Defining "Multi-tasking" Opinions?

[Kreiger1981]

I'm currently in the midst of a Quad vs Duo Core battle with myself, and I think THAT particular issue comes down to "Are you multi-tasking or not?" due to the fact that Quad-cores are known to reliably handle many programs more efficiently.

The question I have is "When exactly am I switching over from non-multi-tasking to multi-tasking?"

As an example, i'm using a Opteron 165 dual core atm. Good cpu, had it maybe a year or so now, getting a little old.

Normally when i'm on my computer i'm running:

Two instances of Firefox with 5-10 tabs each. (research and play XD)
Itunes
Videogame (WoW, Fallout3, etc, etc) at 1920x1200 with as high settings as i can get considering my current Graphics card (8800gt)
At times i'll also be watching a movie (either having the sound play as i play my video game or tabbing in and out of said game).
I also (occasionally) render Apopyhsis fractals, but when I do this I basically have to stop whatever else i'm doing on the computer. (this WOULD benefit more from the quad if my knowledge is correct)

Does the above use constitute "multi-tasking"? Would It change things if i had two monitors instead of 1 and had those things going on both screens (no alt tabbing for the movie!)?

Opinions please. And if i posted this in the front forum, my apologies.

 

[Nenu]

Multitasking requiring a quad core suggests you might want to do a video encode or compress files while gaming for example.
You can run multiple things that make heavy use of the CPU.
The OS is constantly multistaking anyway but doesnt use much cpu, as do many of the programs you listed.
They are multitasking but you wouldnt use that as an example of why you want more CPU cores.

Running your fractal program while gaming is a good example of the need for more CPU cores.
Is the program multi threaded?

 

[Kazappin]

I'd consider that multi-tasking. A movie, a game, and random other stuff (and occasionally apop redering) would fit the bill. A Q6600 is a cheap and very OCing efficient chip, and can take quite a bit of heat being a 65nm chip. You would benefit having the quad core if you were to render fractals at the same time as you do everything else.

 

[Kreiger1981]

Multitasking requiring a quad core suggests you might want to do a video encode or compress files while gaming for example.
You can run multiple things that make heavy use of the CPU.
The OS is constantly multistaking anyway but doesnt use much cpu, as do many of the programs you listed.
They are multitasking but you wouldnt use that as an example of why you want more CPU cores.

Running your fractal program while gaming is a good example of the need for more CPU cores.
Is the program multi threaded?

Unsure if it's multi-threaded, and not particularly sure how to check. Running it and looking at the task manager's performance screen?

I'd LIKE it if i could run my games while rendering. I'd probably render more /grin

I've only ever seen one site use it in reviews, and that's Overclockersclub.com. I don't know how good they are in general, but seeing as it mentions one of the programs i use on a regular basis, it's usually nice to see.

The e8400 review relating to Apop is here:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/intel_e8400/4.htm

The q6600 seems to be quite a bit older, and not sure how these numbers add up, but:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/q6600/3.htm

the Q6600 review includes F.E.A.R, doom3 and COD2 /boggle. Is the q6600 THAT old?

 

[Nenu]

How to check if an app is multithreaded:
You can tell if both cores (on a dual core) are being used effectively (ie it is multithreaded) because both will have highish CPU use.
If your overall CPU use maxes close to 50% (25% on quad), it is only using one core effectively.
Note: Because an app can use 2 cores effectively doesnt mean it can use more, some are written with just 2 threads max.
However, that might even be a benefit for quad core as that would leave 2 cores free for gaming.

Something that you might want to know - if a game is affected by a CPU intensive background app:
I am ripping my Blu Ray collection to hard drive and re-encoding them (still as 1080p).
When the encoder process is set to "idle priority", I can game with only an occasional glitch (using an E8400).
Idle priority will reduce the CPU power available to the background process while gaming (ie it will run slower) but your gaming experience will be better.

Looking at the second link you posted, it says "I did notice that in the task manager I was only using 25% CPU (100% on one core)".
This means Apop is single threaded.
If you dont mind it running slower while you game, you can use the idle priority technique above.
This way you might not need to upgrade.
You might not like the occasional glitches though, its best to try it out.

To set a Processes priority, open task manager.
Right click the Process using all the CPU.
Set Priority / Low