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A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program , such as arithmetic , logic, controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations.
Because computer parts contain hazardous materials, there is a growing movement to recycle old and outdated parts. [66] Computer hardware contain dangerous chemicals such as lead, mercury, nickel, and cadmium. According to the EPA these e-wastes have a harmful effect on the environment unless they are disposed of properly.
A CPU socket is made of plastic, and often comes with a lever or latch, and with metal contacts for each of the pins or lands on the CPU. Many packages are keyed to ensure the proper insertion of the CPU. CPUs with a PGA (pin grid array) package are inserted into the socket and, if included, the latch is closed.
If based on the von Neumann architecture, they contain at least a control unit (CU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), and processor registers. In practice, CPUs in personal computers are usually also connected, through the motherboard , to a main memory bank, hard drive or other permanent storage , and peripherals , such as a keyboard and mouse .
A modern CPU also tends to include an interrupt controller. It handles interrupt signals from the system bus. The control unit is the part of the computer that responds to the interrupts. There is often a cache controller to cache memory. The cache controller and the associated cache memory is often the largest physical part of a modern, higher ...
The first documented computer architecture was in the correspondence between Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, describing the analytical engine.While building the computer Z1 in 1936, Konrad Zuse described in two patent applications for his future projects that machine instructions could be stored in the same storage used for data, i.e., the stored-program concept.
Along with the control unit it composes the central processing unit (CPU). [1] A larger data path can be made by joining more than one data paths using multiplexers. A data path is the ALU, the set of registers, and the CPU's internal bus(es) that allow data to flow between them. [2] A microarchitecture data path organized around a single bus
Front panel of an IBM 701 computer introduced in 1952. Lights in the middle display the contents of various registers. The instruction counter is at the lower left.. The program counter (PC), [1] commonly called the instruction pointer (IP) in Intel x86 and Itanium microprocessors, and sometimes called the instruction address register (IAR), [2] [1] the instruction counter, [3] or just part of ...