central processing unit from FOLDOC

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>central processing unit from FOLDOC</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'unsafe-inline' http: https:"> <meta name="verify-v1" content="siAI0ZOMn41hao0E/T76D1I2L3MtFjzE48P3ctCjRNU="> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#da532c"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> <meta name="google-translate-customization" content="828219db36930e1e-c51d915bf2ea717c-g9b503f9a85d5b5a7-a">  <script src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-9715943-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-9715943-1'); </script>  <link href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Duru+Sans%7CBelgrano%7CInconsolata%7CAlef%7CArmata" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/layout.css?2">  <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/im/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/im/favicon-32x32.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/im/favicon-16x16.png"> <link rel="manifest" href="/im/site.webmanifest"> <link rel="mask-icon" href="/im/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#5bbad5"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://foldoc.org/central+processing+unit"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="FOLDOC" href="/rss.xml"> <link rel="search" title="FOLDOC" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="//foldoc.org/search.xml">  <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5521724329338202" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>  </head> <body> <div id="fb-root"></div> <script> (function (d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); </script> <div id="container"> <div id="left"> <a href="/"> <img src="/foldoc.gif" width="300" height="98" alt="Free On-line Dictionary of Computing" class="logo"> </a> <div id="nav"> <a href="/contents.html" class="button">Contents</a> <a href="/help.html" class="button">Help</a> <a href="/random-entry" class="button">Random</a> </div> <form action="/"> <input type="text" name="query" id="query" autofocus="autofocus"> <input type="submit" name="action" value="Search" class="button"> </form> <div id="content"> <h2>central processing unit</h2> <p></p> <p><<i><a href="contents/architecture.html">architecture</a>, <a href="contents/processor.html">processor</a></i>></p> <p> (CPU, processor) The part of a computer which controls all the other parts. Designs vary widely but the CPU generally consists of the <a href="/control+unit">control unit</a>, the <a href="/arithmetic+and+logic+unit">arithmetic and logic unit</a> (ALU), <a href="/registers">registers</a>, temporary <a href="/buffers">buffers</a> and various other logic. <p></p> The control unit fetches <a href="/instructions">instructions</a> from memory and decodes them to produce signals which control the other parts of the computer. These signals cause it to transfer data between memory and ALU or to activate <a href="/peripherals">peripherals</a> to perform input or output. <p></p> Various types of memory, including <a href="/cache">cache</a>, <a href="/RAM">RAM</a> and <a href="/ROM">ROM</a>, are often considered to be part of the CPU, particularly in modern <a href="/microprocessors">microprocessors</a> where a single <a href="/integrated+circuit">integrated circuit</a> may contain one or more processors as well as any or all of the above types of memory. The CPU, and any of these components that are in separate chips, are usually all located on the same <a href="/printed+circuit+board">printed circuit board</a>, known as the <a href="/motherboard">motherboard</a>. This in turn is located in the <a href="/system+unit">system unit</a> (sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "CPU"). <p></p> A <a href="/parallel+computer">parallel computer</a> has several CPUs which may share other resources such as memory and peripherals. <p></p> The term "processor" has to some extent replaced "CPU", though RAM and ROM are not logically part of the processor. <p></p> <em><a href="http://lldn.timesys.com/complete_list_of_processors">List of processors</a></em>. <p></p> <p class="updated">Last updated: <a href="/new.html">2007-04-02</a></p> <p></p> <p class="vertical-space"></p><h3>Nearby terms:</h3> <p class="neighbours"> <a href="/Central+office+exchange+service">Central office exchange service</a> &diams; <b><a href="/central+processing+unit">central processing unit</a></b> &diams; <a href="/Centrex">Centrex</a> </p> <p> Try this search on <a href="https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=central+processing+unit">Wikipedia</a>, <a href="https://www.wiktionary.org/wiki/central+processing+unit">Wiktionary</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=define:central+processing+unit">Google</a>, <a href="https://www.onelook.com/?w=central+processing+unit">OneLook</a>. </p> <p class="vertical-space"></p> <hr> <div></div> <hr>  <div id="HCB_comment_box">Loading</div> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//www.htmlcommentbox.com/static/skins/bootstrap/twitter-bootstrap.css?v=0"> <script language="javascript" id="hcb"> hcb_user = { PAGE: 'https://foldoc.org/central+processing+unit', comments_header: ' ', no_comments_msg: ' ', err_comment_empty: 'Your comment was not posted because it was empty!', rss: '', }; var s = document.createElement("script"); s.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); s.setAttribute("src", "//www.htmlcommentbox.com/jread?page=" + escape(hcb_user.PAGE).replace(/\+/g, "%2B") + "&mod=%241%24wq1rdBcg%24.0y2uzvjA2bsnhzpXVq9F." + "&opts=17374&num=10"); // No e-mail field: 16846 if (typeof s != "undefined") document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(s); </script> <script> setTimeout(function () { document.getElementById('hcb_form_content').rows = 1 }, 1000); </script> <hr>  </div>  </div>  <div id="right"> <div id="google_translate_element"> <script> function googleTranslateElementInit() { new google.translate.TranslateElement({ pageLanguage: 'en' }, 'google_translate_element'); } </script> <script src="https://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit"></script> </div> <p><br></p> <hr> <div id="social"> <div class="fb-like" data-href="http://foldoc.org/" data-layout="button_count" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"> </div> <a href="https://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-via="foldoc"> Tweet </a> <script> if (!document.getElementById('twitter-wjs')) { var fjs = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0], js = document.createElement('script'); js.id = 'twitter-wjs'; js.src = 'https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js'; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); } </script> </div> <hr> <div> <p></p> </div> <p> <a href="/rss.xml"> <img src="/orangerss.gif" width="14" height="14" alt="RSS feed of new items"> </a>   <a href="/new.html">Recent Updates</a>     |     <a href="/missing.html">Missing Terms</a> </p> <p>Updated: Tue, 11 Feb 2025 23:28:55 GMT</p> <p>15282 entries</p> <p><em><a href="/Free+On-line+Dictionary">Copyright Denis Howe 1985</a></em></p> </div>  </div>   <script type="text/javascript"> window._qevents = window._qevents || []; (function() { var elem = document.createElement('script'); elem.src = 'https://secure.quantserve.com/quant.js'; elem.async = true; elem.type = 'text/javascript'; var scpt = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; scpt.parentNode.insertBefore(elem, scpt); })(); window._qevents.push({ qacct: 'p-48Rosdvs3EiOc', uid: '__INSERT_EMAIL_HERE__' }); </script> <noscript> <div style="display:none;"> <img src="https//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-48Rosdvs3EiOc.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt="Quantcast"/> </div> </noscript>  </body> </html>

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central processing unit from FOLDOC