The dual-core processor has changed the personal computing landscape since its introduction in 2004. The architecture is innovative in its design and has opened doors to other new technologies. Computer architecture information can be complex and somewhat cryptic, but the dual-core processor technology can be explained with a few simple concepts.
What is Dual Core Technology?
Dual-core technology is exactly what it sounds like: two processor cores on the same chip rather than the previous standard of one core per chip. The two processors provide greater functionality and faster overall speed. Having two cores also allows your computer to run more programs at once. The ability to set the affinity of a process to a certain core or cores provides greater processing power over multiple programs.
Hyper Transport
AMD has developed a technology called Hyper Transport to allow multiple processing cores to process information more efficiently. Hyper Transport technology allows two or more processors to pass information to each other faster. It accomplishes this by optimizing the input/output paths between the two cores. This reduces the latency time, which in turn decreases the overall time it takes your processor to process and pass along information.
Hyper Threading
Hyper Threading is a technology developed by Intel that allows your processor to function more efficiently. When executing programs, Hyper Threading portions off part of the core specifically for that program, instead of having that program use the entire core. This allows multiple programs to use multiple portions of the core, which in turns increases the amount of work each core can run at once. This decreases system lag when running multiple processes.
Advantages
Dual-core technology was created as a way of speeding up system performance without risking system instability. Heat is one of the primary problems with processor design. A processor that runs at 15GHz is going to generate too much heat for the average system to deal with. If a PC gets too hot, the motherboard's internal temperature gauge will sense it and shut the system down to protect its components. Multiple-core technology allows multiple slower CPUs to function simultaneously, generating overall processing speeds equal to one faster processor without the dramatic increase in heat.
The Future
Multiple-core technology has been revolutionizing the computer industry since since 2004. Newer operating systems such as Windows 7 will further increase their functionality. There is usually a lag period between hardware development and software implementation. Once the software has caught up, dual-core technology will be an even more effective multitasking tool.
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