How many CPU cores do I need for gaming? This a very logical question and we always do ask ourselves every time, especially when purchasing a new computer.
Technology has advanced so quickly that we feel our Central Processing Units (CPU) from just a few years ago can no longer handle our tasks. It is completely right to feel that way and sometimes, it is true that old CPUs can not handle modern tasks.
Gaming is one of the major CPU and GPU-consuming tasks currently. You need a very high Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) for it. You will also have to get a high-performance CPU for everything else to work. This brings about the question; “How many CPU cores do I need for gaming?”
What are processor cores?
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain chip of every computer. It is the chip that processes every task that we give the computer. Whether typing, watching movies, playing music, or playing games, it is this same CPU that does it all.
Inside this processor, there are divisions known as cores. Think about these cores as multiple processing chambers of the processor.
If I processor unit has one core, it means there are no divisions in the processor at all. This also means that the processor can not multitask. It will have to pause one task in the single chamber to be able to process another one.
If there is like two cores, their process has two different processor chambers which also means it can perform two different tasks simultaneously. The chambers or cores of the processor make it appear as multiple processing units.
That is why Quad Core processors seem to have four processors. The secret here doesn’t mean they have four different processors but rather, they have a single processor unit that has four cores(processing chambers). That is why if you check the number of cores on your computer, you will four different processors for your Quad Core. But if you should open your computer, you only get to see a single processor unit.
How many CPU cores do I need for gaming?
To know how many cores you need for gaming, you must understand how games are made by first studying the consoles. Since most of the games we play on the PC are games ported from major gaming consoles, the PC must be on par with the consoles for them to run smoothly.
The latest gaming consoles including Xbox X and S series and the PlayStation 4 all have 8 cores. This means the games on them are designed to work with 8 cores. An earlier version of the Xbox which is the Xbox 360 features a Triple core processor.
Average PC CPU cores for gaming
If you are looking for a gaming PC and you have the budget, go for the highest cores available. By highest core, I mean the 16-core PCs. They are quite rare but they will still be useful in the future.
For an average gaming PC, you should be looking at 4 to 6 cores. You won’t have to worry about the games lagging since most of the console games are purposely designed for the PC environment.
What you will have to worry about is the fact that if you get an average gaming PC, sooner or later, it will be out of use. That is to say, there will be more advanced games than what your 4 or 6 cores PC can handle.
The number of cores you need to play a game completely depends on which game you want to play. Also, do not forget that the number of cores in your CPU matters a lot when you are a gamer.