
UNSOLVED
Hyper Threading
I heard about new Hyper Threading processors from Intel. What is so special about those?
Is there any big difference between Hyper Threading and regular 2.8 ghz processors?
I am planning to buy a new PC, should I go for Hyper or just regular?
Any suggestion is appreciated.
Responses (13)
Solutions (0)
FuNk_DoKta
83 Posts
997
0
Posted May 10th, 2003 20:00
"What is HyperThreading anyway and why would anybody actually need it? Very briefly, Simultaneous HyperThreading or HT... is a pseudo-substitute for symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) technology where, instead of having two CPUs, a single processor internally creates two virtual or logical processors. The idea behind HT is that handling data and instructions from two different applications in parallel rather than in a serial fashion will fill the gaps that naturally occur in the execution of either application with workload from the second application. As a result, the processor will be fully utilized rather than working in a stop and go fashion. " (http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/p4_306/)
Hyperthreading tries to minimize idle cpu cycles by working on two threads at once. How much this helps in everyday performance? Try looking at some bechmarks of cpu's with and without HT and see which u like...
@youm0nt wrote:
hyper threading turns one physical cpu into two virtual processors but somone one turned on the HT feature on a 2.4b.
a 2.4b is a pentium 4 with 533 fsbMessage Edited by youm0nt on 05-10-2003 12:09 PM
Where did you find this? How did they enable HT on a 2.4B?- If you check the Intel chip development site you'll notice that HT was introduced on the P4 2.4 and higher. It had to be enabled though. Some companies didn't want customers screwing things up and most software at the time didn't take advantage of the technology, they asked intel to permanently disable the HT for their systems. Since everyone's on the same page regarding HT now, its being reintroduced in all those 2.4 and up processors. You'd have to check the intel site for serial numbers of the older chips to see if HT can be activated.
- Keep in mind that not all programs benefit from hyperthreading. I recall that Adobe Photoshop, for example, would return far worse benchmarks (and occasionally freeze up) when HT was enabled. Before you turn it on, make sure your software supports it... get all the latest versions and updates.
@Malinthas wrote:
Keep in mind that not all programs benefit from hyperthreading. I recall that Adobe Photoshop, for example, would return far worse benchmarks (and occasionally freeze up) when HT was enabled. Before you turn it on, make sure your software supports it... get all the latest versions and updates.
Adobe Photoshop 7 makes use of Hyper Threading, it runs faster with HT enabled. I have Photoshop 7, very fast, no freezing.

youm0nt
73 Posts
997
0
Posted May 10th, 2003 11:00