cpu central processing unit computer science

For example, a dual-core processor is really just two separate CPUs on a single chip. However, they aren't as complex as they first seem. This is why we now have multi-core processors, with phrases like dual-core, quad-core, and octa-core frequently adorning PC marketing material. Over the years, manufacturers pushed single-core CPUs to their limits, so they began looking for other ways to improve the processor's capabilities. This is why these older computers were relatively slow, and it was a time-consuming affair to process data. Think of it as essentially like the memory function on your calculator.Įarly computers would only have a single processor core, so the CPU was limited to processing one set of instructions at a time. The results are usually written to a CPU register, where later instructions can reference them. In the final step, the decoded instructions are sent to the relevant parts of the CPU to be completed. This converts the instruction into signals to be passed through to other parts of the CPU for action.

Once an instruction is fetched and stored in the IR, the CPU passes the instruction to a circuit called the instruction decoder. Subsequently, the PC length is increased to reference the next instruction's address. The PC and instructions are then placed into an Instruction Register (IR). The current instruction address is held by a program counter (PC). Each instruction is only one small part of any operation, so the CPU needs to know which instruction comes next. The instruction is represented as a series of numbers and is passed to the CPU from the RAM. Just as you may expect, fetching involves receiving an instruction.

Cpu central processing unit computer science