I installed the game Half Life 2 into my new PC with a double-core
processor AMD 64 X2, 3600+. When I am starting the game, I get the
message saying that "the game requires at least a 2.2 GHz processor,
and this processor is 1.9 GHz. Continue anyway ?".

So, my question is: does the game utilize the second core (and how do
I know if it does) ? And generally, how do I know if the rpogram/
computer is using the second core ?

carrera d'olbani wrote:
> I installed the game Half Life 2 into my new PC with a double-core
> processor AMD 64 X2, 3600+. When I am starting the game, I get the
> message saying that "the game requires at least a 2.2 GHz processor,
> and this processor is 1.9 GHz. Continue anyway ?".
>
> So, my question is: does the game utilize the second core (and how do
> I know if it does) ? And generally, how do I know if the rpogram/
> computer is using the second core ?


Simplistic answer - go into Task Manager/Performance and see if there
are two small screens for CPU Usage History. If so your two cores are
recognised and are being used. If you are using two screens drag Task
Manager to the second (non-gaming) screen and play HL2 - see how the
load is being distributed (or not)

Probably much cleverer ways of doing what you want but its a decent start...

On Jul 3, 8:15 pm, Shawk <s...@clara.co.uk.3guesses> wrote:
> carrera d'olbani wrote:
> > I installed the game Half Life 2 into my new PC with a double-core
> > processor AMD 64 X2, 3600+. When I am starting the game, I get the
> > message saying that "the game requires at least a 2.2 GHz processor,
> > and this processor is 1.9 GHz. Continue anyway ?".
>
> > So, my question is: does the game utilize the second core (and how do
> > I know if it does) ? And generally, how do I know if the rpogram/
> > computer is using the second core ?
>
> Simplistic answer - go into Task Manager/Performance and see if there
> are two small screens for CPU Usage History. If so your two cores are
> recognised and are being used. If you are using two screens drag Task
> Manager to the second (non-gaming) screen and play HL2 - see how the
> load is being distributed (or not)
>
> Probably much cleverer ways of doing what you want but its a decent start...

Thanks, Shawk ! I did what you prescribed. Indeed, there are two
screens in the CPU performance section of the Windows Task Manager.
Both of them show activity, one slightly more than the other. When
playing Half-Life 2 DM, the CPU was utilised about 50% (I presume this
is for both cores). It was probably good idea, after all, to ge a dual-
core processor instead of single-core processor.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
carrera d'olbani says...

> Thanks, Shawk ! I did what you prescribed. Indeed, there are two
> screens in the CPU performance section of the Windows Task Manager.
> Both of them show activity, one slightly more than the other. When
> playing Half-Life 2 DM, the CPU was utilised about 50% (I presume this
> is for both cores). It was probably good idea, after all, to ge a dual-
> core processor instead of single-core processor.
>
No, the 50% will be for one core. You need the application and the OS
to support SMP. HL2 doesn't.


--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

"carrera d'olbani" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I installed the game Half Life 2 into my new PC with a double-core
> processor AMD 64 X2, 3600+. When I am starting the game, I get the
> message saying that "the game requires at least a 2.2 GHz processor,
> and this processor is 1.9 GHz. Continue anyway ?".
>
> So, my question is: does the game utilize the second core (and how do
> I know if it does) ? And generally, how do I know if the rpogram/
> computer is using the second core ?
>

that 3600+ is a performance rating - i.e. even though the CPU runs at 1.9ghz
it performs like a 3.6ghz CPU so its more than adequate. the Source engine
that HL2 uses doesn't currently use dual-core CPUs properly but that will
change later this year. Valve have promised to release an update when HL2
Episode 2 is released that will add proper dual-core functionality to the
game engine.

On Jul 3, 10:09 pm, "Sleepy" <nos...@here.com> wrote:

> that 3600+ is a performance rating - i.e. even though the CPU runs at 1.9ghz
> it performs like a 3.6ghz CPU so its more than adequate.

It occurs to me that each core (processor) runs at a speed of 1.9 GHz
(just like what the game detected). When the two cores run an
application together, their performance is equivalent to the
performance of a single-core processor with a speed of roughly 1.9 GHz
+ 1.9 GHz, which is 3.8 GHz. This is where the performance rating 3600
(kHz) is derived from.

So, you are saying that Half-Life 2 does not utilize the two-core
architecture well ? Essentially, your saying means that only one core
(processor) is running the application, i.e. a 1.9 GHz processor. This
could be too slooow. Maybe this is an explanation why the game feels
too slow sometimes, compared with using my previous single-processor
computer (even if I put the image quality settings on minimum).

So, the question is: should I have gotten (in general) a dual-core
processor for my new gaming PC, or a single-core one ??

carrera d'olbani wrote:
> On Jul 3, 10:09 pm, "Sleepy" <nos...@here.com> wrote:
>
>> that 3600+ is a performance rating - i.e. even though the CPU runs at 1.9ghz
>> it performs like a 3.6ghz CPU so its more than adequate.
>
> It occurs to me that each core (processor) runs at a speed of 1.9 GHz
> (just like what the game detected). When the two cores run an
> application together, their performance is equivalent to the
> performance of a single-core processor with a speed of roughly 1.9 GHz
> + 1.9 GHz, which is 3.8 GHz. This is where the performance rating 3600
> (kHz) is derived from.
>

No, that is not the way it works. AMD claim that the rating is the
speed compared to their older Athlon CPUs, and come about because the
newer ones run more efficiently than the older. (IOW, they are saying
the new 1.9 GHz with more efficient architecture is equivalent to the
older Athlon running at 3600.

snipped

--
Cheers
Oldus Fartus

Have you checked Task Manager, Performance Tab, you should see the percentage
use of each core?

"unknown" wrote:

>

"carrera d'olbani" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote...
>
> It occurs to me that each core (processor) runs at a speed of 1.9 GHz
> (just like what the game detected). When the two cores run an
> application together, their performance is equivalent to the
> performance of a single-core processor with a speed of roughly 1.9 GHz
> + 1.9 GHz, which is 3.8 GHz. This is where the performance rating 3600
> (kHz) is derived from.

No.

The AMD CPU architecture is significantly different, and more efficient, than
the old Pentium 4 architecture. The 1.9 GHz AMD is equivalent to an old P4
running at 3.6 GHz, according to AMD's estimates. THAT is the source of the
"3600" designation.

FWIW, the new Intel "core" (as in Core2Duo) architecture is also of a more
efficient variety, so their clock speeds have come down significantly from the
P4 as well.


> So, you are saying that Half-Life 2 does not utilize the two-core
> architecture well ? Essentially, your saying means that only one core
> (processor) is running the application, i.e. a 1.9 GHz processor. This
> could be too slooow. Maybe this is an explanation why the game feels
> too slow sometimes, compared with using my previous single-processor
> computer (even if I put the image quality settings on minimum).

What was your old computer? What background apps was it running, compared with
the new one?

Game performance these days relies on the GPU as well as the CPU. Some parts
of it may be tied to absolute CPU clock speed, while other aspects are tied
more to GPU performance or memory bandwidth...

While the game itself is only using 1 CPU core, the OS can shift other
background tasks to the other core.


> So, the question is: should I have gotten (in general) a dual-core
> processor for my new gaming PC, or a single-core one ??

The answer is "Maybe..."

The Core2Extremes are arguably the best performing machines around. OTOH, if
you're on a budget, you have to balance CPU, RAM, and GPU.

If all you want to do is play a current-generation single-CPU-aware game, maybe
a higher clock speed single-core CPU would have been better. For general use,
though, dual-core CPUs have the edge.

Sleepy wrote:
>
>
> "carrera d'olbani" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> I installed the game Half Life 2 into my new PC with a double-core
>> processor AMD 64 X2, 3600+. When I am starting the game, I get the
>> message saying that "the game requires at least a 2.2 GHz processor,
>> and this processor is 1.9 GHz. Continue anyway ?".
>>
>> So, my question is: does the game utilize the second core (and how do
>> I know if it does) ? And generally, how do I know if the rpogram/
>> computer is using the second core ?
>>
>
> that 3600+ is a performance rating - i.e. even though the CPU runs at
> 1.9ghz it performs like a 3.6ghz CPU so its more than adequate. the
> Source engine that HL2 uses doesn't currently use dual-core CPUs
> properly but that will change later this year. Valve have promised to
> release an update when HL2 Episode 2 is released that will add proper
> dual-core functionality to the game engine.
Uh, no.