A component that processes data according to a set of instructions. Often abbreviated as CPU. Clock speeds are measured in gigahertz (GHz); the faster the clock speed, the faster the performance. Has four distinguishable units within the CPU:
- arithmetic logic unit — processes data by performing basic mathematical and logical operations;
- control unit — follows instructions and decides when data should be stored, received, or transmitted by different parts of the computer; and
- registers — small and temporary storage used by the processor to temporarily store data; and
- cache — stores copies of data from frequently-used main memory locations.
Modern CPUs are often faster because of having more packed within them. A core has two logical processors within them; modern CPUs tend to have eight cores (therefore 16 logical processors).