Multi core processors

[Danny27]

Hello,
Does a 4 core processor use all it's cores when running numerous single threaded applications? Example......... If I run Norton, listen to music, play a game of solitare and burn a Cd at the same time, will it use one core or one core for each application?

 

[Danny27]

Thank you for the quick reply.

 

[Wamphryi]

You can assign processes to a single core on a multi core system. Go to Task Manager then processes. Right click the process you wish to assign and then select Set Affinity. That will give you the option of assigning to what cores and how many.

 

[cadder]

The OS does weird things in assigning load to the cores. You can watch the load in programs like task manager while running things. Task manager will show the load jumping from core to core. I have also noticed while running a quad core that I can have a download going, a virus scan going, and be doing other things with the computer still remaining responsive, so it is using at least 3 cores in this situation. When I do similar things with a dual core machine it drags it down and makes it very unresponsive.

 

[Danny27]

That is the answer I was looking for. At present I have an old Dell 8300 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz HT. It was good in it's day, but it is slow and unresponsive when running several programs at once. I am not heavy into gaming so the biggest, baddest processor isn't isn't my cup of tea. I am trying to figure out what I should buy, 2 or 4 core processor. If I buy the fastest processor today, tomorrow it will be outdated, so I am leaning to buy something in the middle of the pack that will serve me well for the next 6 or so years. Thank you for your answer, it helped alot.

 

[cadder]

That is the answer I was looking for. At present I have an old Dell 8300 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz HT. It was good in it's day, but it is slow and unresponsive when running several programs at once. I am not heavy into gaming so the biggest, baddest processor isn't isn't my cup of tea. I am trying to figure out what I should buy, 2 or 4 core processor. If I buy the fastest processor today, tomorrow it will be outdated, so I am leaning to buy something in the middle of the pack that will serve me well for the next 6 or so years. Thank you for your answer, it helped alot.

I built a new CAD workstation 2.5 years ago. At the time for the same budget you could get a real fast dual core processor, or a slightly slower quad core processor. I chose an E8500 dual core processor, and overclocked it to 3.8GHz. It works well but sometimes I have enough background processes running to overwhelm it and it slows down. Shortly after that I built a new machine for my home, and picked a Q9400 that I run at 3.4 GHz. It handles background tasks better. I can be using it to browse the net and download, and my virus scan will begin. I'm usually not even aware that it is running because the machine stays responsive, I just notice when it tells me it is finished.

Anyway for a desktop machine for an enthusiast I recommend a quad core processor. For a laptop I recommend a dual core unless you know that you really need a quad core, mostly due to considerations of budget, heat generation and battery life.

 

[Danny27]

Best answer selected by Danny27.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey