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Monday, April 17, 2023

Collection of basic CPU parts

This post is a collection of basic CPU (central processing unit) parts. There are 6 parts listed below alphabetically. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

 

Address generation unit

"The address generation unit... calculates address used by the CPU to access main memory." (Wikipedia: Address generation unit, 8.18.21 UTC 11:40)

 

Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)

"...an arithmetic logic unit is a combinational digit circuit that performs arithmetic and bitwise operations on integer binary numbers... The inputs to an ALU are the data to be operated on, called operands, and a code indicating the operation to be performed..." (Wikipedia: Arithmetic logic unit, 3.30.23 UTC 07:52)

 

Cache

"A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, which stores copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations." (Wikipedia CPU cache, 4.14.23 UTC 06:31)

 

Clock

"Most CPUs are synchronous circuits, which means they employ a clock signal to pace their sequential operations. The clock signal is produced by an external oscillator circuit that generates a consistent number of pulses each second in the form of a periodic square wave." (Wikipedia: Central processing unit, 4.17.23 UTC 16:31)

 

Control unit

"Most computer resources are managed by the [control unit]. It directs the flow of data between the CPU and the other devices." (Wikipedia: Control unit, 4.5.23 UTC 19:41)

 

Memory management unit (MMU)

"An MMU effectively performs virtual memory management, handling at the same time memory protection, cache control, bus arbitration, and in simpler computer architectures... bank switching."(Wikipedia: Memory management unit, 2.25.23 UTC 14:43)