Last Thursday, with the introduction of the Intel Core Ultra 200S, Intel’s farewell to Hyper-Threading has been confirmed. It was not a surprise, in fact we already informed you about this at the beginning of the year and since then several sources have appeared, some of them official, which not only confirmed this end of the cycle, but also the reason why the decision was made to end the technology that is in chips of this brand present for decades.

this of course raised many doubts and questionsfrom what this technology consists of, to why Intel decided to do without it, and what it means for this fifteenth generation and those that will arrive in the years to come. We will also question whether there is a return and try to evaluate whether the technology company made the right or wrong decision with this model change.

Image: eBay

What is Hyper-Threading?

The year was 2002. We were all glued to MSN Messenger and chatting with friends as Windows XP became the popular operating system on our computers. The Nokia 3310 reigned supreme in the pockets of many and Snake continued to be the star of the mobile phone game. In this scenario Intel launched one of its most revolutionary technologies: Hyper-Threading, which debuted in the Pentium 4 with the promise of significantly improving the performance of its processors.

Hyper-Threading quickly became a key technology in Intel processors. At its core, Hyper-Threading allowed a single physical processor core to work on two tasks at the same time, handling two simultaneous processing threads. This was a significant advance at a time when adding more physical cores to processors was not feasible from a cost or design point of view.

The operation of Hyper-Threading was based on the use of moments when the processor core was “idle”, waiting for new data or instructions to arrive. Instead of wasting time with these idle moments, the kernel could process another thread using resources that would otherwise not be used. This ability to run two threads in parallel offered a performance boost, especially in applications that could use multi-threaded processing.

Over the years Hyper-Threading It has evolved and improved and adapted to new generations of processors. Although its performance did not double the performance of the cores, it represented a significant advance in the ability to handle more demanding workloads. This allowed users to multitask efficiently and Hyper-Threading became an essential tool for those who needed to get the most out of their device.

Image: eBay

2024, goodbye Hyper-Threading

The year was 2024. This time, we were all paying attention to social networks and streaming platforms, while smartphones ruled our lives and artificial intelligence was integrated into all types of devices. It was in this connection when Intel has decided to close an important stage in its technological history– Removal of Hyper-Threading on new Core Ultra 200 series processors.

Today, Intel concluded that times have changed. As processing architectures evolve and the efficiency of physical cores increases, Hyper-Threading is no longer as necessary as it was in the past. Advances in the Skymont and Lion Cove architectures allow the physical cores to deliver better performance per watt, surpassing the additional threads provided by Hyper-Threading.

Robert Hallock, Intel’s vice president of technical marketing, explained in an interview with Notebookcheck in August that at the time of its introduction, Hyper-Threading was a smart solution to increase performance without having to add more physical cores. However, energy efficiency is now a priority. Intel’s new designs focus on maximizing performance per watt, which is essential in a market where mobile and portable devices increasingly demand greater autonomy and lower power consumption.

In addition, Intel found that the simultaneous management of two threads on one core brings certain bottlenecks in modern applications. The removal of Hyper-Threading has made it possible to simplify the architecture and reduce power consumption for the new processors, which translates into a significant improvement in efficiency. Physical cores now make better use of their resources and offer superior performance without the added complexity of managing multiple threads.

Elimination of Hyper-Threading brought with it a number of changes that affect performance and efficiency Intel processors. In environments where multi-threaded performance was not critical, such as in many gaming and productivity tasks, the improved physical cores of Skymont and Lion Cove allow for more consistent performance and more efficient use of resources. In these cases, users are likely to experience improvements in the stability and performance of their devices.

For applications that used multiple threads, such as 3D rendering or data-intensive processing, the impact will depend on How developers optimize their tools for physical coress. Although Hyper-Threading can offer performance improvements in multiple threads, Intel ensures that the new cores are powerful enough to handle this load without problems, and compensates for the lack of additional threads with greater efficiency in the architecture.

For the server and workstation market, the transition presents both challenges and opportunities. Simplifying thread management on a single core reduces power consumption, which is key in data centers where efficiency is critical. However, Software adaptation will be essential to make the most of these changes. The long-term implications will depend on how applications are modified to take advantage of more efficient physical cores.

Right or wrong?

Elimination of Hyper-Threading gave rise to differing opinionsalthough most indicate success. From a technical point of view, Intel seems to have hit the nail on the head, as the new architectures allow for better performance per watt and higher energy efficiency, which is crucial in today’s context. However, some users and experts are questioning whether abandoning this technology, which has been a mainstay for two decades, is not the best option in all cases.

In industries such as games, improvement of physical cores is welcomebecause many applications do not require intensive multithreading. However, in professional environments running heavy processing jobs or on servers, the absence of Hyper-Threading could be considered a hindrance unless developers optimize their tools to make the most of the physical cores.

The success of this decision will largely depend on how the technology ecosystem adapts to this change. If developers and companies can optimize their applications, Intel could be a huge success. If not, it could face more resistance in some niche markets.

Intel’s future prospects without Hyper-Threading

With the removal of Hyper-Threading, Intel enters a new phase where Your focus will be entirely on optimizing the physical cores. The Skymont and Lion Cove architectures are just the beginning of a strategy that seeks to maximize power per watt, which will be critical to competing in a market that increasingly values ​​energy efficiency, especially in mobile and portable devices, yes, but also in other types of systems from the home desktop computers to server racks in data centers.

So we can understand it in the medium and long term Intel will continue to explore new ways to improve its processors through microarchitectural innovations. The trend towards heterogeneous computing, which combines high-performance cores with low-power cores, is emerging as one of the key strategies to offer flexibility in different usage scenarios. This development promises to face competition from both AMD and ARM architectures, which dominate mobile devices and have already launched their assault on the PC world in a more than determined manner.

Finally, Intel’s future also includes its ability to more effectively integrate artificial intelligence and parallel processinga. Without Hyper-Threading, the enterprise will need to ensure that its physical cores can optimally handle the growing demands of AI and machine learning that require massive data processing. The success of this new phase will depend on how Intel continues to adapt to an ever-changing market.