18-12-2009, 03:23 PM
If you have you lost count of the times you find your computer lagging when you work on several AutoCAD projects while also zipping your entire C drive, and burning a series of CDs, or if youâ„¢ve just hoped that you could find an expensive new computer feature that is more status symbol than performance, here the answer; you should be happy to hear about the new systems work.A dual-core processor is a CPU with two separate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. Itâ„¢s the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one. In a single-core or traditional processor the CPU is fed strings of instructions it must order, execute, then selectively store in its cache for quick retrieval. When data outside the cache is required, it is retrieved through the system bus from random access memory (RAM) or from storage devices. Accessing these slows down performance to the maximum speed the bus, RAM or storage device will allow, which is far slower than the speed of the CPU. The situation is compounded when multi-tasking. In this case the processor must switch back and forth between two or more sets of data streams and programs. CPU resources are depleted and performance suffers.In a dual-core processor each core handles incoming data strings simultaneously to improve efficiency. Just as two heads are better than one, so are two hands. Now when one is executing the other can be accessing the system bus or executing its own code. Adding to this favorable scenario, both AMD and Intelâ„¢s dual--core flagships are 64-bit.