The CPU - is the main component of a computer, which produces the lion's share of computing, and from his power depends on the speed of the entire system. In this article we will talk about the effect of the number of cores on the CPU performance.
Cores CPU
Core - is the main component of the CPU. It is here that all operations and calculations. If multiple cores, they "communicate" with each other and with other system components via the data bus. The number of these "bricks", depending on the task, affect the overall performance of the processor. In general, the more, the higher the speed of information processing, but in fact there are conditions under which a multi-core CPU inferior to their less "packaged" brethren.
See also: Device modern processor
Physical and logical cores
Many of Intel processors, and more recently, and AMD, as able to make calculations so that one physical core operates two computing threads. These streams are called logical cores. For example, we can see in the CPU-Z here are the features:
Responsible for this technology Hyper Threading (HT) from Intel or Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) from AMD. It is important to understand that the added logic core is slower than physical, that is a full dual-core quad-core CPU is more powerful of the same generation with HT or SMT in the same applications.
Games
Gaming applications are constructed in such a way that together with the card on the calculation of the world of work and the CPU. The more complex physics of objects, the more of them, the higher the load, and a more powerful "stone" better cope with the work. But do not rush to buy a multi-core monster, as the games are different.
Read also: What makes the CPU in games
Old projects developed by about 2015, mostly can not upload more than 1 - 2 cores due to the nature of code written by developers. In this case preferably have a dual-core processor with higher frequency than an eight megahertz low. This is just an example, in practice, the modern multi-core CPUs have fairly high performance per core and legacy games, are working well.
Read also: What affects the CPU frequency
One of the first games where the code is able to run on multiple (4 or more) cores loaded evenly became GTA 5, released on the PC in 2015. Since most of the projects can be considered as multi-threaded. This means that the multi-core processor has a chance to keep up with its high-frequency counterparts.
Depending on how well the game is capable of using computing streams, multi-core can be both a plus and minus. At the time of writing this material "Games" can be considered CPUs with from 4 cores, better with hyperpotion (see above). However, the trend is such that the developers increasingly optimize the code for parallel calculations, and the small-parent models will soon be relieved.
Programs
Everything is easier here than with games, since we can pick up the "stone" to work in a specific program or package. Working applications are also single-threaded and multithreaded. The first is needed high productivity on the core, and the second large number of computing flows. For example, with a rendering of a video or 3D scenes, a multi-core "percent" can cope, and the photoshop requires 1 - 2 powerful kernels.
Operating system
The number of nuclei affects the speed of the OS only if it is equal to 1. In other cases, the system processes do not load the processor so that all resources are involved. We are not talking about viruses or failures that can "put on the blades" any "stone", but about staffing. However, together with the system, many background programs can be launched, which also consume processor time and additional kernels will not be superfluous.
Universal solutions
Immediately note that multitasking processors do not happen. There are only models capable of showing good results in all applications. As an example, you can bring six-core CPUs with high frequency I7 8700, Ryzen R5 2600 (1600) or more older similar "stones", but even they cannot claim universality, if you are in parallel with games actively work with video and 3D or engaged in Stregning .Conclusion
Summarizing everything written above, you can draw the following conclusion: The number of processor cores is a characteristic showing the overall computing power, but how it will be used depends on the application. For games, a quad-core model will be quite used, and it is better to choose "stone" with a large number of threads for highly resource programs.