How to Check How Many CPU Cores You Have in Windows 10 and 11

If you’ve been struggling to find out how many CPU cores your PC has, for a game’s minimum requirements, a software license, or just to know what you’re working with, Windows 10 and 11 both show you the answer without any extra software. The fastest method takes about five seconds.

What is a CPU Core?

Close-up photograph of a CPU processor chip

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the main processing chip in your computer. A core is an independent execution unit inside that chip. A quad-core CPU has four of them, each handling its own set of instructions at the same time.

Two terms come up in every method below:

Cores are physical execution units inside the chip. An 8-core CPU has eight.
Logical processors are the virtual CPUs Windows schedules work on. CPUs with Hyper-Threading (Intel) or SMT (AMD) run two threads per physical core, so an 8-core chip typically shows 16 logical processors in Task Manager.

Modern consumer CPUs from Intel and AMD typically offer anywhere from 4 to 16 or more cores. Intel’s hybrid designs split those between performance cores (P-cores) for demanding workloads and efficiency cores (E-cores) for lighter background tasks, a distinction some Windows tools will label explicitly.

Fix #1: Task Manager

Task Manager is the fastest and most visual way to check. No admin rights required.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, or right-click the Start button and choose Task Manager.
Click the Performance tab.
Select CPU from the left column.
Find Cores and Logical processors in the stats panel at the bottom-right corner.

Task Manager Performance tab with CPU selected on Windows 11, showing Cores and Logical processors counts in the bottom-right summary panel

The Cores value is your physical core count. Logical processors reflects the thread count, typically double the core count when Hyper-Threading or SMT is active. The same panel also shows base speed, cache sizes, and socket count.

To see each thread as its own mini-graph, right-click the CPU utilization graph and choose Change graph to > Logical processors.

Fix #2: System Information

System Information (msinfo32) gives you the full CPU model name plus core and thread counts on a single line, useful when you want everything in one place without reading separate stat fields.

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
Type msinfo32 and press Enter.
With System Summary selected on the left, find the Processor row on the right.

System Information (msinfo32) System Summary page with the Processor row highlighted, showing full CPU name and core and logical processor counts

The Processor entry reads something like “Intel Core i9-13900K, 3000 MHz, 24 Core(s), 32 Logical Processor(s)”. If you have two physical CPUs installed, each gets its own row.

Fix #3: Settings > About

Settings doesn’t display the core count directly, it shows the CPU model name, which you can then search online for the full spec sheet.

Press Windows + I to open Settings.
Go to System > About.
Under Device specifications, read the Processor line.

Windows 11 Settings > System > About showing the Processor field under Device specifications

You’ll see something like “Intel Core i7-13700K @ 3.40GHz”. Searching that model name pulls up the manufacturer’s spec page with core count, thread count, cache, and TDP all listed.

Fix #4: PowerShell or Command Prompt

If you’re checking multiple machines or pulling this into a script, the command line is faster than clicking through menus each time.

PowerShell:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name, NumberOfCores, NumberOfLogicalProcessors

Command Prompt:

wmic cpu get Name,NumberOfCores,NumberOfLogicalProcessors

Both return the CPU name, physical core count, and logical processor count. Run either as administrator if you hit a permissions error.

Fix #5: Third-Party Tools

CPU-Z and HWiNFO go well beyond what Task Manager shows, with per-core details, cache layout, clock speeds, voltage, and on hybrid Intel CPUs, a clear P-core vs E-core breakdown.

CPU-Z is purpose-built for CPU identification. Open it, check the CPU tab, and you’ll see core and thread counts alongside the die name, stepping, and base clock. It handles the detailed silicon identification that built-in Windows tools skip over.

HWiNFO covers full-system monitoring and is the better pick if you’re also tracking temperatures or investigating a thermal throttling problem at the same time.

CPU-Z CPU tab showing processor name, core count, and thread count

HWiNFO summary window showing CPU name, core count, and thread count

Speccy is another free option. It puts processor, RAM, storage, and GPU info in a single clean view if you need a broader system snapshot alongside your core count.

Conclusion

Task Manager (Fix #1) handles this for most people in under a minute, with physical cores and logical processors in one panel and nothing to install. System Information is the better pick when you need the full CPU model string at the same time. Either way, that software requirement or upgrade question you’ve been struggling with now has a clear answer.