Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp have both unveiled their dual core processors last week. AMD's Athlon 64 X2 and Intel's Pentium D are equipped with "dual-core" designs, meaning that a single silicon chip holds two processors. This also means that the workload can be divided between the two processors. The dual core technology is an emerging technology that promises to change the parameters within which single core processors currently work.
Computer makers such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Alienware Corp have designed systems based on the dual core processors. Technically speaking, dual-core technology allows chipmakers to pack more power in the same space without compromising on the quality. Jeff Austin, marketing manager for desktop products at Intel explained that single-core chip eat up vast amounts of power plus radiate substantial amounts of heat, making them a liability as far as high-end applications are concerned. He added that dual-core technology uses two slightly slower processors combined on a single chip so as to enhance the performance.
However, consumers should be aware of the fact that dual-core does not mean that 1+1=2. For example the two 3.2-gigahertz cores in a new Intel Pentium D processor won't work as 6.4 GHz. Analysts say that most software that is currently available in the market is not designed to take advantage of processor setups that contain multiple cores. For this to happen, they say, software makers will have to redesign their applications to perform more tasks simultaneously.
Currently available software works sequentially through a list of given tasks. The good news is that software developers are seriously looking at ways to redesign their applications to suit this era of dual-core processors, Roxio, maker of software for editing and burning CDs and DVD’s, is one of the few companies who have already started work in this direction. Says, Uri Kozai, a director of engineering at Roxio, "You have to think in various axes at a time." He added that that crafting software for dual-core processors is "way more complex" than shipping programs for last year's processors.
Performance-wise, both AMD and Intel have promised something that has never happened before. Mooly Eden, vice president of the mobility group, Intel, says, "When I speak of dual cores, I am not talking about a 10 percent to 20 percent improvement in performance. I am speaking about something crazy." But as of now, users who edit massive video or photo files or those who run multiple resource-heavy applications, are the only ones who will benefit from the introduction of the dual-core processors.
Rest assured though that in the near future, most of the available technology in the markets is definitely going to be the dual-core one, for both Intel and AMD have promised aggressive promotion of their respective chips. Intel plans to have upto 70 percent of its desktop and laptop processors dual-core by 2006. The target rises to 90 percent by 2007.
But fierce competition has already begun between AMD and Intel with Henri Richard, AMD's senior VP for worldwide sales and marketing, saying that a real dual core processor should be one that integrates two cores onto the same die, and since Intel reportedly does not do so, its dual-core is just a sham. He was speaking at Computex 2005. “Intel’s dual-core platform consists of two separate cores in individual dies packaged together using multi-chip packaging in a single chip, which is not a true dual-core solution,” he said.
