A microprocessor is a chip in computer systems called the central processing unit or CPU. In this post, we will learn what are the parts of the CPU, how are they related, and what are the tasks of the processor?
The word CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. In short, this chip acts as the brain of a computer system, as all processing, calculations and decisions are made by the system's processor.
Tasks of the computer processor
The processor and microprocessor are directly connected to the main board of the system and have vital tasks in the operation of the system; The most important tasks of the CPU are:
- Control and execution of instructions
- Creating coordination between the activities of different components of the system
- Identifying the type of operation and the sequence of their execution
- Bringing the required information from the computer's main memory into the microprocessor
- Perform calculations required for processing
- Save the result of the operation in memory
To give you a better understanding of CPU performance, I will give a simple example. Suppose we want to print a pdf file.
The program that is responsible for printing the file in the system includes computer codes. These codes are finally converted into machine language and processor instructions.
At a glance, these instructions are as follows:
- Read the file at address 584 of the hard drive (albro.pdf file).
- Send a standby command to the printer.
- Send the file to the printer for printing.
- If the result is successful, print a success message, otherwise, print an error message.
In response to these instructions, the processor first fetches the file from the hard drive to the main memory (RAM) and then tries to access the printer. It sends the file information to the printer with its special methods and gives it the printing command.
After the printer finishes printing, it notifies the CPU. The computer processor also checks the result and displays the appropriate message.
The central processing unit in a computer is called a processor or CPU. There are different chips with more limited functions that are used for specific tasks or specific systems. These chips are called microprocessors.
Different CPU parts and tasks
The computer processor has two main and vital parts: the Control Unit and the Arithmetic – Logic Unit
The Control Unit, which is also called CU for short, is responsible for controlling and coordinating between different parts of the system. All the control work that must be done by the microprocessor is done in this unit of the processor; Including:
- Data entry control through the input unit
- Store data in memory
- Transferring information from memory to ALU and vice versa
- Command to decode instructions (which instructions to decode and execute.)
- Send information to the output unit
Arithmetic-Logic Unit or ALU performs arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This unit also performs logical operations to compare two data (such as less than, greater than or equal to).
Other complex operations are performed by combining these few simple operations; For example, if we want to raise a number to a power, we must multiply the base by the number of powers.
In your opinion, what basic operations are used to perform power operations in the computer processor?
Some other parts of the microprocessor
In a more detailed view, other units help ALU and CU to carry out instructions. Theoretically, these sections may be considered in combination with the two main sections, but in terms of implementation, we also have the following units:
- Memory Management Unit (MMU): To manage memory addressing and partitioning in data storage
- Bus Interface Unit: Manages the relationship between the CPU and other hardware parts.
- Prefetch Unit: Before an instruction or data is processed by the CPU, it is called early to increase the speed of the processor.
A few terms on CPU
In addition to the two main parts, we have several other units in the processor. Each of these sections needs a comprehensive discussion and training, but I will briefly introduce them so that you can get familiar.
- Registers: are temporary and small memories inside the CPU that store the data being processed.
- Cache: It is a type of small but high-speed RAM that is placed between the CPU and RAM to increase the speed of reading data.
- Bus: The communication path between the processor and other parts is called BUS.
- Clock: The clock in the processor sends a regular electrical signal (pulse) to execute instructions at regular intervals.
Computer Processor Speed
One of the factors that determine the speed of a microprocessor is the number of bits that can be transferred or operated on at a time. The higher the number of these bits, the faster the microprocessor.
For example, when it is said to be a 64-bit processor, it means that it can process eight bytes of information simultaneously. Of course, this work is done in microprocessors in a few microseconds.
One of the factors influencing the speed of the microprocessor is the number of operations it performs per unit of time. This rate is measured in megahertz (Mhz) or gigahertz (GHz). Each hertz is equal to one pulse per second.
The microprocessor performs a specific action in each pulse; For example, when it is said that the microprocessor speed of a computer is 4Ghz, it means that the processor performs 4 billion operations in one second.
Another effective factor in the speed and power of the microprocessor is the number of processing cores used in it. In multi-core processors, several separate processing cores are placed on a silicon board.
In multi-core processors, each processing core acts as an independent microprocessor. How to divide tasks between microprocessors and coordinate between them has separate models and discussions.
Summarizing the tasks of the microprocessor and its units:
In this post, we learned about the microprocessor and its components. We learned that the microprocessor in the computer is known as the central processing unit or CPU and we learned the parts of the processor and the functions of the microprocessors.
The two main parts of the microprocessor are the control unit (for coordination) and the arithmetic - logic unit (for calculations). We have other units for better management and division of microprocessor tasks, which were: MMU, Prefetch, Bus Interface and components such as registers and clock in the processor.
Finally, in addition to the microprocessor components, I talked about the microprocessor speed unit (CPU speed) and the factors affecting the speed of processors.
I hope you enjoyed
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