Can XP Pro utilize quad cores?

911aaron

911aaron

New Member
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?
 
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911aaron said:
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?
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Interesting how my sister's HP Laptop is a Centrino Duo and it's on Home Edition...
 
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.
 
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.
 
911aaron said:
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.
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Yea. There are some mobos that can do that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ta6-_-Motherboards+-+Server-_-ASUS-_-13131170
 
Ohh. I never knew. Thats really awesome. :D

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/updatingupgrading/a/xp_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. :)
 
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.
 
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.
 
PC eye said:
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.
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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. :P
 
XP home and XP pro will utilize a Dual or Quad or more core the same. Windows 2000 and XP pro just support 2 CPU sockets motherboards. Both will do media equal, XP pro is just more network oriented other that that there the same. Thats alot more simple than all that bull crap he says!
 
Lol. I must admit sometimes i get confused when PC eye talks, but i understand him for the most part. He is helpful though. Gotta appreciate that. :)

Ok i understand everything now.. except for 1 last thing. What do you guys mean by etwork oriented? what kind of network are we talking about here?
 
Most of what someone else mumbles is simply attempts at constant insults rather then simply paying attention to what is actually being described. The main differences between the two editions is that Pro or Professional is much on the same idea as was seen with 2000 and 2000 Pro where the bulk of features included in that edition offer more support for network application while the Home and 2000 basic are a little more stand alone desktop friendly as far as options.

On older server boards that saw two cpus the Pro saw the advantage there since the network support was already designed into that edition. Both will easily run WMP 10 and other 3rd party media players and games alike with the identical NT core in use.

The second cd that comes with the Pro edition is simply a load of network type options you can addon. That's one of the main differences seen there since both were run here side by side seeing the exact same combination of softwares and games run equally. Pro is simply geared with more networking options when compared to the Home edition. The MCE edition is the one that sees the larger change there with the full Media Center now see in Vista applied there as an upgraded version to Pro.
 
Your so full of it. I guess you will be telling him to buy a AM3 DDR3 board that doesnt exist but you think it does, to run it.
 
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hey hey lets not fight. your both very smart and theres no need to bicker. I appreciate both of your guys' help a lot.

What is the MCE edition?
MCE = ?


After seeing the difference, ill probably go with home edition since i dont really need the added features of XP pro. Thanks guys. =]
 
Yea. MCE means XP media center edition.

Let's not bash PC eye. He is knowledgeable and puts in the time to help. I'm not gonna lie, he speaks really...largely, if that makes sense. But if you read through his whole post you'll find the answer to ur question. He just puts a litte...err a lot of background into it.
 
txt_XP2005Overview.gif

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Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 powers the all-in-one PC and entertainment center for your entire home. Get all the advanced computing power of Windows XP and enjoy your favorite entertainment on your PC—watch DVDs, record TV, listen to music, share your digital photos, and more.

Find out more about Media Center with interactive demos, a features overview, and answers to frequently asked questions.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/evaluation/overview.mspx

The additional links seen on the MS page there provide a general description as well as the types of features included in the 2005 edition of XP. The Media Center often requires a subscription to a particular service in order to be actually usable while the WMP or other 3rd party players will play audio cds, dvd movies, audio and video files on the drive with WMP 10 being the best WMP for XP. WMP 11 is a flop where MS now advertises 4rd party softwares like CyberLink's PowerDVD and Roxio's media player since MS dropped codecs and other things like visualization screen savers for both the XP and Vista versions of 11. 10 sees all types of video and audio file support there.
 
Okay. Looks like I gathered up all the information I needed. I'll probably buy all my parts tomorrow. Thanks everyone for their help!
 
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