Difference between Dual Core and Core 2 Duo

Dual core processors are those contain 2 cores in a single silicon chip while Core 2 Duo is the name given by Intel to its second batch of dual core processors.

The processor wars have hit a major speed bump as clock speeds become harder and harder to push upwards. Because the number of transistors in a single chip continues to follow its upward trend,

Growth in CPU Transistor Count

So processor manufacturers like Intel and AMD have decided to go a different route in increasing the performance of their products, adding more cores into a single chip that leads to a performance boost if the OS supports it. Two or more cores can greatly aid in multi-tasking where each core can work independently of each other. All processors that have 2 cores in them are called as dual core processors regardless of which manufacturer it came from, while those that have 4 processors in a single chip are called quad core.

Initially, Intel called their dual core processors as Core Duo, while AMD called theirs the X2. Intel’s dual core processors were simply 2 Pentium 3 processors that were fabricated in a single chip. As they refined their product more, they decided to differentiate their second set of processors from the Core Duo and decided to call it Core 2 Duo.

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Memory speeds lag processor speeds

Because of the Memory speeds lag processor speeds (above figure), Manufactures wanted to have Improvements in Chip Organization and Architecture. Typically there are two or three levels of cache between processor and main memory.

In the new generation processors there are inbuilt caches. Because of that Cache access times drop significantly & also manufactures decided to increased size and speed of caches.

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So it’s important to have a little knowledge about caches when we consider Core 2 Duo & Dual Core.

The most important difference is that a Core 2 Duo processor makes use of shared cache memory. You would have heard of 2 mb L2 cache or 4 mb L2 Cache. Any free cache in the one core is shared by the other core. So this makes your programs run faster when you multi task.

Note- To test this running, a word processor or excel sheet wouldn’t work. You could have an antivirus program running in the background, while simultaneously burning a DVD and playing some music files. Then you could see the advantage of shared cache memory.

More cores doesn't mean more speed, but if an application were written to take advantage of the extra cores then the various threads could be divided between the cores.

Theoretically, since each core would be working simultaneously, a dual-core should be able to do twice as much work as a single-core in the same amount of time, which would effectively make it twice as fast. A 2.0 GHz dual-core is not the same as a 4.0 GHz single-core, though.

The problem is that most software right now hasn't been written specifically for multi-core processors. A dual-core will still perform like a single core in almost any situation, but a quad-core really isn't worth the extra cash unless you plan on doing a lot of 3D animation or video conversions.

Summary:
1. Dual core is the generic name given to processors that have 2 cores on the same chip
2. Core 2 Duo is the second line of dual core processors from Intel
3. Other dual core processors aside from Core 2 Duo are the Core Duo from Intel and the X2 series from AMD
4. All Core 2 Duo processors are dual core but not all dual core processors are Core 2 Duo