What's the difference between the Core 2 Duo and the Core Duo

Question

I recently bought a new Macbook (Original) with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
I gave my old one to my younger cousin. It has just an Intel Core Duo processor.
What does that "2" mean?
Does it mean the processor is faster?
I was guessing it means that I can have more RAM (because this can hold 4 GB instead of 2 GB, like my previous Macbook)...
Both these Macbooks have only 1 GB of RAM, yet the new one seems MUCH faster. The only real difference in technical specs is the processor. Could the processor be responsible for the much faster computer, or is it simply because it's a new computer?
Thanks!

Answer 1

iSMH wrote:
The Core2Duo is faster than the CoreDuo. The other difference is that the Core2Duos can see 4GB of RAM, CoreDuo can only address 2.
Part of that has to do with the chipsets, although I've heard that some of the Intel chipsets work with both the Core Duo and the earlier Core 2 Duo.
The Core Duo is the dual-processor version of the Core processor.
The Core 2 Duo is the dual-processor version of the newer generation Core 2 processor.
The Core 2 series is more advanced. They likely are produced on faster semiconductor processes in smaller "geometries". I think part of it is a higher operating clock speed, but it could also include advances in processing power where it takes fewer average clock cycles to complete certain instructions. There could be things like more pipelines, faster/more arithmetic logic units, and other architectural improvements that makes it work faster overall even without clock-speed increases.