In theory, tools like this shouldn't be necessary; both the processor and the operating system ought to allocate resources automatically to any process that asks for them. But there's always that piece of unoptimized or poorly performing software that needs a little extra tweaking. That's when NotCPUCores steps in—a utility for optimizing your CPU usage that serves as an alternative to other popular apps with a similar purpose.
When gaming, streaming, or running heavy tasks, we all want to do more with less. Some hardware components have very reasonable prices, but others remain in Martian orbit, and if we add the classic regional headaches—availability, taxes, currency conversion, etc.—frequent upgrades become nearly impossible.
Overclocking, undervolting, optimization guides... All these help us squeeze out a bit more performance. However, one of the oldest tricks in the book is priority and affinity control. With that in mind, many users have favored the CPUCores app on Steam, which automatically prioritizes game processes. So, how about a free alternative for optimizing your CPU usage?
How to Optimize Your CPU Usage
Welcome to NotCPUCores, developed by Robert C. Maehl and shared on GitHub as open source. One thing that stands out about this program is its sincerity: from the get-go, it admits that nothing will beat a hardware upgrade, and that performance improvements will be limited—but you shouldn't have to spend money to access them.
NotCPUCores divides its functions into two main tabs: Work/Play and Stream. In both cases, you can choose an active process in Windows, or take a process from the list of games installed in Steam. The core assignment parameters are ten in total: All cores, first core, first 2, first 4, first half, physical cores, virtual cores, all pairs, first CCX module (AMD only), and Custom. The Stream tab is very similar (the core descriptions change slightly), and it includes a list of the most popular streaming programs. For example, if you want OBS Studio to receive higher priority, just select it and specify its assignment.
It goes without saying, NotCPUCores requires a lot of trial and error. Some cores are stronger than others on certain processors, and you'll need to find the ideal configuration on your own. Another possibility is to combine NotCPUCores with Hyper-Threading disabled, since some games tend to respond better without those extra threads. Download a copy!
(Editor's note: Two false positives in VirusTotal.)
Official site and download: Click here
