Dual core processors

[rolex]

Apologies if this has been discussed before but is this the next big thing? Seen them advertised on the telly. Why have one CPU when you can have two? I have a fastish computer but things do slow down when you have several things running at the same time. Will these things keep everythink up to speed?

[mr_yogi]

It depends on what you are doing and why your PC is slowing down. For example; if it's running out of memory then a dual core won't help, but if you are running an intensive program such as encoding video or MP3s in the background, and trying to use the computer at the same time then having a second core may help.

[thepassenger]

As above.
However, even if the software you are running isn't capable of using the second core you would still see some speed improvment over your existing CPU due to the improved design of the Core 2 Duo units.

How much improvement not too sure. And you've got the question of if it's worth the amount of money you'd need to upgrade.... that's up to you.

[scorp]

rolex said:

Apologies if this has been discussed before but is this the next big thing? Seen them advertised on the telly. Why have one CPU when you can have two? I have a fastish computer but things do slow down when you have several things running at the same time. Will these things keep everythink up to speed?

Depends on the application, a lot of apps run in a single thread or poorly multithreaded, so don't expect old apps, especially non-mainstream ones to run any fasters than single core. Most new stuff will run faster though.