why is my dual-core running slower than my single core?

Quitoman

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I recently upgraded my AMD Athlon 64 3200+ to an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core 4200+ processor.

There does not seem to be any increase in the speed of my computer at all, in fact it seems to maybe be even running slower.

why is this?

btw when I received my processor it had fallen out of the package and was sitting around in the styrofoam packaging peanuts.

my brother told me that windows XP has no use for dual-core processors and that may be the reason why my computer isnt running any faster

 
1.) your brother is dumb.
2.) XP is perfectly capable of using multiple cores
3.) What motherboard do you have?
4.) did you update the BIOS?
5.) in task manager, does it show 2 cpu graphs?
 

Quitoman

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no it only shows 1 CPU graph in task manager

no i didnt update the BIOS, could you help me?

I have a socket 939 motherboard
 

Quitoman

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im not sure what motherboard i have

I have a emachines T6212 if u want to find out what kind of motherboard it has

how do i update BIOS to get both cores working?
 

firetatoo

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go to the motherboard manufaturer website and look for the info you need there.
also
when upgrading, do the research before you get the parts and you will suffer less aggrivation and frustration.
especialy if you have a factory built PC.
good luck.
 

nightscope

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Updating the bios won't make windows recognize both cores. If you want to get optimal performance from your upgrade, re-installing windows would certainly help.
 


what... are you like 10 years old and never had a 939 motherboard? Its painfully obvious thats his problem.
 

starcraftfanatic

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Find out the BIOS manufacturer and go to their website and look for your motherboard, your going to need to call emachines or get a utility that finds that out. There might be an update for your motherboard to support the two core; if not, tough luck. It might be impossible then. Reinstalling windows might be the way to do it, I'm not sure, I've heard that you can just fix it with a driver.
 

Quitoman

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i've been looking around all over the internet trying to find my exact motherboard and i cant. i dont think there is an update for my BIOS. if i perform a full system restore will that reinstall windows XP?

anyway i went into my BIOS and reset to factory settings and now in the task manager there are 2 CPU charts, but after running a CPU speed test i got the same results
 

nightscope

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Even if you update the bios and windows still does not recognize both cores, then re-installing windows will help. Updating the bios alone without a re-install might not work.
 

vinman

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How about opening up the case and looking in at the motherboard itself??? They usually say a model number and manufacturer in white letters.
 
you guys know the dual core optimizer is just an application specific hotfix right? ... and mostly just for older games...

If you have two graphs in task manager... your cpu should be running normally.