Quadcores and windows versions

[Favu]

I am thinking of buying myself a q6600 quad core since the prices have now dropped. Hoowwevvverrr... I really would rather not end up buying vista (the whole 32bit/64bit choice annoys me somewhat).

What I do have is a Copy of Windows 2000 (AFAIK it supports 2 physical processors, but how does that work for multicores?) And a copy of XP Home (I have no idea how this works in regards to multicore support). I may also be able to get my filthy hands on a copy of XP Pro, depending on if the disc we have is a Full CD or just a crappy McRecovery disc.

So yeah. Do 2k / Home / Pro support quadcores? Should I bite the bullet and get Vista? If so, which version of?

I r hardware interested. Software bores me!

[Pitch]

XP home and Pro supports Quadcores. I think there's so fixes for multicore support in SP2, so make sure it's up to date.

[Daniel ~]

As does Fedora 7,... 64 bit without sacrifice.":O}
To be honest, I'd just assumed my 2000 pro would do 4 core if my Bios would, works great on two core, but I really don't know...

[Gizmo]

2K Pro supports 2 CPUs, but I don't believe it differentiates between cores and CPUs, thus it won't use more than 2 CPUs unless you run 2k Server (which IIRC supports 4 CPUs out of the box, 8 in Advanced Server, and 16 in Data Center Edition).

[Pitch]

I had suspected that. So of the shelf, 2K only suppors two threads?

[Favu]

Well, I made a treck through Microsofts knowledge base and found this document =

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...read_brief.doc

Essentially, what I think it is saying (it is rather confusing to read) is that XP Home will work on a quad core, but it won't fully utilize the four cores.

If anyone else could have a read through and see if they can make more sense of it, I would appreciate it!

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Pitch

I had suspected that. So of the shelf, 2K only suppors two threads?

Not exactly. The number of threads you can run and the number of CPUs you can have are completely unrelated. A single CPU can potentially handle thousands of threads, Windows supports that. However, Windows2K Pro only allows up to two physical CPUs. This restraint is arbitrary on the part of MS. While the code necessary to properly support multiple CPUs is more difficult and complex than the code necessary to support a single CPU, once you can handle two CPUs, you can handle many more than two with minimal effort in most cases.

[Daniel ~]

I told you all they were out to get me and no one would believe me!!
Fedora, you came just in time!!

Imagine my buying a new CPU only to find out Bill doesn't want me to use it!

I suspect that Bill hates 2000 Pro because it works! ":O}

(How would we know Bill is in charge if he didn't abuse us!?

[Favu]

I will be putting fedora onto this PC and using the other one for gaming. Unfortunatly the games I like to play are (AFAIK) a PITA to get working under linux. Also as I am on an MS-Centric course, I need a windows box

Either way I have ordered by kit now, and I will be able to tell you if it works with XP Home or not, tommorrow! Yay!

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Favu

Well, I made a treck through Microsofts knowledge base and found this document =

http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...read_brief.doc

Essentially, what I think it is saying (it is rather confusing to read) is that XP Home will work on a quad core, but it won't fully utilize the four cores.

If anyone else could have a read through and see if they can make more sense of it, I would appreciate it!

That's not the way I read it at all. Microsoft licenses its operating systems 'per socket' not per core. As a result, XP Home will work just fine with a quad-core cpu, PROVIDED that the CPU is a true quad-core, and not a pair of dual-cores plugged into an MCM (which XP sees as two separate dual-core cpus). If you plug, e.g. a Kentsfield into your XP Home system, only one of the CPUs and two of the cores will be recognized, because it is made by gluing two CPUs onto one MCM, and Windows has no way to detect this. However, if you plug e.g. a Penryn in, all four cores will be recognized, because they are all on one CPU.

At least, that is my understanding.

[Daniel ~]

I hear you as far as gaming goes Favu! I've just gotten Q4 up and running "acceptably", which means it works well far more than not, but with a few small quirks. (Q4 is a native Linux program.)

I stated playing with Cedega yesterday...have FarCry installed, the spash screen comes up, but I think I'm still lacking in one or two dependencies for it to fully launch.

So I guess I'm saying you still need a gaming box, but I also think that this will soon pass and we will run the Games we wish to in Linux, not MS... because MS will always find a way to mess things up....for us and MS! IMHO

Cedega

[Favu]

Originally Posted by gizmo

That's not the way I read it at all. Microsoft licenses its operating systems 'per socket' not per core. As a result, XP Home will work just fine with a quad-core cpu, PROVIDED that the CPU is a true quad-core, and not a pair of dual-cores plugged into an MCM (which XP sees as two separate dual-core cpus). If you plug, e.g. a Kentsfield into your XP Home system, only one of the CPUs and two of the cores will be recognized, because it is made by gluing two CPUs onto one MCM, and Windows has no way to detect this. However, if you plug e.g. a Penryn in, all four cores will be recognized, because they are all on one CPU.

At least, that is my understanding.

I really hope you're wrong. Since I have ordered my bits now. Ho humm. MS sure could make this clearer! I will go hunt for that XP Pro CD now...

[Daniel ~]

Dependencies...sigh.....

[Favu]

Urgle.

Stupid stupid stupid. Ebuyer keep refusing my debit card. So I had to pilfer a credit card from a friend of mine.

Last time I take your advice regards e-tailers, AP!!!

The practical upshot is that I won't get my kit untill thursday at the earliest now

[Favu]

Well, I got my kit this morning, and I can exclusively report - XP Home works with a quad core! yay!!

[Daniel ~]

This makes me happy! ":O}

Also make me very very curious, hows za bout some benchies!! Yeah!!! LOL

[Favu]

Heh, well I haven't overclocked this thing at all (yet) and the performance I am getting is more than enough for me!

[Daniel ~]

I've sown the seeds of greed, I've done my part!
Enjoy Favu! ":O}

[force123]

Originally Posted by Favu

the performance I am getting is more than enough for me!

100% agree with that!! it is like the window is open when you haven't clicked the icon yet!
i've seen when i'm working even more than 10 hours , the speed won't get even a bit lower!
cpu and ram have made a perfect match !!! the only thing i wonder now is :
"so... what would be QX 6700? "

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Favu

So yeah. Do 2k / Home / Pro support quadcores? Should I bite the bullet and get Vista? If so, which version of?

2K Pro supports 2 CPUs. Since it doesn't understand the difference between cores and CPUs, you'll only see 2 of your 4 cores, IIRC.

XP Home and XP Pro will support all 4 cores. I believe Home only supports 1 CPU and Pro supports 2 CPUs, but they both understand the difference between cores and CPUs, so a single CPU with 4 cores isn't a problem.