Dual core processors and Windows XP

[John]

I just built a new system using the Intel D 820 CPU (2.8GHz Pentium 4
dual core). The system is running fine with Windows XP Pro, but I have
several questions concerning the way the dual core CPU interacts with
the operating system:

1. Is there any utility in Windows XP that will show me which processes
are running in each core? I was hoping TaskManager would do this but it
doesn't.

2. Is it possible to control which processes run in each core?

3. If there is nothing in Windows XP for 1. and 2., is there any other
software available for use with XP which can do these things?

4. How does the system normally assign processes to each core?

Thanks!

John

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

"In order to take advantage of the trend toward dual and multi core processors,
software developers should multi-thread their applications and could use,
for example, processor detection APIs to determine how many threads to
launch in an application to maximize the use of all available physical and logical
processors."
http://www.intel.com/cd/ids/developer/asmo-na/eng/200677.htm?page=4

Multi-Core Systems
http://www.intel.com/cd/ids/developer/asmo-na/eng/200677.htm?page=2

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I just built a new system using the Intel D 820 CPU (2.8GHz Pentium 4
| dual core). The system is running fine with Windows XP Pro, but I have
| several questions concerning the way the dual core CPU interacts with
| the operating system:
|
| 1. Is there any utility in Windows XP that will show me which processes
| are running in each core? I was hoping TaskManager would do this but it
| doesn't.
|
| 2. Is it possible to control which processes run in each core?
|
| 3. If there is nothing in Windows XP for 1. and 2., is there any other
| software available for use with XP which can do these things?
|
| 4. How does the system normally assign processes to each core?
|
| Thanks!
|
| John
| --
| Please reply in this newsgroup. I never post my true
| email address to prevent spam. Thank you.

 

[John]

"In order to take advantage of the trend toward dual and multi core processors,
software developers should multi-thread their applications and could use,
for example, processor detection APIs to determine how many threads to
launch in an application to maximize the use of all available physical and logical
processors."
http://www.intel.com/cd/ids/developer/asmo-na/eng/200677.htm?page=4

Multi-Core Systems
http://www.intel.com/cd/ids/developer/asmo-na/eng/200677.htm?page=2

I read this entire article and here's an additional quote from page 3:
http://www.intel.com/cd/ids/developer/asmo-na/eng/200677.htm?page=3

"In order for multiprocessor systems to be effective the operating
system must be able to detect multiple processors and provide a
mechanism to schedule separate processes and/or threads on the physical
and logical processors present. This is true for all the architectural
systems discussed in this paper. Microsoft provides several versions of
Windows that have this capability, as do many Unix/Linux*-based
operating systems."

Which are these "several versions of Windows that have this capability"?
Presumably Windows XP Pro SP2 would be one of them?

The article doesn't really answer my questions. I knew when I built the
system that present software wouldn't utilize the full capability of
dual core. But I was also assured that both cores would be doing their
share of the computing. So my question remains, how does the system
allocate processes to each core?

Thanks!

John

 

[Guest]

That's a question a Microsoft Windows software developer could answer....

 

[John]

That's a question a Microsoft Windows software developer could answer....

I'm hoping that such a person will read this and respond!

John

 

[Bob I]

You would probably want to post it to one of the
microsoft.public.developer groups then!