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CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
The brain of the computer.About the CPU
The central processing unit (CPU) is one of the vital parts of your computer. It's small in size but extremely powerful. The central processing unit as it sounds is the center of all activity that occurs in your computer. It's basically the brain in your computer. All computer instructions are based on binary code. The CPU basically acts as the math processor doing all the calculations associated with any program opened by the computer.
Newer model CPU's are basically square in design an no larger than 3 inches length and width. They are very thin with many spikes coming out of the bottom of the part. The CPS attaches to the motherboard and is in some way connected to every part of your computer.
The two typical components of a CPU is the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and the control unit (CU). The arithmetic logic unit performs arithmetic and logical operations while the control unit extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them, calling the ALU when necessary.
CPU's are rated according to how fast they process information measured in units called megahertz (MHz's). The first CPU introduced in 1974 ran at about 2MHZ. A gigahert (GHz) is made up of 1000 MHz's. Today CPU's run at speeds of almost 4 GHz's.Needless to say the higher the speed of CPU the more you can expect to pay.
When replacing your CPU you should always check your motherboard manual to make sure your motherboard can support a higher speed CPU. Replacing a CPU is a very simple task and can save you tons of money. I would estimate the average time to change a CPU in a computer would be about 8-10 minutes. To learn how to replace a cpu, please read our guid on how to replace a cpu.