What is the CPU Core?

The CPU core means the CPU processor.

In classical times the one core focuses on one task at a time.

(i.e. 1 core means → one task at a time)

Multiple cores mean multiple tasks at a time which results in more efficiency

Intel 8th generation processor has 4 cores

4 core means = 1 core x 2 | 1 core x 2 | 1 core x 2 | 1 core x 2 **only if hyper-threading exits

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

2 2 2 2

= 8 logical processor

1 CPU core + hyper-threading → appears as two logical CPU to an operating system.

But actually the fact is the CPU is still a single CPU. While the OS sees each two CPU for each core. The CPU pretends it has more cores then it does and it uses its own logic to speed up program execution.

What is Hyper-Threading?

Hyper-Threading is Intel’s term for simultaneous multi-threading (SMT).

This is the process where CPU splits its physical core into the virtual core, which are known as threads, for example, each Intel’s CPU with hyper-threading splits both cores into four threads.

Hyper-Threading allows each core to split to do two things simultaneously this results in improvising CPU performance, thereby allowing you to run multiple demanding apps at the same time or use heavily-threaded apps without the PC lagging.

Hyper-threading is just a ‘bonus’. processor with multi-threading that pretends multiple cases, modern Intel CPU has both multiple cores and hyper-threading.

Your dual-core CPU + hyper-threading appears as 4 cores to your OS

Your quad-core CPU + hyper-threading appears as 8 cores to your OS

So dual-core CPU with hyper-threading performs better with dual-core CPU without hyper-threading.

What is the Processor ?

The processor socket (also called a CPU socket) is the connector on the motherboard that houses a CPU and forms the electrical interface and contact with the CPU. Processor sockets use a pin grid array (PGA) where pins on the underside of the processor connect to holes in the processor socket.

Before hyper-threading and multi-core CPU came around, people attempted to add additional processing power to computers by adding additional CPU. This requires a motherboard with multiple CPU sockets. The motherboard also needs additional hardware to connect those CPU sockets to the RAM and other resources. There’s a lot of overhead in this kind of setup. There’s additional latency if the CPU need to communicate with each other, systems with multiple CPU consume more power, and the motherboard needs more sockets and hardware.

Here in the task manager, you can see sockets, cores, logical processor fairly well.

You can see in the system there is only one socket where the cores are placed and with hyper-threading, each core splits into two logical processors to show to the operating system. So the total cores are 4 and split into 8 logical processors.