Dual-core Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
A Dual-core CPU combines two independent processors and their respective caches and cache controllers onto a single chip. This has many advantages over traditional dual CPU systems (which have two CPUs, each on their own printed circuit board (PCB) being connected by the motherboard, or in a dual G4 system's case having two CPUs on one card sharing one socket. A dual-core CPU will require less power than two separate chips. Also, because of their close proximity, communications between the two processors occurs more quickly.
Dual-core CPUs are in development by companies such as Motorola, IBM, Intel and AMD and are scheduled to be applied to consumer products in 2005. IBM has a 970MP dual-core processor in development. Intel is attempting to develop dual-core versions of their Itanium and Pentium 4 processors. AMD has demonstrated a dual-core Opteron processor but will not begin shipping them until 2005. Motorola has its dual-core e600 and e700 cores in development.
Dual-core CPUs mark a large jump in processing power, having the potential to nearly double processing power over single core chips. The performance scaling efficiency is larger than with Intel's hyper-threading technology (or SMT) and will almost be similair to SMP setups, but due to the shared communications bus it will never fully reach the same performance scaling (about 70% is expected in optimized applications). It is being developed as a) a cheaper way to achieve multiple processors in a machine and b) as a simple way to increase the pontetial maximum number of processors in a SMT machine or even cluster of (SMT) machines.
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