At this time I did not even OC the quad core. It is right out of the box as is and performs solid. I am running xp pro and I do see a huge difference,but really built a gaming computer. Overkill, but ended all problems I had in past.
EXACTLY....so it's all about the clock speed, and NOTHING to do with the multiple cores...that's all marketing Bullshit. Why ? : The software has got to be REWRITTEN to support multicore processors !!! It's so tough of a problem, that Microsoft, even KNOWING 4 YEARS AGO about this "issue", at best, can only offer a 10% speed improvement in Office applications with Windows XP - SP3. To really take advantage of multiple cores, MSFT must REWRITE ALL OF THEIR SOFTWARE....probably a multiple MAN-CENTURY endeavor !!! Bottomline: WAIT 5 YEARS: then it'll be "ready"...for multi-core. In the meantime, don't "pay up" for the hype and BS of quad-core, dual-core, and ALL OF THAT BULLSHIT from California.
Regardless, the quad cores are faster than the C2Ds, which are faster than P4s... and they run much cooler, too. The new CPUs are not any more expensive than the Pentiums when they were the current leading edge.
I have to admit I am a little confused now! There is some talk on the net of xp pro not being able to use the quad processor because the windows xp kernal is compiled for two processors only ( I think this is what my tech guy means too) whereas others say that is not true at all, that Microsoft even said that Windows XP pro would work just fine on a two sockets with dual cores thus 4 cores. I also read that windows XP allows 1-2 CPUs. However, the quad core chips could represent themselves as four logical processors on 1 CPU. This is all roman to me, but he is downgrading to xp pro for me tomorrow. I am pretty sure that is the way to go, and whether it uses only 2 or all 4 it should still be a lot better than what I am currently using (1.86 hrz and 1 GB - which is generally just fine already for my purposes.) The only other question I have is should I be asking for a particular version of xp pro?
Just get XP Pro with SP2 (service pack 2). In a month or two when SP3 goes from RC to live then install SP3 for a slight improvement over SP2 (you can just install it as an add on to SP2).
not all apps need to use multi-core. not all situations require multi-core-sensitive software to gain improvement. 4 yrs ago? ever heard of HT? Not everybody needs Multi-core. Multi-cores are cheap now, who cares if you don't need it? Q66 is cheaper than some dual cores. Have one, and be happy. LOL.
Kiwi Trader said "Also XPSP3 (service pack 3) is coming out very soon and improves multicore support apparently speeding up XP 10% on office apps." I've installed SP3 RC and I'll tell you what - it sure has sped up my system in a very notiiceable way. I don't know what Mr Softee did, but whatever it was it sure has worked. Has anyone else installed it and had a similar experience?
I'm running it and its good but I didn't make any measurements before and after. The biggest change I got was moving to TinyXP06 which is SP2 based - not loading all those drivers really speeds up the apparent XP experience.