Central processing unit
hideA central processing unit (CPU) or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.
Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are made for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured to tolerances on the order of nanometers. Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones and children's toys.
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News tagged with central processing unit
Programming tools facilitate use of video game processors for defense needs
Jun 24, 2009 |
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Video gaming computers and video game consoles available today typically contain a graphics processing unit (GPU), which is very efficient at manipulating and displaying computer graphics. However, the unit's ...
Fujitsu develops world's fastest processor
May 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday that it has successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer processing unit with more than twice the speed of the current leader.
Japan's NEC to exit supercomputer project
May 14, 2009 |
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Japan's ailing IT giant NEC Corp. said Thursday that it would withdraw from a government-backed supercomputer project as part of its efforts to cut costs during the economic slump.
Search results for central processing unit
New computer cluster gets its grunt from games
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Technology designed to blast aliens in computer games is part of a new GPU (Graphics Processing Units) computer cluster that will process CSIRO research data thousands of times faster and more efficiently ...
Does carbon labelling give developing countries a bad deal?
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Carbon labelling could unfairly disadvantage economies in the developing world, and mislead consumers, according to an interdisciplinary project carried out by the UK Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use Programme. ...
SMOS satellite instrument comes alive (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 19, 2009 |
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The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the ...
P2P comes to the aid of audiovisual search (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Current methods of searching audiovisual content can be a hit-and-miss affair. Manually tagging online media content is time consuming, and costly. But new 'query by example' methods, built on peer-to-peer ...
New cause of osteoporosis: Mutation in a miroRNA
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Many biological processes are controlled by small molecules known as microRNAs, which work by suppressing the expression of specific sets of genes. Xiang-Hang Luo and colleagues, at Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South ...
Resuscitation and survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest nearly double (w/ Video)
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and the Richmond Ambulance Authority have improved resuscitation and survival rates dramatically for cardiac arrest patients by training and equipping paramedics to begin lowering ...
Electric cars need government support: Nissan-Renault CEO
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Electric cars could help China and other countries reduce their dependency on oil but the government must provide incentive to make the shift, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.
Reduced muscle strength associated with risk for Alzheimer's
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Individuals with weaker muscles appear to have a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and declines in cognitive function over time, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology.
Scanning invisible damage of PTSD, brain blasts
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Powerful scans are letting doctors watch just how the brain changes in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and concussion-like brain injuries - signature damage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
A new computer simulator allows to design military strategies based on ants' movements
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 06, 2009 |
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A researcher of the University of Granada, Spain, has designed a new system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield based on the mechanisms used by ant colonies to move using a commercial ...
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