How does a dual processor work?

[dieharddave]

How does a motherboard work with two processors? So if i have one CPU running at 800mhz and the other at 1.2ghz, does that mean i that i am running at 2.0ghz?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[74merc]

nope
You are running two of the same processors at the same speed. you can not run one 800 and one 1.2ghz.
it doesn't add up, doesn't make it faster except in a few cases for optimized software, but it does make it damn near impossible to bog the system down. Encode MP3s while ripping divx and playing Unreal Tournament.
try that with a single processor.

----------------------
Independant thought is good.
It won't hurt for long.

 

[dieharddave]

Ha Ha Ha!!!Ok, that makes sense. So having a dual processor would make sense if you a had a small server. Do you have to run two processors? So can i buy one now and install it and then buy the second one at a later time?
Dave

 

[74merc]

yea, works fine on servers.
you don't have to run two processors initially, there is a terminator card to go in the second cpu slot.
you have to do some minor changes to the OS when you add the second processor, but nothing huge...

----------------------
Independant thought is good.
It won't hurt for long.