[mythtv-users] What is a "dual core processor"?

Brad DerManouelian myth at dermanouelian.com
Thu Dec 4 16:14:22 UTC 2008


On Dec 4, 2008, at 4:44 AM, Marc Barrett wrote:

> For the purpose of fitting the requirements for playing back files  
> from
> a Hauppauge HD-PVR.  Today, perhaps the quintessential "dual core"
> processor is the "Core 2 Duo", and that is the one that most people  
> with
> HD-PVR's are probably using.  But there are others, and I have not
> kept up with new processors very well.  (My systems all use Pentium  
> 4s)
>
> There are older processors which are still technically  "dual core",  
> and I was
> wondering if they would work.  There is the Pentium D, and the  
> "Pentium
> Dual Core".  As well as many processors from AMD, but I admit that I  
> know
> very little about AMD.  Which of these older "dual core" processor  
> lines
> would work, and how fast of a system would I need?  For example, I saw
> a Pentium D system at 3Ghz on Dell's outlet site for under $300.  The
> cheapest  "Core 2 Duo" is about $400, for a 1.8Ghz system.

One thing that no one has mentioned here is that progressive video  
from the HD-PVR cannot take advantage of dual core processors without  
CoreAVC (and appropriate patches). Because of the way the video is put  
together, all of the image processing happens on one core and any  
deinterlacing can happen on the other core if you record at 1080i. But  
if you're got 720p content, the second core is left unused - even with  
CoreAVC.


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