Maximizing Dual Core Performance in Visual Studio

[madmike159]

My laptop has a duel core Intel Centrino processor. Whenever I write programs in C/C++ in Visual Studio and run programs which should execute at full speed only one core seems to be doing anything. Some programs seem to be able to make full use of both cores, is this possible in Visual Studio?

 

[Coin]

You need to learn to use "threads".

Each core is logically a different processor and will always be executing something different from the other. Since your code is only ever doing one thing at a time, there is only work for one processor. Threads allow you to "do two things at once" so that the other processor has something to do. Note, multithreading is a large and complex subject, there are several things you will need to learn to do it properly and not all tasks can be multithreaded.

 

[madmike159]

Ok thanks. For the kind of program I was talking about threads won't be necessary.

 

[rcgldr]

I made an example multi-threaded program for Visual Studio C/C++. It just copies a file, using one thread to read the source file, and a second thread to write the copy. It shows how to: create threads, use mutexes, use semapahores, use waitformultipleobjects(), and implements linked list fifo messaging used for inter-thread communication (the list elements contain ptrs to buffers and counts). Waitformultipleobject(), is a nice feature, it allows a thread to make a single atomic (non-interruptable) call to the system, to get ownership of a fifo (mutex), and wait for non-zero count (semaphore), and decrement the fifo count (semaphore), eliminating any thread priority issues. The setup is a bit complicated, but the actual thread code is very simple.

http://rcgldr.net/misc/mtcopy.zip

 

[LudusRex]

Thank you for sharing your experience with using Visual Studio and your dual core Intel Centrino processor. I can provide some insights on maximizing dual core performance in Visual Studio.

Firstly, it is important to understand that not all programs are designed to utilize multiple cores. Some programs are designed to run on a single core, while others are designed to take advantage of multiple cores. Therefore, it is not uncommon for some programs in Visual Studio to only utilize one core.

However, there are ways to optimize your programs in Visual Studio to take advantage of both cores. One way is to use multi-threading, which allows different parts of the program to run simultaneously on different cores. This can be achieved by using the Task Parallel Library (TPL) in .NET or the OpenMP library in C/C++.

Another way is to enable compiler optimizations in Visual Studio. This will allow the compiler to automatically distribute workload across multiple cores, improving the overall performance of your program.

It is also important to ensure that your hardware and software are properly configured for multi-core processing. This includes having a compatible operating system, ensuring that both cores are enabled in your system settings, and having enough memory to support multi-threading.

In conclusion, while not all programs in Visual Studio may be able to make full use of both cores, there are ways to optimize your programs for multi-core processing. By using multi-threading, enabling compiler optimizations, and ensuring proper hardware and software configurations, you can maximize the performance of your dual core processor in Visual Studio.