Q6600 with WinXP

[Collider]

I'm thinking of building a quad core rig and I am not a very big fan of Vista due to performance issues, driver support, and other problems ppl are having. Couple of people told me that if I end up running XP only 2 cores will be used and that I HAVE to run Vista in order for the other cores to be active. Then I did some forum readings about how with 64-bit XP all 4 cores will be used and 32-bit only 2.

I'm not concerned about software doesnt support core threading, what I am concerned about is general windows performance. I tend to run and keep open multiple apps for work (Adobe suit, office, VS.NET)

Can anyone clearify this for me plz?

 

[Zumbador]

Might be a problem with XP home? XP pro supports quad cores, dual processors (eight cores), etc.

Plus, one thing that people may be having trouble with is using all four cores to the max in a single app. I believe this is more of a memory problem. Data needs to be fed to the cores to get processed. Not enough memory -> not enough data -> cores don't get used to their max potential. The settings in certain apps like Adobe AE CS3 can be tweaked.

 

[krose]

XP is licensed on a per-processor basis, not per-core. XP Pro is licensed for two processors, XP Home is licensed for one. So a multi-core processor will be supported by either OS.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: krose
XP is licensed on a per-processor basis, not per-core. XP Pro is licensed for two processors, XP Home is licensed for one. So a multi-core processor will be supported by either OS.

This is correct. Doesn't matter how many cores you have, XP home, and XP pro both will fully support a quad core. And it has nothing at all to do with 32bit or 64bit in any way shape or form. I am running my Q6600 in 32 bit XP right now, and I can gurantee you it sees and uses all 4 cores..

 

[Collider]

Thanks guys I was starting to think I will have to sattle for Vista.

Can you tell me tho what are the pros and cons of using 64bit over 32bit XP?