Why does my i7 2600 quad core show 2 Core(s) 4 Logical Processor(s)

[computerNeoPhyte]

I have an i7 2600 quad core but in Windows 7 Pro 64bit it shows

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3392 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

Shouldn't there be 4 physical cores? I don't understand this. I upgraded from an duo core computer. I know I bought a quad core processor because I have the invoice and saw the box but am confused what this 2 cores instead of 4 means.

Can someone help explain to me so I can understand how these CPU's operate and if something is wrong or if this is a normal working quad core Intel CPU?

Thank you very much.

 

[amuffin]

Does it show 8 boxes in task manager?

Are all 4 cores enabled in the BIOS?

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

I just checked BIOS and all 4 cores are active. In task manager it shows 4 boxes for cpu.

 

[amuffin]

Is hyperthreading enabled?

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

As far as I know, How would I confirm that?

 

[amuffin]

Boot into BIOS and make sure it says Hyperthreading is enabled.

 

[rds1220]

It should be 4 cores 8 threads. Go into the BIOS and make sure all cores are active and hyperthreading is enabled.

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

I know at some point I turned on Virtualization in BIOS because I use VMware at times for projects. Not sure if Virtualization would have any impact on this or not in Windows 7.

 

[rds1220]

Go into the BIOS and check. You could also reset the BIOS by moving the jumper cap (check your motherboard manual) or pull out the lithium battery out for a few seconds then re-inset it

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

Boot into BIOS and make sure it says Hyperthreading is enabled.

I booted in to BIOS and found the sub menu that had the CPU settings. Everything was set to AUTO. I set HT to Enabled and then manually set active cores from auto to 4.

In Task Manager it shows 4 boxes under the CPU tab and the description is still

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3392 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

In the Device Manager under CPU it shows 8 processors, I did not check the device manager before changing bios settings from AUTO to enabled for HT and 4 for active CPU's.

I also turned off virtualization, I don't use VMware that much. There are many other settings I have NO CLUE what they do so I left them all to AUTO.

I guess since Device Manager shows 8 that somewhere in Windows it recognizes this is a quad core even though it doesn't tell me that anywhere I can see. So then, am I set now that I changed those settings or I need to do something else for Windows 7?

 

[richy4248]

Ask a daft question, but have you tried doing a clean install of the OS?

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

Ask a daft question, but have you tried doing a clean install of the OS?

Why would I need to do this? Everything is actually working fine on the computer, I just noticed today it not showing quad core in windows but everything is working fine otherwise.

I use CCleaner every few days to keep the clutter out of the puter, I am NOT using an SSD so the puter is slower than a higher end machine but for my purposes it works great.

Only thing that really slows it down is Avast but it is less intrusive performance wise than a couple of the AV suites I used to use.
Without any AV this thing is as fast as any NON SSD system can be but then I can't get on the internet due to the viruses and malware.

 

[computerNeoPhyte]

I discovered what the problem was. I had set number of processors to 4 in msconfig -> boot -> advanced options

Once I unchecked this task manager is now showing 8 boxes and the description in Windows 7 is now saying 4 cpu's and 8 logical cpu's.

Sorry for the trouble.


Thanks everyone that offered help and suggestions, was much appreciated.