Why does the i7 processor report 8 cores?

[Ric Moore]

On Tue, 2011-02-01 at 04:46 +0000, Liam Proven wrote: 
> On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 4:35 AM, Bill Stanley <bstanle at wowway.com> wrote:
> > I have an i7-860 processor in my computer.  Linux (and Windows) report it to
> > have 8 cores available.  I checked on the specs of the chip and the specs
> > say that it has 4 cores and 8 threads.  It seems that the OS is counting the
> > treads as cores.  It really doesn't matter much but can somebody out there
> > explain the discrepancy?
> 
> You are misunderstanding what "threads" means. The CPU supports
> hyperthreading; each CPU core appears as 2 to the OS.

I think the thing is broken, so just send it to me and I'll live with it
thinking I have 8 cores. I wish my Athlon thought it had 8 cores.
<grins> Ric


-- 
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
Linux user# 44256