Dual Core compatibility in XP

Question

This is probably a n00bish question, but here goes:
does using windows on a MBP take advantage of the dual core processors?

Answer 1

I used this system;
2.7Ghz X2 3800+ (overclocked)
2 gigs DDR3200
X1800XT
And that ran windows XP Home SP2 with dual core patches no better than an Athlon 64 single core at 2.4Ghz. The only place you see dual core being slightly tapped into are with games like Oblivion.
I owned this system from March and I have now sold it (last week) it replace it with Core 2 Duo based MacBook Pro. Vista is the only system that will make proper use of dual cores and if games are programmed to utilise them.
Very little will improve, as it stands Vista is a hunk of rubbish just like XP (even more so) so don't expect huge changes, just subtle ones!