The CPU Quiz

1.       What is the function of the CPU?The function of the CPU is to perform operations which make your computer run. At one point or another, EVERY bit (8 bits = 1 byte) of data goes through the CPU and is processed in some way. It is the heart of every computer and is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip. It is an engine that does the calculations and make things happen. The powerful the CPU, the faster the machine can operate.

2.       What was the name of the first CPU?The name of the first CPU was the Intel 4004 created in 1971. It was not very powerful as all it could do was add and subtract, and could only do that 4 bits at a time.

3.       Referring to the graph on page 2 of the article, describe how the speed of CPU’s has changed.The speed of CPU's has changed dramatically as technology has developed. In 1974, the 8080 had a MIPS of 0.64, whilst in 2004, the Pentium "Prescott" had a MIPS of ~7,000. The speed of CPU's has multiplied by basically 7000 from 1974 to 2004.

4.       What does MIPS measure?MIPS stands for "millions of instructions per second". It is a rough measure of the performance of a CPU.
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1.       Research (Google it) what is a dual core processor, what is multitasking and how do the two work together.
A dual core processor is a CPU with two separate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. It's the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one.