Importance of single-core performance in the multicore era

This paper first investigates what the best multicore configuration will be in the future, when the number of usable transistors further increases. Comparing five multicore models: single-core, many-core, heterogeneous multicore, scalable homogeneous multicore, and dynamically configurable multicore, surprisingly unveils that single-core performance is a key to improve multicore performance. Based on the findings, this paper secondly proposes a technique to improve single-core performance. It is based on Intel's Turbo Boost technology. From the detailed simulations, it is found that the technique achieves single-core performance improvement.