[SOLVED] Cores vs Threads Explained..

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SkyRock1986

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Feb 28, 2019
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My fellow PC friends,

This has sort of boggled my mind in recent time. I have always meant to ask, but didn't want to sound too noobish. I will admit though I really do not fully understand. I do think it would benefit me tremendously to finally get this answer from some of you more educated CPU experts. I have finally decided to "upgrade" from my intel i5 4690k to a Ryzen 2600x which required my to buy a new motherboard and switch to DDR4 ram also in the process... Anyways, I know my i5 4690k is a quad core. I also know the Ryzen is a six core. I sorta understand the benefits there. But I really do not understand the benefit of "threads" and what exactly it means. My Ryzen chip is 6 cores but 12 threads? Can someone please explain this in laymen terms starting with the meaning of cores vs threads. Are threads like multiple sections of each core? Sorry guys I just do not understand, and really want to. Also please explain the benefits to this for gaming rigs if any exist....
 
Solution
A processor with simultaneous multithreading (SMT, or what Intel calls Hyperthreading), has the ability to more efficiently run two things on a single core at once. Basically, the feature works by allowing each core to perform a second instruction while waiting for a first instruction in another thread to complete. So, it's primarily utilizing parts of the processor that would just be sitting around doing nothing at the time. The processor is only likely to run more than one thing on a single core if all other physical cores are already in use. The alternative when presented with a many-threaded task would be to have a core switch back and forth between more than one task, which has more of an impact on performance.

The OS sees the...
I made the comparison because it justified the false statement that i5 4690k is scarce. What does the CPU being new, used, refurb, have to do with it? It's my forum. It will be about whatever I make of it. If you dont like what I posted in my own forum you do not need to comment

I don't think you actually understand how things work so I'll clarify for you. This is not "your" forum. This is Tom's hardware forum. It is a COMMUNITY forum. This is YOUR question, so you may ask, within reason, any question you wish to ask but you cannot ask users to not comment in your thread or complain if the answers you get are not the ones you wanted to see so long as nobody is attacking you or others verbally or making any kind of threats or offering other troll like behavior.

I see none of that happening here. What I see is you being given 100% accurate on topic replies, which you apparently don't like or believe even though it's completely on point. ALL of the Haswell/Refresh era CPUs ARE scarce. They have not been manufactured for years, so the information you are being given here is accurate based on the fact that any new unit you buy is going to be NOS (New old stock) not new stock, and that WILL make it scarce compared to any CPU that is currently in ongoing manufacturing cycles.

I don't want to continue further into that because it's irrelevant to the idea that I want to convey to you, which is that if you ask questions here, be prepared to get answers you like and also ones you don't like, and understand that as long as any answer doesn't violate our terms and conditions it is just as welcome as any other answer no matter who offers it or whether you like it or not. Civility (Being civil to all other members) is compulsory, not optional, and telling others that it's your thread and to basically go away is not being civil. Let's keep replies in future threads within the boundaries of nicety unless there is a very good reason not to do so in which case you should contact a moderator to deal with it, not try to do it yourself.
 
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