Someone has to explain this to me.

[cabernet]

I think I KNOW that a dual core processor would play games better than a single core like a duo core vs a pentium, but one processes more ghz than the other, what makes duo core better for gaming besides the multitasking perk?

 

[thealmightyone]

Well, firstly, a core 2 duo is better than a pentium 4. Forget about the 'GHz' number. You can't cross compare different processors, because under the lid, they all work differently.

It's like trying to say an 18-wheeler is faster than a racing motorbike because it has more horsepower. There are other points to take into consideration other than pure power.

Secondly, how much of an improvement you see over single core depends on the game itself. For a game to take advantage of a multi-core processor, it has to be coded from the ground up to have various parts of the code processed on different cores, something which is apparently very hard to do. Obviously, some games will be coded much better than others

 

[lhuser]

A Dual core contains more cache, FSB speeds are faster. IT also counts as clocks per cycle.

A P4 HT has a HT module, counting as a core, but actually just increases clocks per cycle, but that is not comparable to a dual core.

And, as thealmightyone said, the game coding will be the real thing for speed off from a CPU. Yes, both cores will be used, but not fully.

 

[tlarkin]

Processor manufacturers no longer see the clock speed as the main feature they look at other features as well

cache size
multi core
bus speed
built in instruction sets
how much voltage it takes

You get the point.

 

[hermeslyre]

Don't forget IPC! Instructions per clock. It's the reason GHZ don't matter.