I use my computer for development (ASP.NET 4.0/MS SQL Server 2008). I want to install Windows 2003 Server. But I want to know does Windows 2003 Server recognizes and utilizes full features of Core2Duo processor?
2 Answers
No operating system does. Like almost all modern CPUs, the Core 2 Duo has conflicting features and it is effectively impossible to use them all from the same OS.
For example, 32-bit Windows can use both the 32-bit and 16-bit instruction sets, but not the 64-bit instruction set. 64-bit Windows can use both the 64-bit and 32-bit instruction sets, but not the 16-bit instruction set.
This is really precisely the wrong question to ask. For example, only a 64-bit edition of Windows would let you use the CPU's most advanced instruction set. But if you only have 1GB of memory, it will likely perform worse.