Windows 8.1 uses more than 2 cores?

Rockfella

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Back in 2008/9 I had the Intel Q6600 cpu and at that time games and OS barely could utilize more than 2 cores of a processor. How are things now? My straight forward question is whether windows 8.1 utilizes more than 2 cores?
Does it make sense to upgrade to a quad core for a HTPC just for a fast n snappy computing experience?

Thanks.
 

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    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
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    Intel COre i5 4440
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I don't have it anymore to try W8 on it. But running Vista x64 my Phenom I 9850 quad was totally maxed out running BD Rebuilder. In fact I was disappointed because it could only handle "good" quality setting. Anything higher and it choked and crashed. For an exercise run BDRB at top quality and see how your quad handles it. It's a good test.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
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    AMD EI 1200
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    4 gb DDR3
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    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
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I am on a dual core right now. A friend just upgraded from 7 to 8.1 (He has a quad) and his pc is just zipping fast now. So was wondering things are different now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
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    Corsair VS350
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    Corsair Carbide 400R
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    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
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    Logitech Basic wireless.
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    Logitech MX518
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    Waterfox (with sync one)
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    Windows Defender + My head.
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    huhauahuahauha
Windows 8.1 can take advantage of as many cores as you have. The point is that old games are not optimized for multi-core platforms.

:)
 

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    My Build - Vorttex Ultimate
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    Core i7 @ 4500 MHz
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W8 is faster than W7 in part because it doesn't give you the Glass composition that W7 does. Likewise run a CPU intensive multi-thread console program on Linux. Watch it get done fast. ;)
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
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    Laptop
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    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
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    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
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    Built in
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    1366 x 768
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    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
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    Built in
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    Touch pad
Gotta upgrade soon, tried unlocking my AMD Phenom xII 560 with no luck today.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
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    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
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    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
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    Corsair VS350
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    Corsair Carbide 400R
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    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
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    Logitech Basic wireless.
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    Logitech MX518
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    Huh?
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    Windows Defender + My head.
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    huhauahuahauha
The Windows 8 kernel has some improvements over that in Windows 7 but none that are relevant to the current situation. The technology has reached the point that usage of multiple cores is primarily up to the application. If the application has only a small number of active threads (often one) there is nothing the OS can do to make it use more cores. This situation is common with older applications.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
The Windows 8 kernel has some improvements over that in Windows 7 but none that are relevant to the current situation. The technology has reached the point that usage of multiple cores is primarily up to the application. If the application has only a small number of active threads (often one) there is nothing the OS can do to make it use more cores. This situation is common with older applications.
Keeping apps aside will multiple cores make the OS feel snappier/faster?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Windows 8.1 can take advantage of as many cores as you have. The point is that old games are not optimized for multi-core platforms.

:)

I don't care about games currently.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Gotta upgrade soon, tried unlocking my AMD Phenom xII 560 with no luck today.
It needs to be a BE edition to unlock it eventually. 550BE is almost guaranteed to unlock all 4 cores.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Gotta upgrade soon, tried unlocking my AMD Phenom xII 560 with no luck today.
It needs to be a BE edition to unlock it eventually. 550BE is almost guaranteed to unlock all 4 cores.
Wow! I was not aware of this. Its about time for entry level i5.
No real need for that since you already have a good MB (I hope so, since it takes PH II already) I have an Phenom II x4 965 BE running 4.2 GHz 24/7 and really rips. There are also 6 core Phenoms II you can just stick in there and get several times better performance than now. You can probably get them second hand for cheap since CPUs do not die easily nowadays.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Yep, saw your siggy. Overclocking now...
It needs to be a BE edition to unlock it eventually. 550BE is almost guaranteed to unlock all 4 cores.
Wow! I was not aware of this. Its about time for entry level i5.
No real need for that since you already have a good MB (I hope so, since it takes PH II already) I have an Phenom II x4 965 BE running 4.2 GHz 24/7 and really rips. There are also 6 core Phenoms II you can just stick in there and get several times better performance than now. You can probably get them second hand for cheap since CPUs do not die easily nowadays.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
BE versions can be OCed by Multiplier. non-BE only by FSB. Watch out, OCed by FSB will raise your memory frequency so you might not get too far. Lower your memory multiplier by a step first and raise FSB in steps until it becomes unstable and then back up a notch. Might need a bit higher Vcc on CPU, NB and memory too. Disable all power savings in BIOS until you get stable OC. Watch temperatures closely all the time. Limit is 62c on cores but not much more than 55c per core under full load is ideal. I managed to get to 4.5- 4.6 GHz but temperatures and voltages were out of control than.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Here it is @ 3.96 Ghz with ram @ 1599. CPU Vcore one notch above default but shows 1.4 in CPUZ for some reason.

ogi3wy.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Bleh CPU was idling @ 75 deg, not worth it. Will try again with Hyper 212 Evo.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Try to set Vcc manually, don't let it on auto, most of the times it goes further than necessary. 212 Evo should help a lot.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Try to set Vcc manually, don't let it on auto, most of the times it goes further than necessary. 212 Evo should help a lot.
Back on stock now. Evo yes, can't wait. Thing is I didn't feel much jump in performance so might go in for i5.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
Try to set Vcc manually, don't let it on auto, most of the times it goes further than necessary. 212 Evo should help a lot.
Back on stock now. Evo yes, can't wait. Thing is I didn't feel much jump in performance so might go in for i5.
Than you got to change whole platform, a Phenom II x6 1090T would be almost more than a match for most I5s and all you have to do is change processor. Ad 4 more GB of RAM and you're set for a while if you don't fell like it's way too slow now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
6 cores and 125 W TDP as compared to 77 W TDP and 4 cores of Core i5. Real world performance is almost same as i5 but with much

higher power consumption. The cpu you mentioned has good potential for overclocking but I have done a lot of headbanging with ocing in the past so wanna stray away from it.

Intel Core i5 3450 vs AMD Phenom II X6 Black 1090T

AnandTech | Bench - CPU

Yes I understand I will have to change board and cpu and I am okay with that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Assembled
    CPU
    Intel COre i5 4440
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte H97M-DS3P
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Redeon R7 240
    Sound Card
    Asus Xonar DX - Fiio E10 - Audio Technica M50
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Panasoniuc L42ET60D & Dell 2240L (Dual display)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB
    1 TB WD Green
    3 TB WD Green
    PSU
    Corsair VS350
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 400R
    Cooling
    Stock mostly.. Hyper 212 Evo in the pipeline..
    Keyboard
    Logitech Basic wireless.
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Internet Speed
    Huh?
    Browser
    Waterfox (with sync one)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + My head.
    Other Info
    huhauahuahauha
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