CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

What is the central processing unit?

The central processing unit, or CPU is the brains of the computer. It is an electronic circuitry within the
computer, that carries out all the instructions of a computer program. This is achieved by performing
arithmetic, logical control, and input / output operations specified by the instructions. A computer can
have multiple CPU, this is called multi-processing.

The integrated circuits (ICS) can hold multiple CPUs on one individual chip, these are called multi-core
processors.

The CPU architecture includes the arithmetic logic (ALU), this essentially performs all the logical
operations. The control unit (CU), this extracts instructions from memory, and decodes and executes
them, using the ALU if required.

How does the CPU work?

A normal desktop computer can execute instructions in less than 1 / millionth of a second.
Whenever an instruction or program is requested by the user, the CPU draws it from RAM. The CPU
reads the information associated with the task given to it. After reading the data, the CPU starts its
calculation and transporting the data. Before the data is executed, it travels through the system bus.
A bus is a communication system that is used to transfer data among the components of the
computer.

The CPU’s job is to make sure the data is processed and is on the system bus. The CPU manages data
to make it in a correct order, while arranging the data on the system bus. SO, the action requested
by the user is complete, and the user gets the processed and calculated information. Now the CPU is
required to store it in the systems memory.
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is the part of the computer processor (CPU) which carries out
arithmetic and logic operations in computers words e.g. Binary 0’s and 1’s. In some cases, the ALU is
divided into two units, and arithmetic unit (AU) and logic unit (LU). The ALU has a direct input and
output access to the processor controller main memory, which would be the random-access
memory, and input / output devices. Inputs and outputs flow along an electronic path, which is
called a bus. The input uses an instruction word (machine word) that contains (op code). This
operation code tells the ALU what operation to perform and the operands are used in operation. The
output consists of a result which is placed in a storage register and settings that indicate whether it
was a success or not.

Overall the ALU includes storage places for input operands, operands that are being added, the
accumulated result (Stored in the accumulator)

Control unit
A control unit or CU is circuitry that directly operates within a computers processor. It lets the
computers logic unit, memory and input / output devices know how to respond to instructions
received from a program.

A control unit works by receiving input information that it converts into control signals, which are
then send to the central processor. The computers processor then tells the attached hardware what
operations to carry out.
Clock speeds
CPU speed of executing an instruction depends on its clock frequency which is measured in MHz
(megahertz) or GHz (gigahertz), more the clock frequency, more is the speed of computer’s instruction
execution.

Cores

Nowadays computer comes with a multi-core processor. The multi-core processor means that more
than one processor is embedded in the CPU Chip. Those multi-core processors work simultaneously
and the main advantages of using the multi-core CPU is that it quickly achieved the high performance,
consuming less energy power and the multi-tasking or parallel processing is efficient. Since all the
processor is plugged into the same plug so the connection between them is also actually fast.
Dual core processors

In this, Dual or 2 processors are embedded in the chip and they work simultaneously. Multi-tasking is
more than the single core processor.

Quad core processors

In this, Quad or 4 processors are embedded in the chip and work simultaneously. They are faster
than dual core processor. Multi-tasking is more than the dual core processor.

Hexa core processor

In this, Hexa or 6 processors are embedded in the chip and work simultaneously. They are faster
than quad core processor. Multi-tasking is more than the quad core processor.

Octa core processor

this, Octa or 8 processors are embedded in the chip and they work simultaneously. They are faster
than the hexacore processor. Multi-tasking is more than the hexacore processor.

L1 and L2 cache memory

Cache Memory is a type of memory which is placed in the processor’s chip or may be placed
separately connected by a bus. The use of Cache Memory is to store program instructions which are
again and again used by software for an operation. When the CPU processes data, the data is first
investigated the cache memory. If the data is found, then it uses the data accordingly and if not,
then the processor start to look in the larger memory, which is time-consuming. Cache memory is
costly, but it’s really lightning fast.

 L1 cache is extraordinary fast but it is very small. It is mainly placed on the CPU chip.
  L2 cache has more data holding capacity than L1 cache. It is situated in CPU chip or in the
separate chip but connected to CPU with the high-speed alternative data bus.

REGISTERS

Registers are temporary storage areas for instructions or data. They are not a part of memory; rather
they are special additional storage locations that offer the advantage of speed. Registers work under
the direction of the control unit to accept, hold, and transfer instructions or data and perform
arithmetic or logical comparisons at high speed. The control unit uses a data storage register the way
a store owner uses a cash register-as a temporary, convenient place to store what is used in
transactions.

Computers usually assign special roles to certain registers, including these registers:

 An accumulator, which collects the result of computations.

 An address register, which keeps track of where a given instruction or piece of data is stored
in memory. Each storage location in memory is identified by an address, just as each house
on a street has an address.
 A storage register, which temporarily holds data taken from or about to be sent to memory.
 A general-purpose register, which is used for several functions.