Intel i7-5960x only shows 2 cores out of 8

JRose13 · ‎07-19-2018

Hello!

I have an i7-5960x which says it should have 8 cores with 16 hyperthreads. However in my Task Manager it only shows there are 2 cores available with 4 hyperthreads. when I use a third party like CPU-Z it shows the same information of 2 C & 4 HT. In Device Manager it shows 16 processors.

I am worried that I am only using 2 of my 8 cores. Is there anyway I can make sure the others are working?

idata · ‎07-20-2018

Hello Frostyty1,

Thank you for joining this Intel Community.

I understand that 3rd party sofware is displaying two active cores in Windows in an 8-Core Intel® Core™ i7-5960X Processor. I would like to assist you with this issue.

Because you have an 8-core processor, my first recommendation is that you can get to BIOS and make sure that all cores are enabled. If you have changed any BIOS configuration recently, you can also set BIOS to default. Please follow the steps provided by your motherboard manufacturer to make sure that this step is performed correctly. Before setting your BIOS to default, remember to document the SATA mode.

Wanner G.

JRose13 · ‎07-20-2018

Thank you for you response Wanner G,

In my BIOS (attached) all cores are set to run as enabled.

Any other diagnostics I can run to see if all my cores are actually working or not?

.

n_scott_pearson · ‎07-21-2018

Have you verified whether of not Windows is disabling the use of these threads? Here's a tutorial that shows how you can check this: http://solidlystated.com/software/how-to-disable-a-cpu-core/ How to turn off a CPU core or limit cores on dual-core/multi-core computers.

Hope this helps,

...S

JRose13 · ‎07-21-2018

Sir,

I went and looked at that setting. It only shows 4 Cores.... Shouldn't it show 8 in this screen? Here is the screenshot!

Thank you for the idea!!!

JRose13 · ‎07-22-2018

After careful consideration, I decided to wipe the system and start fresh. Upon reinstall of Win 10 all 16 cores are shown. A fix? I am not sure I would call it a fix, but it was a successful workaround nonetheless.

Thanks for all your help.

Images attached to show differences from starting point and ending point.

-J.