CPU
O The brain of a computer system. O Performs all major calculations and comparisons. O Activates and controls the operations of other units of a computer system. O Two basic components are: O Control Unit (CU) O Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) O No other single component of a computer determines its overall performance as much as the CPU.
O Most personal computers today use CPUs manufactured by Intel or Advanced Micro Devices (AMD); some examples of their processors are shown in Figure. O Many CPUs today are multi-core CPUs; that is, CPUs that contain the processing components or cores of more than one processor on a single CPU. O For example, dual-core CPUs contain two cores and quad-core CPUs contain four cores
- CU (Control Unit) O One of the two basic components of CPU. O Acts as the central nervous system of a computer system. O Selects and interprets program instructions, and coordinates execution. O Has some special purpose registers and a decoder to perform these activitie
