How to Check How Many Cores You Have
Multi-core processors are similar to having multiple individual processors on your computer; each core functions independently to process data, so you can perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Hyper-threading is another term often used with processors, which describes each core's ability to simultaneously handle multiple threads of data. As an example, a quad-core processor that can handle two threads per core is described as having eight logical processors, because it can concurrently handle eight threads of data. You can tell how many cores and logical processors your office computer uses in Windows 8's Task Manager.
Press "Ctrl-Shift-Esc" to open Windows 8 Task Manager.
Click "More Details" to expand the Task Manager view. If you see multiple tabs, you are already viewing Task Manager in detailed mode.
Click the "Performance" tab and select "CPU" from the left panel.
Look for the "Cores" entry to see the number of processing cores your computer has. Look for "Logical Processors" to see the number of threads that can be simultaneously processed.