Dual Processors

How do i enable support for dual processors? And hopefully without admin privvies

 

what kind of CPUs you got? are they just for C.IV?

What OS? Windows XP home supports only one CPU.

 

win 2000 pro. Two intel pentium 3 xeon 850mhz processors, and yes for cIV

 

"Dual processor support" is something that you can just turn on. To truly take advantage of dual CPUs/cores, the application you're running has to be multithreaded. That is, it'll only make full use of two processors if the programmers who wrote the program made it that way.

If CivIV is multi-threaded (I don't know for sure, but I doubt it), then you shouldn't have to do anything to "turn on" multithreading.

If it's only single-threaded, then you still do have an advantage. The various background processes should be essentially handed off to the 2nd CPU/core, leaving the first completely open to run the game.

 

Yeah, i get that much but how do you turn it on. I looked it up and it said that you have to change the comp drivers to multiprocessor but you need admin privvies. I have no access to those since this is a family comp and my dad has the password. I know for sure he would not want a second processor because he does not want this comp to be used for gaming.

 

What Speedo is trying to tell you is - you can't just "turn it on". You have to have a second processor in the machine, the OS (Windows 2000) has to make use of it, and the application has to be written to take advantage of it.

I can't see why you're too fussed - Civ 4 isn't going to be about frames per second. Civ never was a real time game (OK, Play the World had Real Time options but it wasn't a standard thing).

Don't worry about it... and messing with your Dad's computer is a surefire way to getting NO games to play. At all.

Why take that risk?

 

Just to rehash what everyone in this thread has already said:

1. Have a motherboard with two separate processor slots.
2. Have 2 separate processors installed in the motherboard.
3. Have an OS that supports the processors.
4. Have software that takes advantage of the separate processors.

If you have a P4 with Hyperthreading, you can enable/disable this feature by entering your system BIOS and choosing the option (it is typically on by default). If, for instance, you are using Windows XP with an HT processor, you can set the affinity for each process by looking at processes in the Task Manager and selecting which CPU you want it to use (HT systems are read as two CPUs in XP).

I haven't used a Dual Core system yet to see how you control it; but I'm sure that the affinity bit still applies to XP.

 

See, i do have an mb with 2 processor slots, i do have 2 processors, win 2000 supports dual processors its just that when i put a second processor in and turn the comp on i get a beep sound and the comp doesnt turn on. I know that something in the os has to be enabled its just that i do not know what and how.
@cruddy Leper-my dad has a policy, you break it you fix it or buy a new one.
So, dont give me all that crap about needing programs that make use of dual processors, i just need to know how to turn this option on.

 

So you currently are NOT running two processors, you just have a dual processor mobo and a 2nd CPU that you want to add?

If yes: Dig out your motherboard manual and start reading. There will *probably* be an option in the BIOS that you need to change to enable both processors. If nothing else, look up the beep code that it's giving you when you try to put the 2nd CPU in. There is no windows option for this. The glaring indicator of that is that the PC won't even POST with the 2nd CPU in.

If no: Then I read something wrong and you have both CPUs in and are running windows fine. Do a Ctrl-Alt-Del, select "Task Manager" and go to the "Performance" tab in it. If there are two graphs shown under the CPU Usage History part of the window, then both CPUs are "turn on," and that's all you can do.

You really don't even need to do that. XP does a pretty good job of balancing the load automatically, and I would assume 2000 uses basically the same system. In fact the only time I've need to use it was with a few games that go crazy with multiple CPUs (they'll jump from core to core every second or so, causing stutters), when I've had to manually set the process affinity to only one core.

And yes, XP recognizes dual cores just like multi processors or P4HT. I'm running an x2 4400+.

 

yes, i have a second processor to add. I will be digging deep for the manual but thanks. the indication that i got was that there was some win 2000 option that had to be enabled. maybe there is, but we'll find out about that later.

EDIT- the manual had no info on how to enable dual processors but it seems my single processor is in the cpu 2 slot 2 so that might make a difference. We just have to see.

EDIT2-I plugged in the processor and the comp booted fine but the system is not recognizing this.

 

Shot in the dark here, as I have no experience with dual-processor systems, but do the CPUs have to be identical? For instance, if you wanted to SLI two video cards on an nForce motherboard, you need identical video cards to do it - are the processors the same, or are they different?

Also, have you looked in your BIOS settings at all? If your system beeps, it's not something Windows will fix - it's something your BIOS needs to fix, or that you do via messing with hardware/jumpers.

 

K, i figured out how to do it and it deed indeed involve windows and enabling something.

 

What, exactly?

 

you have to go into hardware manager and under the computer tab change the driver to multiprocessor.

Also, another question comes with this, does civ 4 have a feature to use dual processors because even if i do have two and all my bckground tasks are on one processor my other one is not gonna be able to run civ 4. ( theyre both p3's at 900mhz)

 

Ahhhh, I didn't even think about that. Since you installed windows with just a single CPU, I guess you have to update the HAL to reflect multiple CPUs. Doh.

And AFAIK, Civ4 is single threaded.