[SOLVED] cores vs CPUs

Marc_de

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Aug 4, 2026
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Hi forum

I noticed that the node summary page and the assignment of processors page do use different terminology.
In the node summary under CPU usage a # of CPUs is stated, whereas in the Edit: Processors section a field called Cores is present.
node.jpg

processors-jpg.99267


My question is, are these different by intend or is just the terminology not aligned?
 

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The Linux kernel calls them CPUs (and that is what Proxmox shows in the node summary) but they are actually hardware execution units (historically called CPUs), which corresponds with (hardware) threads nowadays.
Proxmox calls them (virtual) Cores (for the VM) as it does not go down to the level of threads (which is supported by QEMU/KVM), and it does not expose the actual hardware facts of SMT or HyperThreads to the VM.
There are existing threads on this forum discussing the terminology, including sockets) if you want more details.
 
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Thank you for the swift reply @leesteken , that solved my question.

I would mark this thread solved, but I do not know how :oops: (I just signed up).