Is Your Multi-Core CPU Being Utilized?
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Are you one of those lucky folks who own a computer with dual-core CPU technology? Think you are getting your money’s worth? Think again. The simple fact of the matter is that many software developers are ill-equipped to provide apps that will run using all of the CPU resources now available.
What do you think? Does any of this even matter with the possible exception of CPU intensive applications? Hit the comments and share your thoughts. Speaking for myself, I have found the need for applications using two cores to rather limited, but perhaps I am all wet here.
One Comment
Bryan Price
September 4th, 2007
at 9:16pm
Lucky? I’ve got got a Q6600! Four cores! And I love it!
My previous P4 was a HyperThreaded 2.8GHZ. After two complete wipes, I still experienced issues with Firefox going 100% on a CPU and then finally timing out on Javascript. The last install was fine as long as I avoided Google search. I do a search with Google, and 50% of the time, I would have to wait for Firefox to finally timeout on Javascript, cancel the JS, and then be free. HT helped in that other programs could actually get work done. But that also meant that I was functioning at 1.4GHZ. Now I’m getting the full 2.4GHZ AND the ability to keep chugging if something goes 100%.
And I’m running 100% now, but it’s not a great issue. I’m running Boinc, and donating my CPU cycles to the SETI@home, Einstein@home and ClimatePrediction.net projects. The only burps I see is that sometimes my mouse response goes south. Snoozing Boinc seems to get through that hurdle. Maybe something that’s supposed to be running at high isn’t, and Boinc takes over the cycles. It goes away after a bit. It’s just annoying when it happens.
As I argued with a friend several years ago, when I was thinking about setting up a multi-CPU Xeon system, I’m not so worried about the application taking full use of the hardware as I was about the operating system. I’m still running multiple programs, so if one does a lot of CPU hogging, the rest are guaranteed to get some time as well.