Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The central processor, but more

commonly called processor.

Brain of the
computer

Central Processing Unit (CPU)
It is the most important element of a
computer system.
On large machines, the CPU requires
one or more printed circuit boards.
On personal computers and small
workstations, the CPU is housed in a
single chip called a microprocessor.
The world's first CPU was introduced
by Intel in 1971. The Intel 4004 was
a 4-bit CPU, clocked at 740 KHz and
capable of executing up to 92,600
instructions per second. Five months
after the Intel 4004, the Intel 8008
was introduced. This was the world's
first 8-bit microprocessor.
Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr.
One of the inventors of
the microprocessor.
Came up with the idea of using a
"universal processor" rather than a variety
of custom-designed circuits.
His insight started the microprocessor
revolution in the early 1970s.

Bas i c CPU Compone nt s
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Control Unit (CU)
Register - A special, high-
speed storage area within the CPU. All
data must be represented in a register
before it can be processed.
Interface which communicate with
external memory, I/O units, and possibly
other CPUs.
C P U C l o c k S p e e d
Also called clock rate
the speed at which a microprocessor
executes instructions.
Every computer contains an internal clock
that regulates the rate at which instructions
are executed and synchronizes all the various
computer components.
The CPU requires a fixed number of clock ticks
(or clock cycles) to execute each instruction.
The faster the clock, the more instructions the
CPU can execute per second.
Clock speeds are expressed in megahertz
(MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).
Processors were originally developed with only
one core. Multi-core processors were
developed in the early 2000s
by Intel, AMD and others. Multicore processors
may have two cores (dual-core CPUs, for
example AMD Phenom II X2 and Intel Core
Duo), four cores (quad-core CPUs, for
example AMD Phenom II X4,
Intel's i5 and i7 processors), six cores (hexa-
core CPUs, for example AMD Phenom II
X6 and Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 980X),
eight cores (octo-core CPUs, for example Intel
Xeon E7-2820 and AMD FX-8350), ten cores
(for example, Intel Xeon E7-2850), or more. A
multi-core processor
implements multiprocessing in a single
physical package.

H o w C P U W o r k s
The CPU is centrally located on the
motherboard. Since the CPU carries out a
large share of the work in the computer,
data continually pass through it. The data
comes from the RAM and the units
(keyboards, drives, etc.). After
processing, the data is sent back to the
RAM and the units.
The CPU continually receives instructions
to be executed. Each instruction is a
data processing order. The work itself
consists mostly of calculations and data
transport.
The Instruction-Execution Cycle
Many types of personal computers can execute
instructions in less than one-millionth of a second;
supercomputers can execute instructions in less
than one-billionth of a second.
The CPU performs four steps in executing an
instruction:
1. The CU gets the instruction from the memory.
2. The CU decides what the instruction means and
directs the necessary data to be moved from
the memory to the ALU.
3. The ALU performs the actual operation on the
data.
4. The result of the operation is stored in memory or
a register.
The first two instructions make up what is
called the instruction time. The last two
instructions make up what is called the
execution time. The combination of these
two is called a machine cycle.
Each CPU has an internal clock (or system
clock), which produces pulses at a fixed
rate to synchronize all computer
operations. A single machine cycle
instruction is made up of sub instructions,
each of which must take at least one clock
cycle.
Each type of CPU is designed to
understand a specific group instruction
called the instruction set.

How the CPU finds Instructions and Data
The location in the memory for each
instruction and each piece of data is
identified by an address, or a number
that stands for a location in the
computer memory.
An address may be compared to a
mailbox in everyday life, except that
the address can hold only one item a
fixed amount of data, a number or a
word at any one time.

Control Unit (CU)
The control unit is a component of
a computer's central processing
unit (CPU) that directs operation of
the processor. It controls
communication and co-ordination
between input/output devices. It
reads and interprets instructions and
determines the sequence for
processing the data.
Control Unit (CU) contd
It is a typical component of the CPU
that implements the microprocessor
instruction set. It extracts instructions
from memory and decodes and
executes them and sends the necessary
signals to the ALU to perform the
operation needed. Control units are
either hardwired (instruction register is
hardwired to rest of the microprocessor)
or micro-programmed.
Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU)
ALU Concept was proposed by John Von
Neumann in 1945 when he was writing a
report on the foundations of EDVAC.
Fundamental building block of the Central
Processing Unit (CPU).
The simplest microprocessors contain one
ALU for purposes such as maintaining
timers.
Modern computers contain very powerful
and complex ALUs and a control unit.


Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Functions of the Arithmetic Logic Unit
The part of a computer that performs
all arithmetic and logic computations
(addition, multiplication, comparison
operations like not, and, and or).

Performs most of the operations of a
CPU.