What do the new multi-core computers really mean to you?
Historically, computers have come with a single processor known as the CPU. This is basically the engine of the computer. Servers that handled large numbers of transactions or many users are built with more than one CPU to split the workload and make the servers faster and more powerful. These are known as multi-processor computers.
In the race to make ever more powerful computers chip makers such as Intel, AMD, IBM, and Sun are constantly coming up with new manufacturing processes and methods to make CPUs more powerful. As the transistors and components on CPUs have gotten smaller it has become increasingly difficult for them to follow what has been known as Moore’s Law which essentially states that processors will double in speed every 18 months.