Processor speeds

Given all things equal, is a single core processor faster than a dual core?
A dual core faster than a quad-core?

My old Dell which had a single core(maybe dual, I forget) seemed a bit faster than the quad-core Gateway that I currently have.

 

What OS are you using, including service packs?

What motherboard are you running, and FSB speeds?

What kind of RAM do you have in each, and how much?

What application is slower? Is it identical from machine to machine?

These sorts of things can never be viewed in a vaccuum. The extra cores are useful when you run multiple programs at once, and also certain applications that are written for multi-threading can benefit from the multi-core CPU.

 

Why can't you take "all things equal" literally? Like, assume you've got two identical computers set up/built exactly the same, except one computer has a single core compressor, the other a quad-core compressor. Which computer will boot up faster? I say that I think the one with the single core processor will. Do you agree or disagree?

 

i would expect a slight amount of inefficiency with a multi-core processor. but given the wide range of processors available, i would think the difference is negligible.

 

I agree, and I accept the fact[on faith ] a quad-pro would be quicker in multitasking. But quickness in booting up, stuff other than multi-tasking, the single pro seemed quicker. I didn't have the exact setups for comparison, but did notice my 5 years old Dell single-core processor was a little quicker booting up than my one yo Gateway, by just a blink of an eye.

 

sure, but now you've exited the world of "all things being equal".

boot speed is going to be affected by all sorts of different things -- processor speed probably being one of the least impactful.

booting up is a matter of reading in data and initializing hardware and software. the biggest factor is the amount of os you're booting into -- options turned on, drivers loaded, startup items, etc. also, different hardware might take longer to init than other hardware.

i doubt much, if any, of the boot process would benefit from multi-processing. and even if it did, you'd end up with your different cores fighting for access to the hard drive which could actually slow you down as the drive bounces around the disk trying to serve too many masters.

i can't stand how long it takes to boot my computer. i've gotten into the habit now of just using the suspend feature when i'm done for the night. it occasionally fails to wake up (i think it's my mobo that's the problem) but mostly it works like a charm.

 

It might be the number of startup programs that are slowing boot up. I haven't learned how to tweak stuff on Vista like I did XP on the old computer. Both compressors are the same, except the old one was single or double core, this new one is quad. My next computer is going to be either a Dell or a Mac; and I hope something other than Vista.

 

To check the CPU speed, in Windows/xp or 7 and Vista, click Start. In the search box, enter msinfo32 . In Windows XP, from the Start menu, select Run and then enter msinfo32 .

 

Here is a good guide to speeding up your computer. Number 6 is usually a culprit in a slow booting PC.

How to Increase Computer And Startup Speed | eHow.com