- interprets and executes the instructions in each program
- supervises arithmetic and logical data manipulations
- arithmetic: responsible for numbers and mathematical equations
- communicates with all the other parts of the computer system indirectly through memory
- an extraordinary, complex collection of electronic circuits
- housed along with other chips and electronic components on the motherboard
Compatibility:
-all software is not necessarily compatible with every CPU
- software written for the PC family of processors used in Macintosh computers won't run on Intel processors
- CPUSs in the same family are generally designed to be backward compatible
- Newer processors can process all of the instructions handled by earlier models.
Performance:
- applications require faster machines to produce satisfactory results
- all computers' overall performance is determined by it's microprocessor's internal clock speed
- Clock Speed: measured in units called Gigahertz for billions of clock cycles per second
The architecture and word size of the processor
- high end work stations and servers use 64-bit processors
- most PCs and macintosh use 32-bit processors
- some embedded and special purpose
- computers still use 8 and 16 bit processors
Techniques for speeding up a computer's performance:
- parallel processing
- server clusters
The CPU: How it works?
- ALU (arithmetic logic unit): actual execution of instruction is performed by the ALU
- Prefetch Unit: instructs the bus unit to read the instruction stored at a particular memory address
- Decode Unit: takes the instruction read by the prefetcher and translates it into a suitable for the CPU's internal processing.
- Writeback: the bus unit writes the results of the instruction back into memory ot to some other device
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