxx Core 2 Duo T7xxx Core 2 Duo L7xxx Core 2 Solo U2xxx

Merom is the code name for various Intel processors that are sold as Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Solo, Pentium Dual-Core and Celeron. It was the first mobile processor to be based on the Core microarchitecture, replacing the Enhanced Pentium M based Yonah processor. Merom has product code 80537, which is shared with Merom-2M and Merom-L that are very similar but have a smaller L2 cache. Merom-L has only one processor core and a different CPUID model. The desktop version of Merom is Conroe and the dual-socket server version is Woodcrest. Merom has subsequently been replaced by Penryn.

Variants

Processor	Brand name	Model (list)	Cores	L2 Cache	Socket	TDP
Merom-L	Mobile Core 2 Solo	U2xxx	1	2 MiB	BGA479	5.5 W
Merom-2M	Mobile Core 2 Duo	U7xxx	2	2 MiB	BGA479	10 W
Merom		L7xxx		4 MiB		17 W
Merom Merom-2M		T5xxx T7xxx		2-4 MiB	Socket M Socket P BGA479	35 W
Merom	Mobile Core 2 Extreme	X7xxx	2	4 MiB	Socket P	44 W
Merom	Celeron M	5x0	1	512 KiB	Socket M Socket P	30 W
Merom-L		5x0				27 W
Merom-2M		5x5			Socket P	31 W
Merom-L		5x3		512-1024 KiB	BGA479	5.5-10 W
Merom-2M	Celeron Dual-Core	T1xxx	2	512-1024 KiB	Socket P	35 W
Merom-2M	Pentium Dual-Core	T2xxx T3xxx	2	1 MiB	Socket P	35 W

Merom

Merom, the first mobile version of the Core 2, was officially released on July 27, 2006 but quietly began shipping to PC manufacturers in mid-July alongside Conroe.^[1][2] Merom became Intel's premier line of mobile processors, with mostly the same features of Conroe, but with more emphasis on low power consumption to enhance notebook battery life. Merom-based Core 2 Duo provides a slight performance increase associated with 3D rendering and media encoding tasks [1], yet maintains the same battery life as the Yonah-based Core Duo. Merom is the first Intel mobile processor to feature Intel 64 architecture.

The first version of Merom is "drop-in" compatible with Napa platform for Core Duo, requiring at most a motherboard BIOS update. It has a similar thermal envelope of 34 W and the same 667 MT/s FSB rate.^[3] The Merom die features 4 MB L2 cache, half of which is deactivated in the T5xx0 CPUs. A native 2 MB L2 version of the Merom core, called Merom-2M, was rolled out in early 2007 as a counterpart to Allendale. The Merom-2M core uses the steppings L2 and M0 and the ultra-low-voltage versions of the Core 2 Duo use this core.

A second wave of Merom processors featuring an 800 MT/s FSB and using the new Socket P was launched on May 9, 2007.^[4] These chips are part of Santa Rosa platform.^[5] Low voltage versions were also released on May 9, 2007.

Merom (מרום) is the Hebrew word for a higher plane of existence or a level of heaven, BaMerom (במרום) means "in the heavens". The name was chosen by the Intel team in Haifa, Israel, who designed this processor.

Merom XE

The Core 2 Extreme Mobile processor, based on the Merom XE core, is a mobile CPU designed for laptops. It was released in two models, the X7900 and the X7800. These feature an 800 MT/s FSB. The X7800, introduced on July 16, 2007,^[6] is clocked at 2.6 GHz and costs around $851 for OEMs. The processor features a 44 W TDP and requires the new Intel Centrino (Santa Rosa) platform. The X7900, introduced on August 22, 2007, is clocked at 2.8 GHz.

The X7900 processor was used in the top-end iMacs released on August 7, 2007.

Merom-2M

The mobile version of the Allendale desktop processor is often called Merom-2M to identify the smaller L2 cache. Some T5xxx and T7xxx processors have come out with both Merom and Merom-2M dies, which can only be distinguieshed through their stepping number.

Merom-L

The Merom-L processor is based on the same model as Conroe-L but is used in mobile Socket M and Socket P systems as Celeron 5xx and Core 2 Solo U2xxx, some of which also use regular Merom and Merom-2M chips with one core disabled in contrast to the real Merom-L that only has 1 MB L2 cache and a single core. The CPUID is family 6 model 23 (10661h), which is between Merom and Penryn.

The first Core 2 Solo processors were launched in Q3 2007 and consisted of the U2100 and U2200, which run at 1.06 and 1.2 GHz, respectively. They both feature a 533 MT/s FSB and are part of Intel's ULV family, running at only 5 W. Like the rest of the Core 2 family, they are 64-bit compatible. They were released with compatibility for the Napa platform rather than the newer Santa Rosa platform due to power consumption concerns.^[7]

See also

• Yonah (microprocessor)
• Conroe (microprocessor)
• Penryn (microprocessor)
• Celeron
• Pentium Dual-Core
• Intel Core 2

References

1. ^ "Intel's Core 2 Duo chips arrive early". MacNN. http://macnn.com/articles/06/07/21/merom.conroe.ship.early/. Retrieved 2006-07-21. 
2. ^ "Intel second quarter 2006 earnings release; see page 3" (PDF). Intel. 2006-07-19. Archived from the original on 2006-07-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20060722002316/http://download.intel.com/intel/finance/earnings/20060719EarningsFinal.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-21. 
3. ^ Shimpi, Anand Lal. "Spring IDF 2006: Merom and Ultra Mobile PCs". AnandTech. http://anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2715. Retrieved 2006-07-17. 
4. ^ Olsen, Sven (2007-03-07). "Intel Forecasts "Santa Rosa" for May 2007.". Computer Shopper. http://computershopper.com/shoptalk/2007/03/07/intel_centrino_pro_set_to_laun. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
5. ^ Kubicki, Kristopher. "Intel 2006 Mobile CPU Roadmap Update". DailyTech. http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2546. Retrieved 2006-07-17. 
6. ^ "Intel Takes Popular Laptops to 'Extreme' with First-Ever Extreme Edition Mobile Processor; Adds New Desktop Chip". Intel News Release. July 16, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20071223012224/http://www.intel.com/ca/pressroom/2007/0716.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-30. 
7. ^ "Intel Core 2 Solo ULV Processors Coming in Q3 2007". laptoping.com. 2006-12-21. http://laptoping.com/intel-core-2-solo-ulv-celeron-m-500-523.html. Retrieved 2007-11-04. 

External links

• List of Intel processors codenamed Merom