dual cpu or dual core

[TechBoyJK]

building a webserver and trying to stick with Windows 2003 Webserver edition. It only allows for 2cpu and 2GB of ram.

From my understand, dual cpu or dual core, that is considered dual cpu by windows..

Say I have two equally "fast" similar setups in cpu, except i have two single core for one system and one dual core in another... what will get better results?

 

[Aluvus]

Windows considers dual core processors to be one processor. You could have 2 single-core, dual-core, quad-core, or n-core processors and Windows would be fine with that.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Aluvus
Windows considers dual core processors to be one processor. You could have 2 single-core, dual-core, quad-core, or n-core processors and Windows would be fine with that.

are you sure that is the case for "webserver" edition? I thought the limitation on that was 2 cores and 2GBram

 

[TechBoyJK]

microsoft.com server os comparisons

it looks like webserver only supports 2 way smp, so i need to decide between dual cpu and dual core

 

[Job]

Dual CPU will get slightly faster results as they don't share the FSB - dual core will be about 1/4 of the price tho.....

 

[Maximilian]

No i think that dual-core gets slightly faster results. I cant remember where i read this but i think it was an article over at toms.

The difference wont be particularly noticeable though, but with a dual-core it will likely use less power than two single core cpu's and it will be quieter too.

It all depends on which specific cpu's your talking about (you can stick the dual core into the dual cpu motherboard and then you have an upgrade path to quad core, or pair the dual core with a single core and have 3 cores but thats not recommended) but generally i would go dual-core.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Aluvus
Windows considers dual core processors to be one processor.

This is true.

You could have 2 single-core, dual-core, quad-core, or n-core processors and Windows would be fine with that.

This is very false. Each version of Windows allows different amounts of processors. For instance, with XP Home, you can have only one processor, period. Of course, since Windows considers dual-core processors a single processor (since it is only one processor), you can use dual-cores with XP Home. But, you can't have two single core processors with XP Home, since that's two processors. XP Pro can have two processors, so you can have two dual-cores, or two single-cores, etc. And, there are different rules with each and every version they sell, even though some coincide with each other.

 

[Cogman]

currently, I think a dual Core setup will be faster then most dual CPU setups. A conroe based system should give performance that is better then any available performance given by a single core. (This may change with the release of single core conroe processors).

One thing you also might consider, is changing OS to, say, linux? Then you can get a quad processor setup. However, I wouldn't recommend this for the faint of heart.

 

[secretanchitman]

dual core > dual cpu. less wattage needed i think, since its only 1 cpu.

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: myocardia
This is very false. Each version of Windows allows different amounts of processors. For instance, with XP Home, you can have only one processor, period. Of course, since Windows considers dual-core processors a single processor (since it is only one processor), you can use dual-cores with XP Home. But, you can't have two single core processors with XP Home, since that's two processors. XP Pro can have two processors, so you can have two dual-cores, or two single-cores, etc. And, there are different rules with each and every version they sell, even though some coincide with each other.

OP specifically stated that this particular Windows version supports 2 processors, and it didn't seem like he really needed a rehash of every nuance of Windows XP rules. Particularly since he is interested in Server 2003.

 

[Kenshin911]

I recomend dual core. Get a C2D 6600 and be done with it. It's fast and cheap.