Do XP Home and XP Pro x32 operate dual-core CPUs equally well?

[Guest]

I'm building a new PC with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor and am
seeking advice on which 32-bit Windows OS to install. Do both XP Home and XP
Pro handle dual-core CPUs? If yes, are there any serious drawbacks
stability-wise or performance-wise when using Home as compared to Pro?

 

[Jerry]

I checked the boxes my Home and Pro software came in. The Home box says
nothing about dual-core processors; the Pro says it will work. So, if you're
buying a dual-core processor go with Pro.

 

[peter]

I am running XP home with an 64 x2 3800 dual core processor ..........no
problems
of course you do need the driver from AMD
peter

 

[Bob Knowlden]

XP Home SP2 supports a dual core CPU in a single physical socket. (I don't
know if any particular Service Pack is required for this.) XP Pro supports
two sockets, so it could support two dual-core CPUs (4 processors). I
believe that it's a licensing feature rather than a real limit of the OS,
but I don't really know.

This reply is generated from a PC running an AMD 64 X2 (4400+) under XP
Home. Both cores are active.

XP Pro is a superset of XP Home, and adds some features (mostly of interest
on corporate networks):

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

I have never read of any advantage of Pro in stability or performance. I
have seen some people using Pro because it was more, like, *professional*,
you know. (I shouldn't use sarcasm, but I can't always resist it.)


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Read the Pro box again.
Does it actually say "dual-core"

 

[Guest]

Thanks to all who replied, especially Bob for his clear and thorough
explanation. I will probably go with "Home" since I don't really need all
the extras in "Pro" and can save some money.

I guess if I'm disappointed I can always upgrade to one of the plethora of
Vista versions on the horizon. With five different OSes to choose from (ten
if they're all ported to x64), I'm sure there will be even more confusion as
to what will work with what. I can kind of understand having separate
product lines for home computers, business workstations, and business
servers, but complicating matters for consumers by having "basic," "premium,"
and "ultimate" versions is a poor decision.