How to upgrade single core to dual core

[Halyn]

Currently i am using single core Intel Pentuim 4 3.06GHz socket 775 CPU, and want to upgrade it to a new Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 2.7GHz 800FSB Socket 775 2MB 2x1MB L2 Cache Reta. I just wanted to know what is the procedure to upgrade it. The OS which i am using is XP home Service Pack3. I heard many things about upgrading from single to dual. First thing which i heard is that to plug in now , but it was only running as a single core cpu. Second thing was that i should reinstall the windows , I have the OS cd so thats no an issue. Third thing was that i have to download a program named HAL which might need to be upgraded.

Please give me some suggestions how to install them.

I have the knowledge about how to install it on the motherboard and apply the thermal paste , i am only worried about OS.

[Amd Athlon]

You need to find out on the manufacturer's website that what is the model of your motherboard and look what the cpu is compatible with. Or you can just have a look in the manual which can also provide you some sort of information. There is a way by which you can be sure about a certain processor which will work on a board is that you can check it in the manual or on the website. If the list of processors has core 2 duo cpu's for your board then choose one of them. If it is present in the list then it should install perfectly with no problems and there is no need of changing the software.

[Russell]

You can try this one, have a look at your motherboard. There you will find an identifiable number, which is situated somewhere near the RAM and CPU. After that go to the motherboard manufacturer's site. If you cannot find the number that which you saw on the board, the website of the manufacturer might have a scan tool which will help you find the board. If they are able to find the board, it means that they will tell you what is the hardware compatible with it. If you don't find such tool, look for your board, and then see where it shows compatibility for the CPU's.

[SecRecy]

From my point of view you should update the bios on the motherboard depending on board's giga-byte that you have. I have heard that most of the people who have replaced their single core to a dual core cpu and have not done the re-installation process. I do recommend that you should do a fresh installation afterwards in order to prevent the complications. I know that when i replaced my 3500 with my 4400 X2, and I also updated the bios so that it could support dual core processors, my OS was unable to recognize my X2 as a dual core and I was forced to reinstall my OS. When replacing the key pieces of hardware i always do a fresh install to avoid any possible complications.

[Baltazar]

In the early days the dual-core processors are running at lower speeds compared to single core processors. The reason behind is that the dual-core processor with runs at 1GHz where the single processor runs at 2GBz. There is a problem, it doesn't work practically when the applications are not written to take the advantage of the multiple processors. If the software is written in this way, there are unthreaded applications which only run faster on a single processor than a dual-core CPU.

The conclusions is that the people out there who already use the software that is multithreaded will see the benefit from the dual processors. But for most of the people, there is no such benefits for the dual-core over a single core processor. This will gradually change model of the dual-core and becomes more common.