How does a CPU work?
The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is what operates your system. People usually refer to the CPU as the brain of the computer. The CPU is used to input, store, and output information that a program tells it too. Without your CPU, your computer would not be able to run any programs.
Essentially, your CPU was made to follow instructions of code that a program tells it too. It the takes that input, and processes the instructions on your computer. Which is how your computer runs.
What are cores and how many do you need?
Every CPU contains at least 1 core, but most CPU’s now a days have at least 2 or more cores. Each core can only complete one task at a time, so having multiple cores in a CPU will allow your computer to multi task, and in the end make your computer run way smoother. Also, more and more game developers now a days are rewarding CPU’s with higher core counts. Granting you more FPS in game. When deciding to buy a CPU you should keep in mind how many cores the CPU you are looking at has. For most computers the minimum recommended amount of cores is 4. However upgrading to 6 or 8 can boost your performance to the next level.
What is hyperthreading/multithreading?
Hyperthreading or multithreading is your CPU’s virtual cores, or fake cores. Multithreading happens when a single core acts as two allowing a single CPU core to complete multiple tasks at the same time. So, essentially a CPU that has 8 cores with multithreading, will act as though it has 16 cores. This is very common in AMD’s Ryzen series CPU’s where all the cores have multithreading.
