The Year of the CPU - Performance

We should see a nice bump up in the performance of dual core. Most applications haven’t been compiled for use with dual CPUs, so don’t expect any gains in this department. You will see a big jump in programs that have been previously written for dual CPUs. Many multimedia programs support dual core, and there will be a good bump up for the new CPUs compared to their single core brothers. 

If you don’t use any multimedia applications, all is not lost for you. The good thing about having two cores is that you can currently assign programs to certain cores. For example, you can encode a DVD on one core and assign gaming to the other. You should notice little difference from gaming on single core without encoding a DVD. Hopefully games and other applications that are coming out in the future will be written and compiled for multiple cores.

Is it hot in here?

I know that the first time I heard Intel was going to throw two Prescott cores into one CPU, I shook my head wondering how they were thinking of cooling it. Even the single core Prescott had bad thermal problems on stock coolers, so twice as many cores would really be a major problem.  From the specs I’ve seen, heat isn’t as much as a problem as it could have been. Intel has scaled back the speed and volts, which helps with the problem. The stock cooler is a little beefier and manages to cool it. 

The next year

As cool as 2005 looks for the CPU, 2006 will follow, but with less invention, and more production. 2005 will see brand new things for CPUs, but a majority of people won’t jump onto the dual core wagon until 2006. In 2006 we will see prices fall, and speeds bump up. Intel will also move more chips over to dual core. 

The one I’m really looking forward to is the dual core Pentium Mobile. It will also add 64-bit and move to a faster FSB. Currently the Pentium Mobile, when overclocked, can compete with the very best chips, such as the EE and AMD’s FX line. 

Conclusion

As unexciting as the recent years have been for CPUs, this year will be full of great inventions. Thus far, Intel has released a lot more information about their dual core CPUs than AMD. The results look surprisingly good. Until games and other applications are made with support for multiple CPUs, dual cores will be strictly for multimedia and multitasking. Once the software comes out, dual core will take off. At any rate, I would hold off on jumping the gun and buying a new CPU. Let the dust settle. The winner will come out on top, and then you can use those shiny pennies you have saved up.