The topic is really quite a refresher for me since the CPEN301 (Operating Systems) subject in my undergraduate studies. Although a refresher, the topic emphasizes the major differences in how single-core and multi-core processor systems handle their load and perform under a given stress. What's actually fun in this lesson is that I've got to test the actual processor performance using a virtual machine in an AWS EC2 instance.
Single-core processor systems excel in loads that have dependencies on one another or those tasks that execute sequentially and do not require parallel computing. Its linear processing of heavy tasks often requires high clock speeds and power. In modern computing today, single-core processor systems are prevalent in embedded systems and industrial automation. Multi-core processor systems, on the other hand, are often used in our modern day because of their efficiency in handling multiple tasks and calculations, especially in those tasks that require parallel computation.
One takeaway in this lesson is that every application that we used in our computing devices is always designed to utilize the CPU architecture where it can run optimally. Even if you have a multi-core processor, if the application is optimized to run its task sequentially, it will use only a single core. On the other hand, one might argue that the latest processor is built in a way that it can have efficiency cores and performance cores. Meaning, it's dynamically using the architecture of multi-core while processing the task in an optimal way.
References:
Hans, P. (2020, October 15). Single-core vs. multi-core performance. Medium. https://medium.com/@prabuddhahans107/single-core-vs-multi-core-performance-8d5ac799f9cb
Patrizio, A. (2022, September 23). Single-core vs. multi-core CPUs. Network World. https://www.networkworld.com/article/971425/single-core-vs-multi-core-cpus.html
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