Marvell ThunderX3: Next-Generation Arm-Based Server Processor

Marvell ThunderX3 is the third-generation Arm-based server processor from Marvell. This article describes the architecture of ThunderX3, going into details of core microarchitecture. ThunderX3 is distinctive among mainstream processors in supporting four SMT threads. The article describes the threading microarchitecture of ThunderX3 and highlights threading benefits. The article also touches on the on-chip interconnect and L3-cache and the power management subsystem. Initial benchmark results from silicon show 30%+ single thread and up to 3X socket level performance gains over the prior generation resulting in industry-leading single thread and socket level performance.