Processor questions

[magpie01]

Hi,

my knowledge is limited and when i see intel quad or duo processors i get confused.

Does it mean that the hardware has, say for example on a intel quad 4 x 2.5ghz, therefore 10 ghz? my laptop is 4 years old and its got 1.73ghz. i'm now thinking that it must be sold old compared to what looks like ultra pwerfull machines.

[Jelly Bean]

Hello Magpie.

 

You are correct,each core runs at 2.5 GHZ which makes total of 10 if it is a quad core.

 

Each core runs diffrent processes on the computer.

[magpie01]

Ah so if i was to have a quad an bought a high end game it would only run at 2.5 or would it run faster

[Jelly Bean]

Nope.

 

Each core uses diffrent processes.

 

The game would be split between all four cores.

 

Multi-core - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

If you played a high ended game on a single core lower graded CPU you would proberly find the CPU is at 100% all the time.

 

With the new multi cores the would be shared with the four cores,then add to that 2 gig RAM at least.

 

Spreading processes over the four cores means each core will smoothly run the computer and the game.

[magpie01]

Thank you thats great so a quad is better than a duo obviously. that helps with my decisions

[Jelly Bean]

If your a high ended gamer then go for a quad.

 

If you play medium rated games and lets say a bit of surfing and downloading then just get a dual core.

[Cobra]

A common misconception regarding Dual or Quad core processors is that they run twice or four times as fast as a single core CPU with the same clock speed. That is simply not true. A quad core CPU @ 2GHz is not the same as a single core CPU @ 8GHz (if such a speed was available).

 

"Unlike clock speed increases, multiple cores don’t scale linearly. While a 2ghz CPU is twice as fast as the same CPU at 1ghz, a quad-core CPU is not four times as fast as a single core." Read more here:

 

Do you need a Quad-core CPU? Geeks to Go! – Tech experts answer your questions

 

and here:

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252977-28-quad-core-single-core-games