Do I need to do anything to enable dual core

[thepd7]

I have an AMD x2 4800+ installed in a machine and I need to know if there is anything I have to do to make sure windows is using the CPU to its full potential? I searched dual core but I couldn't find the answer, my apologies if its buried somewhere and I just couldn't find it. Thanks!

 

[ChunkyBarf]

XP Pro is licensed to support dual core (and/or dual processors) by default. If you hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and bring up Task Manager you will see a tab that says PERFORMANCE. You should see 2 graphs (one for each core). If this is the case, then your dual cores are enabled within Windows. Keep in mind that *optimal* performance will be yielded from multi-threaded applications.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: ChunkyBarf
Keep in mind that *optimal* performance will be yielded from multi-threaded applications.

And that nearly all programs (for now, at least) only use one core, so you'll be getting almost identical performance to a 4000 processor, assuming you aren't multi-tasking.

 

[ColdFlame]

Don't you also need to install the dual core hotfix? There is one from Microsoft and another one from AMD (could be the same thing)