The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is a small silicon chip which runs the whole computer. It is also known as a microprocessor or processor, this terminology has been around since the 60s. It is the heart of your computer and is located on the motherboard as an integrated circuit containing millions of transistors and other electrical components. .
It is made up of various parts, the Control Unit supervises the operation, fetching software instructions from memory and coordinating the order these instructions are carried out. The Instruction Decoder deciphers the instructions it receives from the operating system and application software and performs various calculations, comparisons and computations in its Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU). The ALU can perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication as well as comparing greater-than, less-than or equal-to conditions.
The processor has a Program Counter which tracks new tasks as they are picked up, although certain instructions can cause the CPU to execute jobs out of sequence.
Inside the CPU are Registers, which are special storage locations. The data they contain can be accessed much quicker than other memory; they either store the computer's current instruction or in the ALU, the accumulators store the results of operations being calculated.
Finally, the Processor has a clock which acts as a heartbeat, releasing an electrical pulse at regular intervals, it is by this that we measure the speed measured in MHz. The function of the processor parts together is made up of four repetitive steps which are known as the Machine Cycle. The Control Unit fetches data and instructions from the memory and deciphers the code, then the ALU executes any calculation and finally stores the result in memory.
It is made up of various parts, the Control Unit supervises the operation, fetching software instructions from memory and coordinating the order these instructions are carried out. The Instruction Decoder deciphers the instructions it receives from the operating system and application software and performs various calculations, comparisons and computations in its Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU). The ALU can perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication as well as comparing greater-than, less-than or equal-to conditions.
The processor has a Program Counter which tracks new tasks as they are picked up, although certain instructions can cause the CPU to execute jobs out of sequence.
Inside the CPU are Registers, which are special storage locations. The data they contain can be accessed much quicker than other memory; they either store the computer's current instruction or in the ALU, the accumulators store the results of operations being calculated.
Finally, the Processor has a clock which acts as a heartbeat, releasing an electrical pulse at regular intervals, it is by this that we measure the speed measured in MHz. The function of the processor parts together is made up of four repetitive steps which are known as the Machine Cycle. The Control Unit fetches data and instructions from the memory and deciphers the code, then the ALU executes any calculation and finally stores the result in memory.
