It would seem that the race for more speed is over. I remember only a year or two back when it seemed like every time we turned around there was a faster processor. It was all about more speed---1.8, 2.0, 2.4, 2.8, 3.0, faster, faster, FASTER; and then suddenly in the last year it slowed down. This year's fastest processor runs at only 3.6 GHz. What has happened is that Intel and AMD are hitting the limits of how fast they can push today's processors. They are also hitting the points of diminishing return. Lets face it, when we moved from 1.8 to 2.4, it may have been only a 600 MHz increase, but that increase represented almost 50% more speed. But now, the same 600 MHz from 3.0 to 3.6 is barely a 20% increase. At the same time these ultra-fast CPUs produce more heat, which means more and louder cooling fans, and more power consumption. The solution? If we can't make the processor faster, how about we just add another processor?
That is the premise behind dual core technology. Dual Core processors are actually two independent CPUs in one package. This isn't like Hyper threading, which was a software technology Intel used to try and keep a single processor busier by tricking the operating system into thinking it had two CPUs. Dual Core processors are two complete Pentium 4 or Pentium M processors in the same physical chip. Now dual processors are common in servers and high end CAD or graphics workstations, but the special Xeon processors and systems required to do this were well beyond the price most consumers were willing to pay for a workstation or notebook computer. What makes Dual Core different is that it is affordable; typically running only 10-20% more than a comparable single processor system.
The real question is, "are two processors twice as fast?" Well the answer is "yes" and "no." If you are just doing one thing, most software can't divide the work across two processors, just like you can't work on two things at once. But most of us today don't work that way. Instead, we may have one program in the foreground, but in the background we are running our e-mail client, listening to internet radio, and a dozen other background processes that go on all the time behind the scenes. Today your single processor machine has to slice off a piece of its time to deal with all these things. You notice this as a hesitation or general slowness in your system. With Dual Core technology the second processor can take care of all these background activities, which frees the first processor to focus exclusively on what you're working on. This can result in a 30% to 70% increase in overall system performance. Most people find that dual core systems just "feel more responsive." Multi-Core processors are the wave of the future, with processors sporting four or even more cores already showing up on the drawing boards. Like the old adage, "two heads" are better than one, two cores are definitely better than one when it comes to today's multi-tasking systems.
InLine's M40D Desktop Workstations and InBook Notebook Lines offer Intel Dual Core technology solutions today. Talk with your Account Executive about these exciting technologies for your next system.
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