cyrnel

If you think that's bad, dual-core chips show as four.

Nothing special to optimize. The usual RAM & HD optimization always helps.

Here's Intel's overview of HT:
http://www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/

Individual productivity apps won't show a dramatic difference but many of those run nicely on fairly old boxes. Where you'll really notice the improvement is on anything that taxes the processor and was written to take advantage of multiple thread execution. Or, crunching with two intensive apps at the same time.

People running single-threaded grid apps have become fond of HT for this reason. It isn't a two-fold increase since not all processor functions are duplicated, and there's overhead, but 50-75% net gain isn't unusual.

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195