[Cottonsworth]

A friend of mine told me that C2D processors on Windows works as one processor, while on Linux the computer thinks there are two processors. For example, if it works as one processor and there are two equally intensive programs running, the processor may allocate more computing power to first program that was opened, let's say that the optimal performance for each program was to have the cpu run at 80%, program 1 would run at 80%, while program 2 would run at 20%. But according to my friend, in Linux, C2Ds act as two processors, so power would be evenly divided between the the two programs. I asked him about Macs but he didn't know, so I figured I'll pose this to you guys.

[Tomchu]

Your friend doesn't know what he's talking about.

Dual-core processors are seen as two CPUs on all operating systems that support SMP. Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X will all see the C2D as two CPUs.

[Tuoder]

While it is true that some operating systems are better at handling multiple CPUs than others, current operating systems are capable of handling multiple CPUs. Tomchu hit the nail on the head.

[Big Mac]

Any modern operating system is capable of properly utilizing multiple processors/cores, dynamically allocating processor time based on priority. As Tomchu stated, your friend is very much misinformed.