Ask HN: Why is my Windows computer running 10,000 threads idling?

I'd rather have 10,000 idle threads to effectively use my multicore CPU than have a stuttering system.

Modern apps are way more complex than Quake. Dropbox needs threads for syncing files, watching folders, updating UI, etc. Steam's web helper is basically running a mini-browser.

Back in the Quake days, we had single-core CPUs and tiny RAM - every thread mattered. Now with 16+ cores and tons of memory, it's cheaper to just spawn threads for everything rather than write complex single-threaded code.

Your computer's fine - this is just how software works now. We traded elegance for "throw hardware at the problem."