How to check how many cores your computer is running. How to find out how many cores are in your computer using Device Manager

Computer technology, which has undergone significant changes over the past decade, has given rise to many new questions. With the advent of multi-core microprocessors, the concept of “processor core” has become more meaningful. What is this, a processor core? This is the main element in which calculations are performed. Full title - computing core. So, one central microprocessor (one device, one case) can contain several computing cores. To some approximation, we can even say that a multiprocessor computer (a computer with several central microprocessors) and a computer with a multi-core processor are one and the same. Almost.
To find out information about the number of cores, go to the "All Control Panel Items" menu, and then to the "Tools" tab

Users have a reasonable question: “how to find out how many cores are in a computer?” The question is relevant because manufacturers are creating dual-, triple-, quad-core models of laptops and desktop computers. Using this architecture and large quantity cores achieve increased performance computer equipment and remains accessible to the average consumer. But how can the most ordinary user determine how many cores are in his computer’s processor? Standard operating system tools and special software will help answer this question. This is what we will talk about.

How to find out how many cores are in a computer using Windows 10 as an example

You can find out how many cores are in the processor using the standard Windows task manager. How to open the task manager - press three buttons at the same time, use any of the following options:

• Ctrl, Alt, Delete;
• Ctrl, Shift, Esc.

They work on all operating systems Windows family– from XP to “ten”.

Then go to the “Performance” (or “Performance”) tab, where the number of cores of the central microprocessor is indicated. In my opinion, this is the simplest and most reliable way. I am attaching a screenshot of the task manager window running on my laptop (OS - Windows 10). Note that the list also includes logical processors.

Fig.1 Go to the “Performance” (or “Performance”) tab, where the number of cores of the central microprocessor is indicated

IN previous versions Windows, for example, in the “seven”, launching the dispatcher is similar, and the information is displayed even more clearly than in the “ten” - for each core there is a separate rectangle with a graph of its load. However, the data here is less reliable - as a rule, the number of logical processors is shown. The following illustration is a screenshot from the English Windows versions 7.

Fig.2 Displaying information in Windows 7

Device Manager can also

You can see the number of cores in the “Device Manager”, it opens through the “Control Panel” (you’ll have to search there...).

But it can be simpler - enter the word “dispatcher” into the search bar and Windows will display several options, including the one you are looking for.

Fig.3 You can view the number of cores in Device Manager

Click on it, select “Processors” in the window that opens, and the system shows you its composition. The attached screenshot shows a dual-core central microprocessor.

Fig.4 Information about processors
Fig.5 HWiNFO program

A portable version of HWiNFO is also distributed - it does not require installation, just launch it and in 10 seconds it will collect and provide data about your computer for review. The screenshot shows details about Acer laptop Aspire 5552G.

How to find out how many cores are in a computer using Aida

Paid software, you can download from official resource– http://www.aida64.com/. Aida, like HWiNFO, provides detailed information about the computer. To view the characteristics of the central microprocessor, refer to the “Motherboard” section, click “CPU” and in the Multi CPU subsection you will find data on the number of cores.

Fig.6 Aida program

But again, don't confuse cores with logical processors. The screenshot shows that the processor has four cores, but in fact there are two of them, you can verify this if you refer to the “Summary Information” section.

I’m focusing on this for a reason - unscrupulous sellers take advantage of this; they pass off a dual-core processor as a quad-core processor and sell it at an inflated price. Please note that even in paid programs You need to carefully study the information provided.

What is a logical processor?

A technological innovation called Hyper-Threading, used in Intel microprocessors, allows one (real) processor core to perform the functions of two. This is where logical, also called virtual, processors came into being.

The increase in performance is not observed in all programs and games. When working with video files, there is indeed an increase, but still one should not consider the logical cores to be full-fledged, the technology has not justified itself on devices.

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In addition to the topic, I’ll tell you (using the example of the “seven”) how to use all processor cores. The need arises in case of failures or reduced PC performance.

1. Click the “Start” button, write “msconfig” in the search bar - the msconfig.exe file will be found, run it.
2. A window will open - go to the “Download” tab and click “Advanced options”.
3. In the next window that opens, check the “Number of processors” item and select the maximum number of cores in the processor. The “Debugging” and “PCI Blocking” items should be turned off.

Now all that remains is to reboot the operating system. In this way you will be able to enable all processor cores. Couldn't figure out how to find out how many cores are in a computer? Ask questions to the experts.

The central processing unit is the most important component of any computer, which carries out various calculations for any of the running programs. One processor carries out sequential processing of data received from a single program in one thread. The speed at which data will be processed by the processor depends on its power, which is measured by an indicator called clock speed. In recent years, the growth of processor power due to an increase in clock frequency has slowed down significantly, but another promising direction has emerged - increasing the number of cores in a processor chip.

Multi-core allows you to divide the processing of data coming 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, 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 these steps.

This method may 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, resulting in the operating system recognizing twice the number of cores. That is, a processor with four physical cores supporting Hyper-threading technology will be displayed as eight-core.

Therefore, you can more accurately determine the number of cores in a computer using special utilities diagnostics For example, free CPU-Z. The number of cores is determined by this program as follows.

There are other ways to determine the number of processor cores. For example, through the dispatcher Windows tasks or Computer BIOS, but in most cases the ones we described will be sufficient.

The need to determine the number of cores on a laptop may arise from users comparing the capabilities of their device with the requirements for operating systems. So, for example, if possible Windows operation 10 on both a single-core and dual-core processor, for the 64-bit version it is advisable to use a powerful CPU that can perform tasks faster. And in most cases, the way to find out how many cores are on a laptop allows you to determine whether a particular game will run on your device - especially for new gaming applications with high demands on computer resources.

Using built-in system capabilities

One of the most simple options The way to find out how many cores are on a laptop is to use the built-in capabilities of the Windows OS. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the context menu on the Computer icon (located on the desktop or in the Start menu).
2. Select computer properties.
3. In the window that opens, find the device manager line.
4. Expand the hardware list and find the processor.
5. After clicking on this item, the same number of lines will open as the number of processors your laptop has.

The technique is fast and quite convenient - however, it only works with AMD processors. For Intel brand chipsets, the wrong number of lines will most likely be shown. Multitasking of processors from this manufacturer increases the number of threads, each of which can be considered a separate core. Because of this, you have to use a different method, a laptop - special utilities.

Such a useful tool built into Windows as the “Task Manager” can also help in resolving the issue. It can be opened from the menu called by right-clicking on the control panel. After opening the utility, you should select the “Performance” tab and see how many processes are running simultaneously on your device. The disadvantage of this method is that unused kernels may not be displayed by the utility.

Third party programs

There are a lot of utilities that allow you to find out how many cores are running on a laptop and determine other characteristics of a laptop computer. But one of the best is the CPU-Z application, which can be downloaded for free from the official resource. To work with the utility, you will have to install it on your laptop. But in the future, CPU-Z will help you get a lot of useful information.

In order to find out the number of cores, it is enough:

1. Launch the application.
2. Wait until it collects information about the laptop.
3. Go to the CPU tab.
4. Find the Cores section, where active ones are displayed this moment processor cores.

Determination via the Internet

An equally simple option for finding out how many cores are on a laptop requires connecting to the Internet and using one of the search services. By typing the name of your laptop into the search bar (usually written on the device’s body or under the battery), you can get information about its parts, including the processor. If the device model is unknown, you can find it out using special programs and utilities.

Basically, most budget modern laptops have 2 or 4 cores. Gaming devices designed to run modern games, are equipped with processors with 6 and 8 cores.

Documents on laptop

If documents are saved on the laptop purchased by the user, the problem can be solved even easier. The list of device components contains all the necessary information, including information about the processor. If the number of cores is not directly indicated, it is determined from the name of the part. For example, an inscription like Core 2 Duo indicates a dual-core processor. And by the AMD X8 designation you can both find out how many cores are on the laptop and determine the manufacturer.

The processor is one of the key hardware devices that affects the overall performance of a computer. Previously, when processors were single-core, the key characteristic was the clock speed - the maximum number of operations performed per second. However, since the advent of multi-core processors, ideas have changed somewhat, since such processors make it possible to distribute the load of running programs between different cores, which makes it possible to achieve more high performance at lower clock frequency each core separately. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the question, and in this article I will consider 3 proven methods.

Note: It is worth knowing that the expression how many cores are in a computer is not entirely correct, since the processor has cores. However, due to universal laziness, sometimes you can hear something wrong.

On a note: Please note that, among other things, you can simply look for the specification for your brand of processor.

How to find out how many cores are in your computer using Device Manager

The very first way how to find out how many cores are in a computer implies the use of standard Windows tool entitled " device Manager", thanks to which you can find out information about all the devices on your computer.

To open Device Manager, you need to open the Start menu and type “Device Manager” in the search bar, and then select the appropriate item. When the window with the manager opens, you need to expand the “Processors” item on the left side of the window. The number of sub-items will represent the number of cores in the processor. However, it is always useful to know alternative methods.

How to find out how many cores are in your computer using Task Manager

Another method find out how many cores are in the computer is to use the Windows Task Manager, which allows you to view a lot of useful system information, such as running programs, services, processes, network, etc. The most in a fast way open task manager is the keyboard shortcut " Ctrl + Shift + Esc". But you can also simply type its name in the search bar of the Start menu.

After you have opened the manager, you need to go to the "tab" Performance"and see how many graphs are displayed in the block" CPU Load History". The number corresponds to the number of processor cores in the computer.

This method can be called the fastest, however, over time, more complex technologies for creating processors and their use may appear, so it is always good to know several methods.

How to find out how many cores are in a computer using CPU-Z

There are special programs for collecting computer characteristics, and one of these is CPU-Z. This program I chose it based on the fact that it is very simple, easy to install, it displays all the main characteristics of the computer (RAM, video card, processor, etc.), a user of any level can handle it, and there is a portable version.

Download and install the program, and then run it. Make sure you are on the " tab CPU", and then pay attention to the lower right corner of the window. In the cell called " Cores"The number of processor cores will be displayed. Agree, it’s incredibly simple and convenient.

Now, you know at least three methods that allow you to find out how many cores are in your computer, and you also know about some of the nuances of use.

Greetings to all! Recently, a friend asked me a question about how to find out how many cores are in a computer. Current operating systems (for example, Windows 7, 8.1) require more from the computer computing power, and now one or two cores are unlikely to satisfy their needs. For this reason, manufacturers are trying to integrate more cores into modern personal computers, while wanting to save on cost.

As a rule, at the moment they produce 2- and 4-core laptops and 4-core processors for PCs. Sooner or later, a PC user will need to find out how many processor cores are in his system unit.

You can find out this quickly and easily. Eat software products, with which you can collect virtually all system parameters, including video card, RAM and much more. Pay attention to the Everest program - it is perfect for such purposes.

There are also separate products that allow us to find out, or. However, in this case none of this is needed. We find out the number of cores using the tools that Windows provides.

How to find out how many cores are in a computer? First method.

If you don’t yet know how to find out how many cores are in your computer, then I advise you to carefully read the two options.

Thus, you are in PC properties. Here you can find out the volume random access memory, processor type and so on. However, to find out the number of cores, you should look for the “Device Manager” line on the left.

Go to “Device Manager” and click on “Processors”. To expand information about it, click on the small triangle located opposite the item itself.

As a result, the number of cores in the processor was displayed. There can be 2, 3 or 4 of them.

The second method for checking the number of cores on a computer

You need to activate the task manager: right-click on the panel quick launch, and in the resulting window, find and click on the “Launch task manager” item.

There will be various tabs at the top, you should select “Performance”. Then look at the central memory (CPU) load history. Each window displays the load on one kernel. This means that if you have four such windows, then there are four cores.

On a note! If you are interested in how I write, then read more articles on the topic or what to do first if. I also recommend reading.

On this note I will wrap up. I think you understand how to find out how many cores are in a computer. I advise you to ask your questions in the comments if something is not clear, and I will be happy to answer everyone. In the end, I wish all my readers and subscribers great health and peace!

With UV. Evgeny Kryzhanovsky