Which feature on Intel chips allows a single processor to run two threads in parallel, instead of processing single threads linearly?

The feature on Intel chips that allows a single processor to run two threads in parallel is hyper-threading. This technology enables a single physical processor core to present itself as two logical processors to the operating system, allowing it to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. With hyper-threading, each core can run two threads, effectively utilizing idle execution resources and improving overall processing efficiency.

This capability is particularly beneficial in multitasking environments, where multiple applications or processes need to run at the same time. By allowing both threads to execute in parallel, hyper-threading can significantly enhance performance for applications optimized for multi-threading and can lead to better responsiveness in systems handling concurrent workloads.

Other options like multi-core processing refer to having multiple physical CPU cores to manage tasks, virtualization is about running virtual machines, and overclocking involves increasing a processor's clock speed for better performance. These concepts, while related to improving computing performance, do not specifically describe how one processor can handle multiple threads simultaneously like hyper-threading does.