CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPUTER & CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (C.P.U)

Hello, Readers

This Blog will help you understand the Characteristics of Computer & About C.P.U (Central Processing Unit ).


Characteristic means Computer capabilities i.e

Characteristics of Computer 

1.Speed
2.Accuracy
3.Consistency
4. Data Storing Capability
5.Flexibility 

A. Speed : A Computer is a very fast device .It can perform , in a few Second ,the amount of work that a human being can do in an entire year working round the clock .The speed of the computer is usually 2 to 4 GHz . A powerful computer is capable of performing  about 10 to 40 million arithmetic calculations in a second.

or We can say that Computer speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).

One Megahertz equals to one million ticks per second,one Gigahertz equals one billion ticks per second .

B. Accuracy : The accuracy of a Computer is consistently high an the degree o accuracy of a particular task is 100% accurate.In  a every computer each and every calculation with the same accuracy. Error can occur in a computer due to human action rather than technological weaknesses .i.e due to imprecise thinking by the programmer (a person who write instructions for a computer to solve a particular problem) or inaccuracy of the input data.

C.Consistency : Unlike human beings , computers are the machines that are highly consistent. They never get bored too !!!!! 

A computer never complaints of a monotonous job ! Hence they are ideal machines for carrying out repetitive and voluminous work, 24 hours a day and 365 days in a year.

D.Storage Capacity : Today's computers can store huge amount of data . Once recorded, a piece of information is never forgotten and any information retrieved almost instantly. An entire movie can be stored on a CD and played in a computer any numbers of times without any failure.

E. Flexibility : A computer is perhaps the first general purpose machine derived by man .All other machines like television , refrigerator or typewriter do only one thing for which they are designed, but computer do any kind of work at the same time like play songs , movie, type letter, send faxes, fix problem in complex manufacturing operations, design building and construct bridges etc.  

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                        Central Processing Unit (C.P.U)

                                                       Block Diagram of a C.P.U

The CPU is the brain & heart of a computer. Its primary job is to run program and control the operation of all others components ,such as memory, keyboard and printer.

In the above fig. solid lines are used to indicates the flow of instructions and data. Dotted lines represent the control exercised by the control units of a computer . The Figure shows the basic arrangements of different unit of the computer .It depicts the Five major building  blocks or functional units of a digital computer system. These five units correspond to the five basic operations, namely inputting , storing , processing, outputting & controlling data, carried out by all computer systems.

The Five units are explained in below as a paragraph: 

a) Inputting : Refers to the process of entering data into the computer, by the user using the input device, such as Keyboard.

b)Storing : Refers to the holding of data and instructions in the computer's main memory for manipulations.

c) Processing : Refers to performing operations (both arithmetic and logical) or manipulation of data entered into the computer so that useful information may be taken out of the entered data. 

d) Outputting: Refers to the process of showing the information or result to the user either on screen of monitor or on paper (through printer).

e)Controlling : Refers to directing all the above processes, in coordination.This controlling is done by Control Unit in a C.P.U. 

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The CPU of a small computer has a single microprocessor but large computer's C.P.U contain a number of microprocessors and every single microprocessor do a specific job.

( Microprocessor is an integrated circuit that contains all the functions of a C.P.U of a computer) 

A  Microprocessor contains a Control Unit and an Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU). when main memory is added to a microprocessor ,it becomes a CPU.

Main Section of C.P.U. are :-

1.Primary Memory
2 Control Unit
3.Arithmetic  Logic Unit (ALU)

PRIMARY MEMORY : It is also known as main memory of the computer. This is major part of the computer .It holds the data which is currently manipulated by the C.P.U.It is also keep the necessary operating System, such as Windows & MS-DOS .
Since  Primary memory is present within the C.P.U (or by default) it is also known as internal memory or RAM( Read Only Memory).

CONTROL UNIT : CU of the CPU work as nervous system of the computer.This unit is responsible for controlling the entire working of the computer. The timing and control signals ar e generated by this unit and sent to other units for execution of the program for proper control.It also controls the transfer of data between memory and input/ output device.

ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT : ALU of a computer system is the place where the actual execution of instructions take  place. To be more precise,all calculations are performed and all comparisons are made in ALU.
Intermediate results generated in the ALU are temporarily stored in the memory unit until needed again at a later time.
The data and instructions stored in the main memory prior to processing, are transferred as and when needed to the ALU, where processing takes place. No  processing is done in the memory unit.
firstly data move from primary memory to ALU and back again to the memory many times during the processing operation, after completion of processing, the final results which are stored in memory unit of RAMs are sent to an output device such as monitor or printer.

All ALU are designed to perform the four basic arithmetic operations-add ,subtraction, multiply, divide and logic operations such as less than, equal to or greater than.