How dual-core processors work - AMD's versus Intel's approach

Ever wondered how dual-core processors from AMD and Intel work? PC Stats wrote a six page article covering AMD's and Intel's approach to dual-core processors. Both companies recently unveiled their new dual-core desktop processors, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 line and Intel's Pentium D:

Dual-core processors work pretty much as you'd expect them to. At their most basic, both Intel and AMD have taken two mostly (or in the case of Intel, fully) functional processor cores and joined them together in a single processor die. Each core functions and processes data independently, and the two are co-coordinated by the operating system software.

In the article, PCSTATS focuses on both company's versions of this technology, how it works, and the kind of performance boost you can expect from it. Currently only certain of AMD's Opteron server-class processors are available with dual cores, but very shortly AMD will release the Athlon 64 X2 line of dual-core desktop processors. Intel has taken the opposite approach, already releasing the 'Pentium Extreme Edition 840' desktop dual-core chip, while its 'Pentium D' and dual-Xeons lines are not far behind. Full article at PCStats