Can XP Pro utilize quad cores?

911aaron · 05-14-2008, 11:39 PM

I am planning to make a new gaming computer with a Q6600 and Windows XP Professional. I was reading this article about Windows XP professional and I found this statement.

"Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one."

Does that mean my Q6600 wont be used to its full potential since it has 4 cores and according to the article, Windows XP Pro can only support up to 2? Or am I misunderstanding the statement?

Intel_man · 05-15-2008, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911aaron

I am planning to make a new gaming computer with a Q6600 and Windows XP Professional. I was reading this article about Windows XP professional and I found this statement.

"Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one."

Does that mean my Q6600 wont be used to its full potential since it has 4 cores and according to the article, Windows XP Pro can only support up to 2? Or am I misunderstanding the statement?

Interesting how my sister's HP Laptop is a Centrino Duo and it's on Home Edition...

PC eye · 05-15-2008, 12:06 AM

You are a little off. What was seen with XP Pro and not with the Home edition is support on boards running more then one cpu generally server type boards since the Pro edition sees more networking capability much like a server edition of Windows.

Regardless of whether you choose the Pro or Home edition or even the Home Premium edition of Vista the second pair of cores sit idle until a good load is placed on the cpu regardless of OS. Once a good load is on the secondary cores pick up on the work load.

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 12:45 AM

I know that the 2nd pair of cores sit idle until a huge work load is given. I was just wondering if I did give it a full work load, would XP use all four cores. From reading your post, I'm inferring that its a yes. If it is, I'm happy.

I am a little confused though when you say "What was seen with XP Pro and not with the Home edition is support on boards running more then one cpu..." Are you saying there are motherboards out there that can use 2 CPU's at once? Ex. 2 Q6600's on the same motherboard? I just never heard of a motherboard that can hold two CPU's at once so I'm just a little surprised and curious if there are motherboards like that.

hackapelite · 05-15-2008, 12:47 AM

Yes there are boards that support more than 1 CPUs, but they're either server boards or high-end parts for enthusiasts.

Vizy93 · 05-15-2008, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911aaron

I know that the 2nd pair of cores sit idle until a huge work load is given. I was just wondering if I did give it a full work load, would XP use all four cores. From reading your post, I'm inferring that its a yes. If it is, I'm happy.

I am a little confused though when you say "What was seen with XP Pro and not with the Home edition is support on boards running more then one cpu..." Are you saying there are motherboards out there that can use 2 CPU's at once? Ex. 2 Q6600's on the same motherboard? I just never heard of a motherboard that can hold two CPU's at once so I'm just a little surprised and curious if there are motherboards like that.

Yea. There are some mobos that can do that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SUS-_-13131170

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 01:27 AM

Ohh. I never knew. Thats really awesome.

Ok so im guessing that statement i posted is referring to 2 cpu's rather than 2 cores. If thats the case, which OS do you think would be a better choice? XP Pro or XP home? after reading the differences between Pro and Home http://windows.about.com/od/updating..._home_prof.htm
it just seems like XP pro only offers a few extra features. I mainly (and practically only) use my computer for gaming and watching videos so would it be worth it to get XP pro rather than XP Home? If getting XP pro will boost my system's performance I will get it. If its just XP home with a few extra features i wont get it. Feedback please.

Vizy93 · 05-15-2008, 01:31 AM

I would get xp pro if it was only $30 more than home. Mainly because its most likely the better OS. They're basically the same.

PC eye · 05-15-2008, 02:43 AM

What XP Pro sees is a second cd for the additional network features you can add along with the defaults. When the dual core cpus were first out there was an MS page originally intended for multiple cpu boards where performance losses were seen when more then one cpu was present.

Since that time both Intel and AMD alike have released corrective patches usually seen going on after a clean install of Windows and going for all of the updates. Since then the newer chipsets have also addressed the early issues there as well. As for which edition either works while the Home edition tends to be a little more media player orientated while Pro is loaded more for network support.

Both use the exact same NT core and shell for the most part making them both software compatible. I ran identical things on both along with Vista on the last build with Pro left behind and Home still on for older Vidso capture/editing reasons. Both will see SP3 go right on as well while the MCE edition? Some are reporting a few problems with the later upgrade to Pro there.

911aaron · 05-15-2008, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PC eye

What XP Pro sees is a second cd for the additional network features you can add along with the defaults. When the dual core cpus were first out there was an MS page originally intended for multiple cpu boards where performance losses were seen when more then one cpu was present.

Since that time both Intel and AMD alike have released corrective patches usually seen going on after a clean install of Windows and going for all of the updates. Since then the newer chipsets have also addressed the early issues there as well. As for which edition either works while the Home edition tends to be a little more media player orientated while Pro is loaded more for network support.

Both use the exact same NT core and shell for the most part making them both software compatible. I ran identical things on both along with Vista on the last build with Pro left behind and Home still on for older Vidso capture/editing reasons. Both will see SP3 go right on as well while the MCE edition? Some are reporting a few problems with the later upgrade to Pro there.

So your basically saying home and XP are the same except that XP Home is a little more media player oriented while XP pro is more for network support? All the other stuff you added kinda confused me.

05-14-2008, 11:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
911aaron Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Inside your computer as a virus Posts: 195	Can XP Pro utilize quad cores? I am planning to make a new gaming computer with a Q6600 and Windows XP Professional. I was reading this article about Windows XP professional and I found this statement. "Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one." Does that mean my Q6600 wont be used to its full potential since it has 4 cores and according to the article, Windows XP Pro can only support up to 2? Or am I misunderstanding the statement? __________________ * Processor: Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 * Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L * RAM: G. Skill 2GB F2-6400CL5d-2GBNQ * Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s * VGA: EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 * PSU: Ultra X-Finity 500-Watt * OS: Windows XP Home Edition 32-bit * Monitor: Samsung 906BW LCD 2 ms response time 2000:1 Contrast CPU cooler: Arctic Cooler 7 Last edited by 911aaron; 05-14-2008 at 11:42 PM.*

05-15-2008, 12:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,005	You are a little off. What was seen with XP Pro and not with the Home edition is support on boards running more then one cpu generally server type boards since the Pro edition sees more networking capability much like a server edition of Windows. Regardless of whether you choose the Pro or Home edition or even the Home Premium edition of Vista the second pair of cores sit idle until a good load is placed on the cpu regardless of OS. Once a good load is on the secondary cores pick up on the work load. __________________ Youtube falls short of Google's expectations http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Ahe...ory?id=5336532 Congress studies how people track your online use http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Ahe...ory?id=5337932

05-15-2008, 12:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
911aaron Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Inside your computer as a virus Posts: 195	I know that the 2nd pair of cores sit idle until a huge work load is given. I was just wondering if I did give it a full work load, would XP use all four cores. From reading your post, I'm inferring that its a yes. If it is, I'm happy. I am a little confused though when you say "What was seen with XP Pro and not with the Home edition is support on boards running more then one cpu..." Are you saying there are motherboards out there that can use 2 CPU's at once? Ex. 2 Q6600's on the same motherboard? I just never heard of a motherboard that can hold two CPU's at once so I'm just a little surprised and curious if there are motherboards like that. __________________ * Processor: Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 * Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L * RAM: G. Skill 2GB F2-6400CL5d-2GBNQ * Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s * VGA: EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 * PSU: Ultra X-Finity 500-Watt * OS: Windows XP Home Edition 32-bit * Monitor: Samsung 906BW LCD 2 ms response time 2000:1 Contrast *CPU cooler: Arctic Cooler 7

05-15-2008, 12:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
hackapelite Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Solicitor's office Posts: 955	Yes there are boards that support more than 1 CPUs, but they're either server boards or high-end parts for enthusiasts. __________________ BY READING THE ABOVE POST, YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING: "The above post is provided solely for entertainment purposes and is not to be taken as professional advice. Therefore, I shall not be held responsible for any damage or losses that are result from anything I have posted, to the extent applicable by law. In the unlikely event that I CAN be held responsible, I have never been here, I am not here, and I will never be here, and it will be highly questionable whether I even exist."

05-15-2008, 01:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
911aaron Silver Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Inside your computer as a virus Posts: 195	Ohh. I never knew. Thats really awesome. Ok so im guessing that statement i posted is referring to 2 cpu's rather than 2 cores. If thats the case, which OS do you think would be a better choice? XP Pro or XP home? after reading the differences between Pro and Home http://windows.about.com/od/updating..._home_prof.htm it just seems like XP pro only offers a few extra features. I mainly (and practically only) use my computer for gaming and watching videos so would it be worth it to get XP pro rather than XP Home? If getting XP pro will boost my system's performance I will get it. If its just XP home with a few extra features i wont get it. Feedback please. __________________ * Processor: Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 * Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L * RAM: G. Skill 2GB F2-6400CL5d-2GBNQ * Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s * VGA: EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 * PSU: Ultra X-Finity 500-Watt * OS: Windows XP Home Edition 32-bit * Monitor: Samsung 906BW LCD 2 ms response time 2000:1 Contrast *CPU cooler: Arctic Cooler 7

05-15-2008, 01:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
Vizy93 Diamond Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: LA, Westside Age: 14 Posts: 2,174	I would get xp pro if it was only $30 more than home. Mainly because its most likely the better OS. They're basically the same. __________________ RnB Session- get updated Hulu- TV quality clips/shows/movies My Slurpee Cup- life's elixir

05-15-2008, 02:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,005	What XP Pro sees is a second cd for the additional network features you can add along with the defaults. When the dual core cpus were first out there was an MS page originally intended for multiple cpu boards where performance losses were seen when more then one cpu was present. Since that time both Intel and AMD alike have released corrective patches usually seen going on after a clean install of Windows and going for all of the updates. Since then the newer chipsets have also addressed the early issues there as well. As for which edition either works while the Home edition tends to be a little more media player orientated while Pro is loaded more for network support. Both use the exact same NT core and shell for the most part making them both software compatible. I ran identical things on both along with Vista on the last build with Pro left behind and Home still on for older Vidso capture/editing reasons. Both will see SP3 go right on as well while the MCE edition? Some are reporting a few problems with the later upgrade to Pro there. __________________ Youtube falls short of Google's expectations http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Ahe...ory?id=5336532 Congress studies how people track your online use http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Ahe...ory?id=5337932

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