Does Hyperthreading Help Gaming: All You Need to Know

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Asen Stoyanchev

Owner | Content Writer at Maximum Tech

Asen is a Microsoft Certified Professional turned blogger with 10+ experience working in the IT industry as a hardware and software support engineer.

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Modern-day computers are all about high speed and high performance. Developers around the world are constantly looking for ways to boost these factors and ease the workload of mankind. One of such innovations that drove the overall activity is the multi-core CPU.

These cores allow the running of several processing units in a go, and can hence handle different kinds of tasks- including single-threaded and multi-threaded. Even when it comes to gaming, you can find the application of the concept within the engine. 

In the early 2000s, Intel came up with an innovative solution to boost multithreading across the cores- Hyperthreading. Introduced first on Xeon group of processors, this technology aimed at improvising the parallelization of computers. One of the key takeaways from it is the increase in independent instructions amongst the cores. 

The Basics of Hyperthreading Processors

The upcoming section details the basics of Hyperthreading, and how does it exactly impact the performance of your system. 

What Is Hyperthreading?

Popularly called HT, Hyperthreading is Intel’s innovation that allows more than one thread to run on each core. As a result, the parallelism in the system improves and the processing power gets accelerated. 

When it comes to the working mechanism of the system, the following points would clarify:

• Under Hyperthreading, the CPU utilizes two threads per core in the processor. 
• As a result, even a single core can function as a combination of two threads/logical cores, for efficient implementation of the input functions.
• The idle time is utilized to the maximum extent, and research has proven about 30% improvement in the applications when compared to the conventional system. 
• The setting can be turned on and off from the BIOS environment under Hyperthreading technology. 

Therefore, Intel users, you must utilize the feature up to the full extent. 

What Does Change in a CPU When You Hyper thread?

With Hyperthreading, you can witness the following magic:

• More information processing within a specified time, and also background processes without slowing down the PC.
• Convert one core into two logical cores, and hence allows the working of dual threads in a single go.
• Will support multithreaded programs often utilized by gamers (and Minecraft aficionados) for reduced response time and swift moves. 

To further understand what is hyperthreading, the following comparison table between hyperthreaded and stock Intel i3 6100 would help:

Therefore, Hyperthreading is focused majorly on reducing idle time and fastening the processing time. 

Can You Hyper thread Any CPUs?

Unfortunately, not all Intel processors are equipped with this facility. Though the list is quite huge, the following table sums up the popular models:

Why Hyperthreading Help Gaming to Some Extent? 6 Reasons

If you have the query on Hyperthreading improving gaming performance, then yes, there is a significant boost when compared to the stock unit. The following reasons can clarify better:

1. Less lagging and ghosting

In earlier cases, there were limited cores, and they also posed a challenge in processing only a fixed number of tasks per thread. However, with hyperthreading, the threads get doubled to allow additional power and reduce the response time and lags (thus reducing the general problems of lagging and ghosting). 

You can also experience that when you play games via a platform such as GameRanger.

2. Streaming

A major chunk of gaming also includes streaming your performance on big screens, and recording them for educational purposes. With hyperthreading, the boosted architecture aids in the smooth running of the videos, and you would not face quality issues. 

3. Improvement in the frame rate

Yes, hyperthreading also shows some effect in improving the number of frames that your PC can render per-second basis. As a result, the visuals get smoothened and you can feel the transitions without any major snag. This comes in handy in the top-notch and competitive games, and you may not feel the difference in ordinary ones.  

4. Improved response time

With the heightened response time, you can enjoy easily below 4ms gaming and say goodbye to display lag and unnecessary latency. 

5. VR games

Yes, you can enjoy your favorite VR games with better pixel quality and environment sensing. In conventional processors, you would often face incompatibility issues with the higher end of VR games and had to resort to lower resolution or settings. But, with this technology, there will be no need of compromising in gameplay or doing additional investment in supporting hardware. 

6. Enhanced stability

The numbers on stability are quite high for the hyperthreaded processors, and as a player, you can feel the game environment. There would not be any blurs or other challenges often experienced due to the lower grade of the processor.  

Therefore, if you are into competitive gaming, then you can feel the differences with hyperthreading. For novice or casual gamers, you may not feel the difference with naked eyes. 

How to Hyper thread CPU for Gaming?

The answer to your question of how to enable hyperthreading is not that complex as it looks. First of all, before moving into the procedure, you need to ensure that the CPU is indeed capable of going through the process or not.

For that, refer to the instructions manual of your processor and check for the specification mentioning the same. Alternatively, you can also think of visiting the Intel website and checking for the list of processors that have hyperthreading enabled. 

Post the basic step, you can proceed with the steps given below:

• After you have ensured that Hyperthreading is supported in your system, enter the BIOS environment. For Windows 10, you can enter the domain through the Settings app.
• Go to the Processor tab and click on the Properties option out of the list that is displayed. 
• Go to Hyperthreading and turn on the option.
• Click on save changes and exit the menu.

In some of the processors, you may find the turn-on option as ‘Enable hyperthreading’. Do not get confused with the differing syntax. 

In addition, you can also check if hyperthreading has indeed being made active for your system or not:

• Go to vSphere Client and browse for its host.
• Go to Configure option.
• Under it, go for System🡪Advanced System Settings🡪VMKernel.boot.hyperthreading. 
• Restart the host to see the changes and ensure that the process is completed. 
• Go to the Hardware tab and click on processors to check the number of logical processors mentioned (it would have been doubled when compared to the stock value). 

Alternatively, you can go for another approach as follows for checking the activation:

• Press Windows key+ R to open the Run dialog box.
• Type CMD and open the command prompt window in the system.
• Type wmic and hit on enter.
• Type CPU Get NumberOfCores,NumberOfLogicalProcessors /Format:List and then press on enter. 

Now, you would be able to see the output in form of the number of cores and the number of logical processors. If the latter is double the value of cores, then yes it is a success. If not, then retry the process in the BIOS environment. You may lookout for a similar article- How to reset overclock?

Which CPUs Shouldn’t Be Hyperclocked for Gaming?

If you think that hyperthreading helps in all cases, then the reality is far from being true. In some cases, you cannot opt for the option, or even if you do so, the performance in gaming would not be improvised much. The following cases highlight the scenarios where it will not be possible:

• Processors that are not certified by Intel for having hyperthreading features (in other words, the names not listed in the official website of Intel for compatible ones).
• CPUs that use processors apart from Intel.
• Systems that are not utilized for competitive gaming, and include only basic operations. 
• Systems with old cooling systems and cannot handle the heat dissipation or other thermal changes happening due to the process changes. 

Therefore, be very careful if you fall into either of these situations. Just follow the manufacturer’s manual and you would get your answers. In extreme cases, you may seek professional help also to clarify the concerns. 

Does Every Game Experience Improve with A CPU Hyper thread?

No, it is not mandatory that every gaming experience would improvise with CPU hyperthreading. If you are not a serious gamer, then you would hardly find any differences between Hyper thread and stock CPUs. 

In addition to that, sometimes if the number of activities is large within the pipeline, then also you can experience your system faking the procedure. In such cases also you may not get the feel of an improvised gaming experience. 

Even beyond gaming, there are some more applications where you may not feel the impact of speed. It is because they cannot send the data effectively into threaded cores. Therefore, it would be recommended to disable hyperthreading and prevent any unnecessary effects on the internals. 

Just go to the BIOS environment and turn off the option for hyperthreading. Again, if you face any issues then seek expert opinion rather than digging further into DIYs.  

FAQs 

Should I disable hyperthreading?

The answer to the question depends upon multiple factors, like the specification of the processor, number of cores, type of activities carried within the PC, and many more. If you are not involved in regular heavy applications, then it is recommended to turn off hyperthreading.

It will help in preventing heating issues and other complications that might damage your circuits. 

What is a CPU thread?

Thread is a virtual version of the CPU core. It is the primary part where a majority of the processing activity takes place and also determines the speed with which the tasks in the pipeline can be completed. 

Hyperthreading doubles the value and hence ensures that parallelism is truly followed. 

Does hyperthreading increase heat?

Yes, you would find differences in thermal dissipation upon hyperthreading. It is because the number of logical cores is doubled, and accordingly the processing power gets enhanced. So, you would find some changes in the fan speed, clock speed, and base frequency that in turn work towards excessive heat dissipation. 

Does hyperthreading use more power?

Just like the previous question, yes hyperthreading also utilizes some extra power. Due to the change in different speeds of the PC, your processor input voltage keeps changing, and accordingly, the impact would be visible on the power consumption. 

Does hyperthreading increase FPS?

Yes, hyperthreading increases the FPS of the games. As the performance is enhanced by almost 30%, you would find a good reduction in the response times. As a result, effects like blurs, ghosting, and others get reduced and the refreshing of frames get enhanced. 

Final Words 

The final verdict states that hyperthreading helps in gaming up to some extent. If your CPU has the feature and allows entering into maximum potential due to hardware configuration, then feel free to try it. Along with gaming, you may get some benefits in parallel activities also.

Just remember to go by the books and reach out for additional help whenever required. Keeping the system on Hyper thread for longer durations may pose risk. So be careful.

Keep following our website for more of such content- ganged vs unganged, Is AMD overdrive safe, and many more. Till then, happy and safe reading!