​CPU (CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT)

• ​Interprets and executes the instructions in each program

• Supervises arithmetic and logical data manipulations

• Communicates with all the other parts of the computer system indirectly through memory

• An extraordinarily complex collection of electronic circuits

• Housed along with other chips and electronic components on the motherboard

​FACTS ON CPU

• ​A multi-core processor is a single chip with two or more separate processor (dual-core and quad-core) (e.g. AMD Phenom II X2, Intel Core Duo)

  Each processor core runs at a slower clock speed than a single-core, but typically increase overall performance + energy efficient because it runs simultaneously on related instruction

  Processor consists of two parts: Control Unit (CU) and Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

  CU: is to interpret each instruction issued by a program and then initiates appropriate action

  ALU: performs arithmetic, logic and comparison

​HOW CPU WORKS