Microprocessors

CPU

Central Processing Unit, powerful calculator

Microprocessor most important characteristics:

Clock speed, Instruction set and Word size

Microarchitecture

Description of the electrical circuitry of a computer, central processing unit or digital signal processor that is sufficient for completely describing the operation of the hardware

RAM

Random Access Memory is volatile memory that gets erased when power is switched off. All data and instructions are stored in there.

ROM

Read-Only Memory is non-volatile memory whose data remains intact even after power is switched off. The microprocessor can read from it any time it wants but cannot write to it. It is preprogrammed with the most essential data like a booting sequence by the manufacturer.

CPUID

Software that shows or identify the specifics of CPUs: name of processor (make and model), code name (e.g., Sandy Bridge-E, Intel's cutting edge microarchitecture), etc

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The key component of a computer system, which contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute program instructions

MICROPROCESSOR

The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program.

RAM Importance

With the right amount of RAM on your computer the performance of your PC and the ability to support various types of software is optimized. It can be considered just as important as your processor.

Instruction Set

is a command given to a digital machine to perform an operation on a piece of data.

Clock speed

is an internal clock that regulates the speed measured in MHz or GHz at which it executes instructions and also synchronizes it with other components.

Word Size

is the number of bits the processor can interpret and execute at a given time.