We all know what a processor is, and surely you know roughly what a core is, and if it has more than one it’s usually better, however, did you know that it has threads and what are they for?
Today we are going to see what function they perform and what difference there is in their quantity.
What are the wires?
First of all, we must know how a core of our CPU works, in this case each of them is responsible for executing an instruction, that is, if we have 5 of them, we can execute 5 of them at the same time. Therefore, the more we have, the better the processor must be. Then it also depends on the speed of these, but in principle, stick with that.
Regarding threads, you can find them with different names if you search for a processor and you don’t see this characteristic, since they can also be called threads or even sub-processes.
But, What are they for?
Its operation is based on the fact that the core performs the process in the fastest and most efficient way possible, that is, imagine a group of people pulling an object and each through a different rope. We’ll make this object move faster if there are 10 people pulling 10 strings than if we only have 5. You get it, don’t you? It’s not exactly how it works, but you can get a little idea.
In a processor-based example, we can see something standard like a 4-core 8-thread processor. In this case, we have 2 threads per core, so each will be able to perform 2 simultaneous tasks instead of just one. Something that makes the speed much greater, since it optimizes the processes and makes our computer a more efficient machine.
Cores and threads have a lot more behind them, and they won’t work the same way depending on the process we’re running, however I think it’s become more or less clear to you what they’re for and when buying a processor it’s something to consider.
So you know what they mean. Now you are surely thinking then whether a processor with 4 cores and 8 threads or one with 8 cores with 8 threads is better. That is why here we leave you this other fairly complete article by a colleague who explains it perfectly.
If you don’t know how many threads does your processor have or what function they are doing right now, you just have to enter to see it in an easy way.
With Windows, just open the task manager and click on “performance”. Next, we’ll look for the “resource monitor” button below. A new window will open, we will have each process consuming the CPU at the moment as well as the threads, this is how Windows calls threads.
With Mac, it’s much easier. Look in the magnifying glass for “Activity Monitor” and enter it. Once the new screen opens you will be able to see all the information of your processor, your cores and your threads (also called threads).
Now that you know something else, whenever you see a processor, you will surely pay attention not only to its cores, but also to its threads.
