What's the deal with Dual Processors?

scrooged · 01-11-2002, 12:52 AM

If you get two intel P4 2.2 GHZ processors, overclock them each to 2.5 GHZ, can u get a 5 GHZ powerhouse? (with water cooling of course)

mushroom · 01-11-2002, 12:55 AM

i dont know but my buddie who works at intel might have that answer i will ask him oh by the way he runs a sixplex prossesor in his pc

scrooged · 01-11-2002, 01:02 AM

thanks,

Comage · 01-11-2002, 07:22 AM

No you don't. The CPU processing speed doesn't add up together like that. It's more of a parallel processing thing. The software must support dual-processors before both processors can be taken advantage of.

With two CPUs (we're talking about the same clock speed for both of course

), you're not gonna get 2x the speed; maybe say only 1.5 times to 1.6 times when both processors are in use.

Of course, I might be wrong. Could somebody correct me please.

NDC · 01-11-2002, 09:46 AM

You did pretty well explaining it, Comage. 2 X 1Ghz processors will not equal to the the clockspeed of a single 2Ghz processor. For one thing, you'll need to use an Operating System that supports SMP (Symmetric Multi Processing) such as Windows NT, Win2k, XP Pro, Linux, etc. OS's that use Win9x kernel such as Windows 9x or ME cannot utilize the second processor, and neither can Windows XP Home Edition. Also keep in mind that not all applications are SMP supported. There are a few professional applications that support SMP. Just to name a few, Adobe Photoshop, 3D Max, Maya, Premier, etc...

The main advantage of using SMP systems vs. a uni-processor system would be responsive multi-tasking. Multi-tasking is MUCH more responsive vs. a uni-processor system. My dual P3 550Mhz will out perform my T-Bird @ 1.4Ghz when it comes to multi-tasking. As for some Photoshop tasking, what would take about 45 seconds for the T-Bird 1.4Ghz to complete takes my dual P3 @ 1.09Ghz 5 seconds or less. The difference here is more than 2X as you can see the times... The reason multi-processor systems are more responsive is the fact that unlike single processor systems, SMP systems can move on to a different process before it completes the first. While the first processor completes the first task, the second processor will kick in for the second task... Although it would be nice to have a multi-processor system for general computing, I just don't think it's worth it for most users. When upgrade time comes, you'll most likely end up upgrading both which means DOUBLE the cash for the processor upgrade. All though you can cripple the faster processor ro the slower one to mix different speed processors, I don't think anyone would be happy to do so..

If you're planning on building a SMP system for gaming or general computing such as MS Office, Internet, a few games, etc, just forget about it. Only game I know of that supports SMP is Quake 3. Because of the bad coding in the game for SMP support, it really doesn't make much difference to a uni-processor. Unless you going to use Graphic applications, video & audio editing applications, getting a fast uni-processor system would be a wiser choice in my opinion....

You may want to click on the link below to learn more about SMP...

Symmetric Multiprocessing Frequently Asked Questions

SMP Reality - Symmetrical Multi Processors