Cores, threads and vCPU

This reference lists PowerVPS virtual, dedicated and GPU server configurations. Compare processor cores, hardware threads, memory, storage and location before choosing a server.

Location key: 🇫🇮 Finland is the location of the VPS plans. 🇫🇷 France marks dedicated configurations matched to the French server range. 🇩🇪 Germany / 🇫🇮 Finland on the other dedicated and GPU configurations means the precise country of the allocated server needs to be confirmed when ordering.

Specifications and prices reflect the PowerVPS catalog checked on 23 September 2026. All prices below are indicative in USD per month. Availability, final price, installed hardware and the location of your particular server may differ. Check the final terms when ordering; your order details take precedence.

Cores, threads and vCPU: what is the difference?

A physical core is part of a processor that performs computing work. A hardware thread is a logical processor visible to the operating system. Some physical cores expose two threads through SMT or Hyper-Threading. Two threads sharing one core are not the same as two separate physical cores.

A vCPU is a virtual processor allocated to a VPS. A plan with four vCPU gives the virtual machine four logical processing units. It does not promise four exclusive physical cores on the host.

Do not add cores and threads together. A processor described as 8 cores / 16 threads has eight physical cores and sixteen hardware threads.

Virtual servers — VPS

Compare a VPS by its allocated vCPU, RAM and storage. The physical processor in the host machine is separate from the resources assigned to your virtual server.

Highload has more RAM and storage than Ultra, while both plans have four vCPU. Moving between them does not increase the allocated vCPU count.

Dedicated servers

The core and thread counts below describe the listed processor model. RAM and storage describe the PowerVPS configuration. Two drives are shown separately: 2 × 2 TB means two drives of 2 TB each, not necessarily 4 TB of usable space.

¹ The exact country of a particular unit is not confirmed by the public catalog. Ask support whether it is in Germany or Finland before ordering.

² The PowerVPS catalog calls this processor “Ryzen 7 3700.” Confirm its complete model name and suffix with support if a distinction such as PRO or X matters to your workload.

Two processors that are easy to misread

The Intel Core i9-13900 has 24 physical cores and 32 threads: eight performance cores and sixteen efficiency cores. Its 32 threads are not 32 physical cores. See Intel’s specifications.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has 20 physical cores and 20 threads. Its thread count is not twice its core count. See Intel’s specifications.

A matching core count does not guarantee matching performance. The Ryzen 9 5950X, 7950X and 9950X each have 16 cores and 32 threads, but they are different processor generations. Compare the complete CPU model, RAM, drives and your workload.

Servers with graphics cards — GPU

A GPU server includes a conventional CPU and a separate GPU. CPU cores and threads do not describe the processing resources of the graphics card.

The Xeon Silver 4114 figures are per installed CPU. Two A100 graphics cards do not establish whether the server contains one or two CPUs. Confirm the installed CPU count, precise GPU variant and video memory before ordering. See Intel’s specifications for the Core i5-13500 and Xeon Silver 4114.

How to check your server in Windows

Run these checks inside the rented server using RDP or its console.

1. Open Task Manager → Performance → CPU.
2. Read Sockets, Cores and Logical processors.
3. Compare the displayed values with your order.

You can also open PowerShell and run:

Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor |
  Select-Object DeviceID, Name, NumberOfCores, NumberOfLogicalProcessors |
  Format-List

If Windows lists multiple CPU instances, consider each instance when calculating the total. Inside a VPS, the displayed CPU resources describe the virtual machine, not necessarily the physical host.

How to check your server in Linux or Proxmox

Connect through SSH or open the console and run:

LC_ALL=C lscpu

For a detailed view of logical CPUs, sockets, cores and online status, run:

LC_ALL=C lscpu -e=CPU,SOCKET,CORE,ONLINE

Check the reported CPU model, CPU(s), Socket(s), Core(s) per socket and the online CPU list. For processors with different types of cores, do not assume every core has two threads.

In Proxmox, the node shell shows the node’s resources. A virtual machine console shows resources assigned to that VM. Container CPU limits can differ from the host topology displayed by system tools.

If the numbers do not match

Compare your results with your actual order first. Check that you connected to the correct server and, for a VPS, compare its allocated vCPU count. For a dedicated server, record the processor name, installed CPU instances and online logical processors.

Send support the service ID, expected and observed values, and command output or a screenshot. BIOS settings, disabled cores, virtualization and operating system limits can affect what the system reports. Avoid changing boot settings before the cause is clear.

RAM, drives and custom configurations

RAM is working memory for running applications; it is separate from SSD capacity. With RAID 1, two mirrored drives generally provide usable capacity close to one drive, less formatting and system overhead. RAID is not a replacement for backups.

For a custom build, ask support to confirm the exact country and data center, CPU model and installed CPU count, physical cores and threads, RAM, number and size of drives, RAID layout, and GPU model and video memory where applicable. These order-specific details are the definitive specification of your server.