CPU usage for testing / Terminal usage / Tweak (disable) certain Cores

Motivation: 

You want to work with the machine (Surfing, Editing Files, no big thing...) while you are performing back testing?

This is valid for MT4 and MT5 and also applies to other Windows versions.

1. first of all you may want to check if all cores are really active

Therefore enter the msconfig (I assume you know how that works - keep in mind to do that changes as ADMIN) and click:

• Win-R - msconfig
• Boot tab 
• Advanced Options
• Number of Processors

You may check the processors that are actively used by Windows

 2. You may limit the cores used by certain programs

Enter:

• Press Ctrl+Alt+Del 
• Start Task Manager 
• Processes Tab 
• right click desired program 
• Set Affinity  

Adjust according to your expectations (e.g. to free some CPU for your regular work ;-))

3. Disable Hyperthreading Cores

In case you own Intel dual/multi-core - it has 4 "logical" cores and a quad-core has 8 "logical" cores which is meant by "Hyperthreading". 

I think Hyperthreading isn't working as it should in the marketing material - CPU is getting hot and the real benchmark results in the performance section of Windows do not improve.

Also subjective feeling is that it does not work.

You can disable these logical cores in the mainboard BIOS. 

You will have to press F2 during boot (or F8 or F12 in certain models) to enter BIOS. 

The option you have to look for is named "Hyperthreading [Enabled/Disabled]".