2008 Woodie Awards
Do The Dual
Dylan Kurlansky
Issue date: 2/15/05 Section: Science & Technology
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Two heads are better then one. This old cliché is the logic behind the buzz surrounding dual core processing, which is currently being used for home PCs.
From the top: the processor or CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the heart of a computer. The CPU's major components are its pipeline, clock, cache, bus and ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit). Picture the pipeline as a conveyer belt carrying the data through the processor. The clock spins at what is called the "clock speed" (when people say they have a 3.4 GHz processor, they are referring to the clock speed). The clock speed determines how fast the data in the pipeline is processed. The processor's cache refers to its onboard memory. The CPU anticipates what tools it will need for a particular job and stores them in its cache. If the processor is missing a specific tool it must reach into the PC's storage and retrieve it, thus slowing down the job. The CPU is similar to a handyman who brings his tools for a job but most go back to the truck to retrieve the things he forgot. The bus of the computer is what gets information from the processor to the rest of the components on the motherboard. Lastly, there is the ALU which does the actual work of the processor by providing the computational power needed for the processor to function.
Historically, the way CPU developers such as AMD and Intel have improved chip performance has been by upping the chip's clock speed. However, this causes problems because the faster the clock turns the more heat it generates, and increased heat leads to crashing and errors. Eventually developers hit a wall with how fast they could make their chips run. Intel's latest offerings to the processor market incorporate Hyperthreading. What Hyperthreading does is trick a PC's Operating System (OS) into thinking it has two CPU's, thereby allowing more efficient multitasking. The concept behind Hyperthreading is to create the illusion of going faster by doing more at the same speed; if you can't actually go faster then make it look like you are. The problem with Hyperthreading is that sometimes the Operating System runs two programs that really do need two processors to run simultaneously, leading the system to crash.
From the top: the processor or CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the heart of a computer. The CPU's major components are its pipeline, clock, cache, bus and ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit). Picture the pipeline as a conveyer belt carrying the data through the processor. The clock spins at what is called the "clock speed" (when people say they have a 3.4 GHz processor, they are referring to the clock speed). The clock speed determines how fast the data in the pipeline is processed. The processor's cache refers to its onboard memory. The CPU anticipates what tools it will need for a particular job and stores them in its cache. If the processor is missing a specific tool it must reach into the PC's storage and retrieve it, thus slowing down the job. The CPU is similar to a handyman who brings his tools for a job but most go back to the truck to retrieve the things he forgot. The bus of the computer is what gets information from the processor to the rest of the components on the motherboard. Lastly, there is the ALU which does the actual work of the processor by providing the computational power needed for the processor to function.
Historically, the way CPU developers such as AMD and Intel have improved chip performance has been by upping the chip's clock speed. However, this causes problems because the faster the clock turns the more heat it generates, and increased heat leads to crashing and errors. Eventually developers hit a wall with how fast they could make their chips run. Intel's latest offerings to the processor market incorporate Hyperthreading. What Hyperthreading does is trick a PC's Operating System (OS) into thinking it has two CPU's, thereby allowing more efficient multitasking. The concept behind Hyperthreading is to create the illusion of going faster by doing more at the same speed; if you can't actually go faster then make it look like you are. The problem with Hyperthreading is that sometimes the Operating System runs two programs that really do need two processors to run simultaneously, leading the system to crash.