How many processors are installed on my computer?

Answer 1

This is becoming increasingly difficult, as a modern CPU chip now can contain several "cores" (each, and independent CPU), and each core may now possibly be able to run more than one process (a multi-threaded, or hyperthreaded core).

Virtually all desktop or laptop systems have 1 physical CPU. Only really high-end workstations will have more than 1 physical CPU. However, due to the concept of cores and threads, that one physical CPU can appear to be multiple Virtual CPUs to the operating system.

Honestly, the simplest way to find out more about your CPU is to reboot the system, and then watch the BIOS output. It should tell you what kind of CPU you have (almost always AMD or Intel something-or-other). If you don't see that information, hit "Delete" or "F1" or "F2" a couple of times right after the system starts - it will go into the BIOS setup, where you can see the CPU model.

After you've discovered what the CPU model number is, look up it's abilities on the web:

For AMD CPUs: http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUResult.aspx

For Intel CPUs: http://ark.intel.com

There are ways to tell inside the OS, but it's a bit hard to describe, and highly dependent both on which OS (MacOS, Windows, Linux, etc.) and which version of that OS you are using.