Thread: Multi-core: whether it is necessary really?

How many cores should be really?

Introduction

In the early years of the new millennium, when the frequency of CPU, finally passed the mark of 1 GHz, some companies (let's not point the finger at Intel) predicted that the new NetBurst architecture in the future will be able to achieve frequencies of 10 GHz. Enthusiasts expect a new era, when the CPU clock speeds will grow like mushrooms after rain. Need more performance? Simply click on the processor with higher clock frequency.

Newton's apple fell on his head loudly dreamers who saw megahertz as the easiest way to continue the growth of PC performance. Physical limitations prevented exponentially increase the clock speed without a corresponding increase in heat, and other problems associated with production technologies, too, began to emerge. Indeed, in recent years the fastest processors operate at frequencies from 3 to 4 GHz.

Of course, progress did not stop, when for him to pay the money - there are quite a lot of users who are willing to lay out a considerable sum for a more powerful computer. So the engineers began to look for other ways to increase productivity, in particular, increasing the efficiency of executing commands, and not just hoping for the clock speed. Parallelism also was a decision - if you can not make the CPU faster, then why not add a second the same processor to increase computing resources?
The main problem with parallelism is that the software must be specifically written so as to distribute the load across multiple threads - that is, you do not get an immediate return on investment of money, unlike that of the frequency. In 2005, when we reached the first dual-core processors, they did not provide significant productivity gains, because the desktop is used relatively little software that they would be supported. In fact, most dual-core CPU was slower than single-core processors in most tasks, since the single-core CPU to work at higher clock frequencies.

However, it has been four years, and for them things has changed. Many software developers have optimized their products to take advantage of multiple cores. Single-core processors today already difficult to find on sale, and two-, three-and quad-core CPU are quite commonplace.

But the question arises: How many CPU cores to really? Enough for games triple-core processors or better pay and take the quad-core chip? Is it enough for the average user dual-core processor, or more cores really makes any difference? What applications are optimized for multiple cores, and which will only respond to changing specifications such as frequency or size of the cache?

We felt that it was a good time to test the application of the upgraded package (however, the update is not yet completed) for one-, two-, three-, and quad configurations in order to understand how valuable steel multi-core processors in 2009.

Methods of testing: how to compare multiple cores?

To the tests were fair, we chose a quad-core processor - overclocked to 2.7 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600. After the tests on our system, we then cut off one of the nuclei, reboot, and repeat the test. We have consistently cut off the kernel and got the results for different number of active nuclei (one to four), with the processor and its frequency is not changed.

Disabling CPU cores under Windows is quite easy. If you want to learn how to do it, then type "msconfig" in the box, Windows Vista "Start Search / Start Search" and press "Enter". This will open the utility "System Configuration".

In it go to the tab "Load / Boot" and press the "Advanced Options / Advanced options".

This will lead to the appearance of the window "Advanced Boot Options / BOOT Advanced Options". Select the checkbox "Number of processors / Number of Processors" and specify the desired number of processor cores that will be active in the system. It is very simple.

After confirming the program prompts you to restart. After rebooting the "Task Manager Windows" (Task Manager) you can see the number of active nuclei. Call Task Manager is performed by pressing Crtl + Shift + Esc.

Select the Task Manager Performance tab / Performance ". In it you can see the graphics load for each processor / core (whether it be a separate processor / core, or virtual processor, as we have in the case of Core i7 with the active support Hyper-Threading), paragraph "Timeline CPU / CPU Usage History". Two graphics mean two active nuclei, three - three active nucleus, etc.

Now that you read the methodology of our tests, let me turn to a detailed consideration of the configuration and test computer programs.