An explanation of “dual core” CPU / Processors

One of the latest trends in CPU / processor technology is “dual core” or “multi core” processors. Processors previously designed all sit on one chip, with one core. The core does all the logic and thinking while the “chip” connects the core to the rest of the system and handles the requests, houses the cache (onboard memory), and other logic activities. Dual Core means there is litterally 2 cores sitting on a single chip. Intel was the first to accomplish this feat with the release of the Pentium D series. The Pentium D was labeled by the tech community to be a very inelegant way of implementing dual core as it essentially was 2 Pentium 4 cores slapped together on a single to form Pentium D. This meant that very little was done to optimize the process. AMD soon followed up with its Athlon X2 series which was regarded as a much more elegant and true to purpose Dual Core design.

Dual Core CPU’s usually run slightly lower clockspeeds (per core) then the higher end single core processors. This is generally to help cut costs as well as maintain a safe thermal envelope. Having 2 cores in such close proximity creates significantly more heat and as such, the first dual core processors had significantly lower clockspeeds (per core).