Having covered the basic for the computer internals, the motherboard, let’s see what’s attached to it. Let’s start with the CPU. CPU = Central Processing Unit. Also known simply as the processor, it is the part of the computer responsible for the actual execution of your programs, the brain of the operation if you will. Every time you press Enter to execute a command or start a program, every time you click on a link or an email to open them, and so forth, it is the CPU that executes those commands. Inside your computer, if you were to locate it, it’d look like a square-shaped, black, flat component attached to the motherboard; It will – surprisingly – be located in a somewhat central position within it. While that description may fit more than one component in your motherboard, generally speaking the CPU will be the largest one.

Since it is so common to read about a computer’s processing power and speed when looking at specifications, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at what it means and how it is measured. When talking about a computer’s processing power/speed, one is, generally speaking, talking about the CPU. I grazed in one my earlier articles the concept of computer speed. Let’s go a little deeper into it.

The basic concept is, the CPU’s power is measured by how many instructions it can carry out per time unit. The more instructions it can execute by, let’s say, 1 second, the more powerful it is. Related to this, although potentially deceiving, is the CPU’s clock speed rate. The what? the CPU’s clock speed rate. Simply put, it is the number of cycles per second (measured in Hertz, abbreviated Hz) in which the CPU operates. The more cycles per second, the less time an individual instruction should take to execute.

So, the next time you see anywhere, whether in a computer ad or in your screen when looking at your computer specifications, “CPU @ 2.4 GHz”, you will know they are talking about the CPU clock speed rate (2.4 GigaHertz, 1 giga = 1,000,000,000, so 2,400,000,000 cycles per second).

There you have it. The CPU.