June 14, 2023

1. Multi-core processors contain two or more processing units (cores) in a single chip.

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2. Multi-core processors can execute multiple tasks simultaneously, increasing system efficiency.

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3. They are energy efficient as tasks are shared among cores, allowing for lower clock speeds and less heat generation.

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4. IBM introduced the first multi-core processor, the POWER4, in 2001.

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5. Intel's Pentium D, introduced in 2005, brought dual-core processors to the consumer market.

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6. Modern consumer processors often have between 2 and 64 cores, a leap driven by the ongoing "core war".

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7. To fully utilize multi-core architecture, software must be written to support parallel processing, which can be complex.

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8. Operating systems schedule tasks (threads) to run on different cores, improving multitasking.

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9. Multi-core processors are increasingly used in embedded systems, such as automotive electronics, due to efficiency & performance gains.

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10. As we reach limits in single-core performance, the future of computing continues to lean towards more multi-core and many-core systems.

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