CPUscan

CPUscan is a hypothetical software utility designed to inspect and monitor Central Processing Units (CPUs) across computer systems. It provides both static analysis of processor capabilities and dynamic monitoring of runtime behaviour, making it useful for inventory, performance optimization, and security assessments.

Static analysis collects CPU family, model, stepping, microarchitecture, core and thread counts, cache topology, supported instruction sets (SSE, AVX, NEON, etc.), and virtualization features. Dynamic monitoring tracks clock speed, multiplier, voltage, temperatures, power draw, and performance counters such as cache misses, branch mispredictions, and instructions per cycle. It can perform lightweight profiling or full benchmarks and can generate reports in JSON, CSV, or human-readable HTML.

CPUscan is designed as a modular, cross-platform tool. Data collectors interface with OS-specific facilities (for example, CPUID and MSRs on x86, performance counters, and sensors via native APIs). A central analyzer normalizes data, detects anomalies, and correlates hardware configuration with performance events. Output modules render findings for consoles, dashboards, and integration with asset-management systems.

Typical use cases include hardware inventory, compatibility checks for software deployments, performance benchmarking, and security audits for drift or misconfiguration. Privacy and security considerations include ensuring appropriate permissions and avoiding disclosure of sensitive data. Access to low-level hardware information generally requires elevated privileges and may be restricted in some environments.