A computer is a complex of various devices combined into a single unit via buses (relevant for internal components). For example, any computer includes RAM, a central processor, a video adapter, etc. Their characteristics determine the overall resulting performance and capabilities. One of the most important components is the central processor. Sometimes you can meet other names: CPU (English Central Processing Unit - the main computing unit), percent, stone.
What is a CPU from the perspective of an ordinary user? By analogy with the human body, percent can be compared with the brain. It performs all mathematical calculations and partially ensures the interaction of the components with each other. Physically, the processor is the largest chip installed in a special connector on the motherboard. Inside it contains complex logic circuits of several billion transistors. People interested in the question “what is a CPU” can easily identify the processor among other internal components. After all, it always has an active cooling system: a massive metal radiator and fan. The need for them is due to the fact that the electrical power consumed by the chip is often tens of watts. The small volume of the scattering surface and high power lead to heating of the CPU casing, which requires the use of cooling.
Processor manufacturers solve the heating problem in different ways: some optimize the architecture by introducing shutdown mechanisms for unused blocks, others reduce the supply voltage and use the latest achievements (“thin” manufacturing process) for production, etc. Currently, the main “players” in the central processor market are Desktop computers and laptops are two companies - Intel and AMD. Accordingly, the rest of the infrastructure adapts to the features of their products.
Often the question “what is a CPU” gives quite generalized answers. This is explained very simply: now the term “processor” has acquired a broader meaning than “part of a computer”. So, in any modern mobile phone there is a unit that performs mathematical calculations - this is also a processor. Even owners of controlled children's toys are useful to know what a CPU is, because they also have a computing unit.
Obviously, without considering the principle of the processor, it is impossible to understand the general features of its operation. The CPU is controlled by programs. They are sets of instructions for the processor written in a programming language. In human language, the program indicates the exact procedure. Everyone remembers, or at least heard of , the Basic programming language. In it, in order to draw a circle on the screen, it was necessary to execute the Circle command (coordinates). The modern principles for creating programs have remained the same: tasks are created by teams of programming languages. When a program is launched on a computer, a special software decoder converts the commands of the used language into machine code intended for direct processing on the CPU. This code is binary, it is a sequence of ones and zeros. Many cannot understand why it was decided to use a binary system, rather than the usual decimal. In fact, everything is explained very simply: binary bits can easily be represented by commands for the transistors themselves. For example, since we are talking about digital devices, you can imagine the number “1” as the presence of voltage on the basis of a particular transistor, and “0” as its absence. Accordingly, in the first case, the transistor is open and passes current through itself, and in the second it is locked (of course, everything is simplified and with many reservations).
The speed of execution of program instructions determines the speed of the processor. This is influenced by architecture, the frequency of internal circuits, and code optimization.