What Is a CPU Thread? A Basic Definition

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A thread is a virtual version of a CPU core. To create a thread, Intel CPUs uses hyper-threading, and AMD CPUs uses simultaneous multithreading, or SMT for short (they’re the same thing). These are both names for the process of breaking up physical cores into virtual cores (threads) to increase performance.

This article is part of the Tom's Hardware Glossary.

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Scharon Harding
Scharon Harding

Scharon Harding has over a decade of experience reporting on technology with a special affinity for gaming peripherals (especially monitors), laptops, and virtual reality. Previously, she covered business technology, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud, and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.