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How Many CPU Cores Does Windows 11 Support? [How to Check]

Here’s why many CPU cores don’t equate to the best PC performance

6 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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The number of CPU cores that Windows 11 supports is critical for anyone who uses the OS daily. This is because the more CPU cores your PC has, the more tasks it can handle at once, and the faster those tasks will be completed.

Windows has traditionally used a single-threaded model for most tasks, which usually results inhigh CPU usage. But with newer OSes, Microsoft has been moving toward a multi-threaded model. So, how do you check the number of cores you have? Let’s see below.

Does Windows 11 support multi-CPU?

The first thing to address iswhat’s a core. A core is the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer. It performs all the calculations and controls the operation of the entire computer.

Think of a core as another brain. It performs another task simultaneously as your main CPU does another. If a PC has multi-cores, each core can run its own process, or multiple cores can work together to perform one task more quickly.

Windows 11 supports multi-CPUs and hyper-threading. This means you can use multiple CPUs simultaneously to improve your performance. This brings us to the next question,how many cores does Windows 11 support?

If you want to buy a new PC orupgrade your current one, it’s important to know what kind of tasks you will use it for.

It all depends on what you want to do with your computer and how many tasks you’re running at once. If you’re running a single application, such as a web browser or a word processor, then one core will be enough to handle all of its tasks.

But if yourun multiple applications simultaneously, such as listening to music while playing a game, then more cores are better because they keep everything running smoothly without slowing down your system.

Still, the different core types don’t necessarily mean faster performance. They mean your computer isn’t limited by how fast one core can go when there are multiple cores available to do work.

How do I check the number of cores in my Windows 11 PC?

Before you proceed to the more detailed steps on how to check your CPU cores, most manufacturer websites list the number of cores on their CPUs. All you have to do is check your PC’s model number, and the number of cores should be listed alongside it.

If not, proceed to the following solutions to determine how many cores are in your Windows PC.

1. Use Task Manager

In caseWindows is not showing all cores in Task Manager, we have the answers on how to navigate around this issue.

2. Use System Information

3. Use the Command Prompt

4. Use Powershell

5. Use third-party software

There are many ways to check how many cores you have installed on your computer. If the above proves to be lengthy or complicated, you can opt for third-party software.

These apps display detailed information about your computer’s hardware and software, including the number of cores in your processor. Our top choice would have to be thePRTG Network Monitor.

Now that you know how to check the number of cores in your Windows 11, you’re probably considering upgrading to a CPU with more cores.

However, before you jump the gun, we’d like to point out that the number of cores in a CPU doesn’t directly affect performance.

Instead, it increases the amount of work that can be done at once because each core can handle its own task independently.

This prevents your processor from becoming overloaded and slowing down your whole system.

Thespeed and performance of your PCdepend on other factors, so you may find a single-core processor is faster and more efficient than a quad-core in some cases.

With this in mind, it’s worth considering whether your current PC has enough power for what you want to do before buying anything new.

You can alsoallocate more CPUto a process, especially if it is resource-intensive, to increase efficiency.

It’s also possible tochange the number of processors in MSConfig, but that can cause more issues down the road.

And with that, we conclude this article. Hopefully, this has provided much-needed insight into how cores work, how you can check the number of cores, and what to look for when purchasing a new PC.

In the comment section below, let us know how many cores you have on your PC and your general PC performance.

How Many CPU Cores Does Windows 11 Support? [How to Check]#

Does Windows 11 support multi-CPU?#

How do I check the number of cores in my Windows 11 PC?#

1. Use Task Manager#

2. Use System Information#

3. Use the Command Prompt#

4. Use Powershell#

5. Use third-party software#