Merom (microprocessor)

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 the 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 was manufactured in a 65 nanometer process, and was succeeded by Penryn, a 45 nm version of the Merom architecture. Together, Penryn and Merom represented the first 'tick-tock' in Intel's Tick-Tock manufacturing paradigm, in which Penryn was the 'tick' (new process) to Merom's 'tock' (new architecture).

Merom
Celeron M 530 - SLA2G - 1.73GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 533 MT/s FSB
General information
Launched2006
Discontinued2009
CPUID code06Fx (Merom-L: 1066x)
Product code80537
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate1.6 GHz to 2.6 GHz
FSB speeds533 MHz to 800 MHz
Cache
L2 cacheMerom: 4 MiB
Merom-2M: 2 MiB
Merom-L: 1 MiB
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
MicroarchitectureCore
Instruction setx86_64 (64-bit)
Physical specifications
Cores
  • 2 (Merom-L: 1)
Socket(s)
Products, models, variants
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 Duo U7xxx
  • Core 2 Solo U2xxx

Variants

ProcessorBrand nameModel (list)CoresL2 CacheSocketTDP
Merom-L Mobile Core 2 Solo U2xxx12 MiBBGA4795.5 W
Merom-2M Mobile Core 2 Duo U7xxx22 MiBBGA47910 W
Merom L7xxx4 MiB17 W
Merom
Merom-2M
T5xxx
T7xxx
2-4 MiBSocket M
Socket P
BGA479
35 W
Merom Mobile Core 2 Extreme X7xxx24 MiBSocket P44 W
Merom Celeron M (Socket M) and Celeron (Socket P) 5x011024 KiBSocket M
Socket P
30 W
Merom-L 5x027 W
Merom-2M 5x51024 KiBSocket P31 W
Merom-L 5x3512-1024 KiBBGA4795.5-10 W
Merom-2M Celeron Dual-Core T1xxx2512-1024 KiBSocket P35 W
Merom-2M Pentium Dual-Core T2xxx
T3xxx
21 MiBSocket P35 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 as Conroe, but with a greater 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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] These chips are part of Santa Rosa platform.[6] 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,[7] 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 distinguished 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.[8]

Fixes

Microsoft has released a microcode update (KB2493989) for Windows 7 that addresses several stability issues on selected "Penryn" and "Merom" CPUs.[9]

See also

References

  1. "Intel's Core 2 Duo chips arrive early". MacNN. July 21, 2006. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  2. "Intel second quarter 2006 earnings release; see page 3" (PDF). Intel. July 19, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  3. Shimpi, Anand Lal (August 3, 2006). "Mobile CPU Wars: Core 2 Duo vs. Core Duo". AnandTech. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. Shimpi, Anand Lal (March 7, 2006). "Spring IDF 2006: Merom and Ultra Mobile PCs". AnandTech. Retrieved July 17, 2006.
  5. Olsen, Sven (March 7, 2007). "Intel Forecasts "Santa Rosa" for May 2007". Computer Shopper. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  6. Kubicki, Kristopher (May 26, 2006). "Intel 2006 Mobile CPU Roadmap Update". DailyTech. Archived from the original on May 28, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  7. "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 December 23, 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  8. "Intel Core 2 Solo ULV Processors Coming in Q3 2007". laptoping.com. December 21, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  9. "Microcode update for Intel processors in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2". Retrieved November 3, 2020.
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