On 28 Aug 2005 08:51:54 -0700, "Random Person"
<nonexistent2032@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>Just to clarify: Is the parallelisation in dual cores "transparent" or
>does the application need to have instructions within it that call for
>multiple processors?

It has to have multiple threads with significant parallel
processing diverted to more than one thread. So to an
extent, yes the app has to be written with the possibility
of multiple CPUs in mind.

The transparency factor would come from running multiple
apps, and/or OS, antivirus, etc, simultaneously. Generally
it is not of much benefit to try and focus on single vs
multiple cores for particular tasks rather than seeking
actual benchmarks of the app as it may be more suited to
certain CPU architectures and/or optimized for one more than
(or better than) another.