Speed and efficiency of data processing have always been the main requirements when buying a computer. These parameters depend not only on the processor, but also on the number of cores in it. Many users do not know where to view this information, but there are several ways to do this. For different versions in the Windows operating system, this is done differently in some cases.
Information about the number of processor cores by means of Windows. Control Panel
The most common way is to find all the information you need by the name of the processor itself. You can find the model name in the control panel:
- From the Start menu go to Control Panel.
- We need a "System and Security" section.
- Then select the subsection "System".
- A window with the basic information of the computer opens, where the name of the processor is indicated.
On the developer's official website, you find full specifications this model, among them you will see the number of cores. This method is suitable for any Windows versions, but in addition to the system itself, you will have to use the Internet.
Information about the number of processor cores by means of Windows. Task Manager
A very handy utility "Task Manager" not only helps to manage processes and services, but can also provide data about the processor and its performance.
For Windows 7 and earlier:
- For quick access to the utility, a combination of three keys was invented: "Alt" + "Ctrl" + "Delete". Pinch them at the same time.
- You will see the "Task Manager", go to the "Performance" tab.
- Find out which manufacturer your processor has.
The point is that AMD processors will have the number of cores equal to the number of graphics in "Speed". With Intel, the situation is different due to the possible use of Hyper-threading technology, which visually increases the number of cores. So be careful.
For Windows 8 and above:
- As in earlier versions, the “Task Manager” is invoked with “Alt” + “Ctrl” + “Delete”.
- The "Performance" tab displays the processor's work.
Did you follow the specified path, but instead of the number of cores there is emptiness? It happens, just unfold the window.
If you want to see the number of cores in the graphs, as in earlier versions, find below “Open Resource Monitor”.
Information on the number of processor cores by means of special software
The operating system may not always accurately display the number of cores. For these reasons, software developers have developed several useful programs to help you see all the information about your system.
CPU-Z is the most popular of free utilities... You can download it on the official website cpuid.com ... The Russian-language version can be found, but it is better not to risk it and download from a trusted source.
How to use the program:
- Start CPU-.
- On the very first tab “CPU” at the bottom there is an item “Cores”, which indicates the number of cores.
If you think that the installed processor is weak, then you can replace it with a more powerful one. Many users complain about slow work, freezes are often observed. The processor just isn't doing its job. With the above tools, you can not only satisfy your interest, but also make your computer more efficient.
The central processing unit is an essential component of any computer that carries out various calculations for any of the running programs. One processor performs sequential processing of data received from a single program in one thread. The speed at which the data will be processed by the processor depends on its power, which is measured by an indicator called clock frequency. In recent years, the growth of processor power due to an increase in clock frequency has slowed down significantly, but another promising direction has appeared - an increase in the number of cores in a processor crystal.
Multicore allows dividing the processing of data from programs optimized for such processors into several independent threads, which significantly speeds up their processing. If an application is not optimized for multi-core processes, then it may run even slower than on a single-core processor with a higher clock speed.
To find out how many cores a computer processor has in operating systems ah Windows family, follow the steps below. 
This method can generate an error on Intel processors that support Hyper-threading technology. In such processors, each physical core can split data processing into two independent threads, as a result of which the operating system will recognize twice the number of cores. That is, a processor with four physical cores with support for Hyper-threading technology will be displayed as eight cores.
Therefore, it is possible to more accurately determine the number of cores in a computer using special diagnostic utilities. For example, free CPU-Z. Determination of the number of cores by this program is performed as follows. 
There are other ways to determine the number of processor cores. For example, through the Windows task manager or the computer's BIOS, but in most cases the ones that we described will be enough.
Hello everybody! Sometimes a game or program does not run at full capacity. not all kernels are responsible for performance. In this article, we'll see how to use all the cores of your processor.
But don't wait for the magic wand, because if the game or program does not support multicore, then there is nothing to be done unless you rewrite the application.
How to start all processor cores?
So, there will be several ways. For this I show first.
We go into start - execute or keys win + r
We choose your maximum number of processors.
So by the way, you can find out the number of processor cores. But these are virtual cores, not physically. There may be fewer physical ones.
- We go to the task manager - ctrl + shift + esc.
- Or ctrl + alt + del and task manager.
- Or right-click on the control panel and select the task manager.
Go to the processes tab. Find the game and right-click on the process. By the way, the game must be running. You can collapse it either Win + D or alt + tab.
We choose to set the correspondence.
Select everything and press ok.
To see if all the kernels are working or not, in the task manager, go to the performance tab.
All tabs will have a diagram.
If not, then press again to set the correspondence, leave only CPU 0, press ok. We close the task manager, open it again, repeat everything, the same thing, select all processors and press ok.
In laptops, power saving is sometimes configured in such a way that the settings do not allow using all the cores.
- Win7 - We go to the control panel, go to the power supply - Change the plan parameters - change the additional power parameters - processor power management - the minimum state of the processor.
- Win8, 10 - Or: parameters - system - power and hibernation - advanced power settings - power scheme settings - change advanced power settings - processor power management - minimum processor state
For full use, it should be 100%.
How to check how many cores are running?
We start and see the number of active cores.
Do not confuse this parameter with the number of virtual processors shown to the right.
What does the number of processor cores affect?
Many people confuse the concept of the number of cores and the frequency of the processor. If we compare this with a person, then the brain is a processor, neurons are nuclei. Kernels do not work in all games and applications. If, for example, 2 processes are running in the game, one is drawing a forest, and the other is a city and the game is multi-core, then you need only 2 cores to load this picture. And if the game has more processes, then all cores are involved.
And it can be the other way around, a game or an application can be written in such a way that only one core can perform one action, and in this situation the processor with the higher frequency and the most well-built architecture will win (this is usually why).
Therefore, roughly speaking, the number of processor cores affects performance and speed.
Contrary to popular belief, the number of cores in a laptop or desktop processor does not directly affect performance. The more cores in the processor, the more tasks the computer can simultaneously calculate. At the same time, the very speed of solving problems does not depend on the number of cores, but on the processor frequency, architecture, and a number of other factors. In order for the calculation of operations performed on a computer to run in several threads using several cores, the executable program must support this, otherwise only one core will be involved, and only its frequency will affect performance.
The computer user can easily find out the number of cores in the installed processor. This can be done in several ways, and below we will consider the main ones.
Find out the number of cores through the "Task Manager"
The easiest way to determine the number of CPU cores on a Windows computer is to use the Task Manager. You can run the utility by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + del key combination on the keyboard and selecting the appropriate item.
After launching the "Task Manager", switch to its extended view mode by clicking on the "Details" button. After that, on top, switch to the "Performance" tab and click on the central processor in the upper left corner.
The right side of the utility window will display information about the processor usage, as well as some of its characteristics.
Please note: In Windows 7, the number of cores in the "Task Manager" can be determined by the number of diagrams for the central processor. There are as many cores as there are diagrams.
How to find out the number of cores in a computer through the "Device Manager"
Another built-in utility from Microsoft that allows you to determine the number of cores in central processing unit computer is "Device Manager". To run it, right-click on "Start" and select the appropriate item in the drop-down menu.
When the utility opens, find the "Processors" section and expand it. Next, the CPU threading will be shown. It is important to note here that the number of threads does not always coincide with the number of cores. The fact is that some processors support hyper-threading technology, in which one core is split into two threads. That is, if the processor has four cores, the Task Manager will display 8 threads, which can be misleading. Because of this, this method is not suitable for users who are poorly aware of the processor characteristics and do not imply whether it supports hyper-threading technology.
Programs for determining the number of processor cores
Various diagnostic utilities from third-party developers allow you to find out almost any characteristics of your computer if desired, including the ability to determine the number of processor cores. There are a lot of both free and paid programs with similar functionality. One of the applications that allows you to find out how many cores are in a computer's processor is CPU-Z.
You can download the CPU-Z application for free from the official website of the developers. After downloading the application, install it on your computer and run it. On the CPU tab in the lower right corner of the screen, the number of processor cores will be indicated in the "Cores" column.
View the number of processor cores in the system information
Another easy way to find out about the number of cores in a processor is to look this information in the system information.
To enter the system information, you need to right-click on "Start" and select "System". You can also do this through the "Control Panel" by going to the "System" section.
Information about the processor will be displayed in the line "Processor". To determine the number of cores, you need to read the name, which will contain this information.
Note that Windows 10 also has another utility that displays system information. To call it, you need to enter "System Information" in the search and open the proposed utility. Having opened it, in the "Processor" item you can see the number of cores and the number of logical processors used in the computer "stone".
Due to the multicore, data processing occurs in several threads, which increases the speed of calculations several times. However, this technology has its drawback. The program must be optimized for a multi-core processor, otherwise it may run even slower than on a single-core processor.
How to check how many cores are on a computer
The Windows operating system has long provided for this question, which allows you to complete the request in several steps.
The number of items in the list is the number of cores in your CPU. In the screenshot, we see that the processor has 4 cores.
This method is suitable for operating rooms Windows systems 10. On younger systems, the algorithm is practically the same, the only difference is the method of opening the control panel. However, Intel also produces processors with Hyper-threading technology. If you are the owner of such a processor, then, most likely, the method will show an incorrect result due to the peculiarities of the technology (physical cores in it can be separated and shown as several cores). If your processor has Hyper-threading technology, don't worry, we can also count the number of cores for you.
Determine the number of cores using utilities
There are many programs on the Internet for displaying information about a computer. Let's turn to the free and one of the most popular programs - CPU-Z. How to use it:
But you can get this information without additional utilities. Let's consider the third way.
Windows Task Manager
- To open the Task Manager, press the three buttons at the same time - Ctrl + Alt + Delete. In the menu that appears, select the item of the same name. Option # 2: Right Click on Windows icon in the lower left corner. In the opened context menu select "Task Manager"
- In the window that opens, find the "Performance" tab (or synonymous word). If you have Windows Vista / 7, then the number of windows under the text "Timeline of CPU utilization" will show the number of cores. In Windows 8/10, things are even simpler - their number is written in the lower right corner.
If there is no access to the computer
The documentation for the processor always contains information about its cores. In processors of the family Intel core denoted by the words - Duo (2), Dual (2), Quad (4) and so on. AMD is a little more complicated, here you need to find the X symbol, next to which there is a number. It looks like "X 2", "X 4" and so on. It is this figure that indicates the number of cores.
We have given an exhaustive list of methods for solving your question. If one does not work out, try another. Of course, there are more advanced methods (such as getting information through the BIOS), but why is this necessary when there are many simple ways... And which one to apply - decide for yourself.