Editing Microprocessor (section)

===SMP and multi-core design===
[[File:Abit BP6 motherboard 2 celerons.jpg|alt=abit two way motherboard|thumb|ABIT BP6 motherboard supported two Intel Celeron 366Mhz processors picture shows Zalman heatsinks.]]
[[File:Abit dual celeron pc motherboard.jpg|alt=a computer motherboard with zalman heatsinks attached|thumb|'''Abit BP6''' dual-socket motherboard shown with Zalman Flower heatsinks]]
SMP ''[[symmetric multiprocessing]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://techdifferences.com/difference-between-symmetric-and-asymmetric-multiprocessing.html|title = Difference Between Symmetric and Asymmetric Multiprocessing (With Comparison Chart)|date = 22 September 2016|access-date = 18 July 2021|archive-date = 18 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210718110824/https://techdifferences.com/difference-between-symmetric-and-asymmetric-multiprocessing.html|url-status = live}}</ref> is a configuration of two, four, or more CPU's (in pairs) that are typically used in servers, certain workstations and in desktop personal computers, since the 1990s. A [[multi-core processor]] is a single CPU that contains more than one microprocessor core.

This popular two-socket motherboard from [[ABIT BP6|Abit]] was released in 1999 as the first SMP enabled PC motherboard, the [[Intel Pentium Pro]] was the first commercial CPU offered to system builders and enthusiasts. The Abit BP9 supports two Intel Celeron CPU's and when used with a SMP enabled operating system (Windows NT/2000/Linux) many applications obtain much higher performance than a single CPU. The early [[Celeron]]s are easily overclockable and hobbyists used these relatively inexpensive CPU's clocked as high as 533Mhz - far beyond Intel's specification. After discovering the capacity of these motherboards Intel removed access to the multiplier in later CPU's.

In 2001&nbsp;IBM released the [[POWER4]] CPU, it was a processor that was developed over five years of research, began in 1996 using a team of 250 researchers. The effort to accomplish the impossible was buttressed by development of and through—remote-collaboration and assigning younger engineers to work with more experienced engineers. The teams work achieved success with the new microprocessor, Power4. It is a two-in-one CPU that more than doubled performance at half the price of the competition, and a major advance in computing. The business magazine ''eWeek'' wrote: ''"The newly designed 1GHz Power4 represents a tremendous leap over its predecessor"''. An industry analyst, Brad Day of Giga Information Group said: ''"IBM is getting very aggressive, and this server is a game changer".''

The Power4 won "''Analysts’ Choice Award for Best Workstation/Server Processor of 2001", and'' it broke notable records, including winning a contest against the best players on the Jeopardy!<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/watson/|title = IBM100 - A Computer Called Watson|website = [[IBM]]|date = 7 March 2012|access-date = 19 July 2021|archive-date = 19 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210719124129/https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/watson/|url-status = live}}</ref> U.S. television show.

Intel's [[Yonah (microprocessor)|codename Yonah]] CPU's launched on Jan 6, 2006, and were manufactured with two dies packaged on a [[multi-chip module]]. In a hotly-contested marketplace [[List of AMD processors|AMD]] and others released new versions of multi-core CPU's, AMD's SMP enabled [[Athlon MP]] CPU's from the [[Athlon-XP|AthlonXP]] line in 2001, Sun released the [[UltraSPARC T1|Niagara]] and [[Niagara 2]] with eight-cores, AMD's [[Athlon 64 X2|Athlon X2]] was released in June 2007. The companies were engaged in a never-ending race for speed, indeed more demanding software mandated more processing power and faster CPU speeds.

By 2012 ''dual and quad-core'' processors became widely used in PCs and laptops, newer processors - similar to the higher cost professional level Intel Xeon's - with additional cores that execute instructions in parallel so software performance typically increases, provided the software is designed to utilize advanced hardware. Operating systems provided support for multiple-cores and SMD CPU's, many software applications including large workload and resource intensive applications - such as 3-D games - are programmed to take advantage of multiple core and multi-CPU systems.

Apple, Intel, and AMD currently lead the market with multiple core desktop and workstation CPU's. Although they frequently leapfrog each other for the lead in the performance tier. Intel retains higher frequencies and thus has the fastest single core performance,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tarasov |first=Katie |date=2022-11-22 |title=How AMD became a chip giant and leapfrogged Intel after years of playing catch-up |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/how-amd-became-a-chip-giant-leapfrogged-intel-after-playing-catch-up.html |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=CNBC |language=en |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601012310/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/22/how-amd-became-a-chip-giant-leapfrogged-intel-after-playing-catch-up.html |url-status=live }}</ref> while AMD is often the leader in multi-threaded routines due to a more advanced ISA and the process node the CPU's are fabricated on.

[[Multiprocessing]] concepts for multi-core/multi-cpu configurations are related to [[Amdahl's law]].