Computer Processor - Before, Now And Eventually
Kevin Dark
The fact is that a computer comprises several processors however the
one regularly used by advertisers when they want to draw attention to
the power of a computer commonly relates to the Central Processing Unit
(CPU).
Few individuals will not have heard of Intel or AMD processors while
their significance to the advertising community and thereby the general
public at large is comparable to the way motor manufacturers sell their
cars. If in the market for a sports car an individual usually wants as
much performance as is available hence manufacturers will sell their
most powerful cars simply by stating the number of cylinders a
particular model possesses. By using just two letters such as V8 - a
message is sent to the public consumer who will automatically recognize
that this indicates a potentially powerful engine. The equivalent term
to excite the adrenalin rush in the computer buyer today is probably a
"Dual Core Processor".
However before describing the merits of dual core processing or any
other electronic component or semiconductors it seems reasonable to
first explain why the CPU attracts so much attention, possibly more
than any other electronic component lurking within a computer.
The specification of a CPU is defined by its speed for example 900 MHz
provides an approximation of the number of instructions that a CPU is
able to process by the second - 900 million in this example. In
addition the data handling capability of a CPU defines its power: a
64-bit CPU is able to combine, stage-manage or subtract numbers that
are 64-bits wide. In the early nineties computers with 16-bit CPUs were
considered powerful while today 64-bits are the norm, a reflection of
how far the IT public sector experience has developed in a little over
fifteen years.
A CPU today would seem like something from an alien world to the
computer geeks of fifteen years ago, Not only have they become much
more powerful but in addition their use of new materials as
semiconductors increases efficiency beyond anything thought manageable
fifteen years ago. The intention of these new semiconductors is
directly aimed at the speed with which a CPU operates. Making the CPU
faster is an ongoing challenge that drives this industry because
ultimately all computers are limited by the capability of their CPU
and, because IT has become an established ingredient in the daily
routine people now have to handle we are much more proficient at using
them.
The knock on effect from the IT development of the past fifteen years
relates to people and their improved functionality when interacting
with computers. The demands made on electronic components will continue
to increase as people learn how to add, manipulate and subtract using
their IT on a daily basis and it seems that no matter how fast
electronic components become they will never quite be capable of
matching the speed of the brain whose fingers deftly work a keyboard.
In addition a fast CPU back in the early nineties ran at around 386
MHz, an electronic component that would today freeze being within close
proximity of a modern PC game.
Kevin Dark is the owner of
http://www.eedigest.com - everything about
semiconductors.
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