Basic Computer Terminology Explained: CPU
In this article, I want to explain a bit about computer jargon “CPU,” which is short for “central processing unit.” You can also call it just “the processor.”
Many people don’t fully understand this term, so I’m going to use very basic, plain-English methods of clarifying it that will make plenty of sense, probably more than what you may have heard before.
I’m also going to clarify why it is your PC seems to have slowed down from it was when you got it. Computers you paid a lot for one year can become one nobody would want in a year or two. I’ll explain why this is.
CPU~The computer’s processor will make a lot more sense with my help~Reading this article will help you understand the processor better~I’ll share with you a better understanding of the CPU~The processor will make a lot more sense with my help~Reading this article will help you understand your computer’s processor better~I’ll share with you a better understanding of a computer’s processor}. Once you understand this, you can better choose the right computer for you. Which you need depends on how you use it.
You can think about the computer’s processor as a brain because it is the closest equivalent to a brain in a computer. This is the part that does the main work, or “thinking”, so to speak.
Another way of thinking about it is to think of it like muscles. A low-end computer is like the weaking. A high-end computer’s processor is sort of like a Charles Atlas or Arnold Schwarzenegger, someone who is very strong, maybe takes steroids and is very big and muscular.
I want you to think about these two types — the weakling and the weight lifter. The weakling and the bodybuilder can, of course, carry a book across the room just as easily as each other. Either one of them can easily carry a book across a room.
On the other hand, what if the person is trying to lug a giant, 100-pound bag of cement, theweak person might not be able to make it across the room or possibly might not even have a hope of picking it up.
If they can get all the way across the room, they’re probably going to stagger slowly and barely make it there because they’re attempting to do something that’s just too heavy and too big for them to mange.
The bodybuilder, on the other hand, will probably notice} that the weight is much heavier than a book, but they’re going to be able to carry it across the room much more easily than the 98-pound weakling.
It can be thought of like that. A professional grade computer is like the bodybuilder. Your average-level computer is not the 98-pound weakling, but is like a normal, average person who is not particularly muscular. They could easily carry a book across a room, but couldn’t very easily, if at all, carry that huge bag of {concrete~They could easily lift a book, but walking with a giant back of cement would be really hard to do~While a light book would be no problem to carry, they might not be able to do so well with the heavy concrete bag~The cement bag obviously would be a nearly impossible chore, and much harder than a mere book~While a book would be an easy task to carry, the concrete bag wouldn’t be so easy~They couldn’t carry something as heavy as a bag of concrete nearly as easily as a simple book, if they could at all~It would be easy for them to stroll accross a room with a book, but they’d be staggering if they tried hefting the giant cement bag}.
cement?~OK, so you may be wondering what the cement or the book are in practical terms?~In real terms, what do the cement and the book represent?~What is the concrete?} What is the book~What do I mean by the book~What does the book represent~What is the book like~Are you wondering what the book represents~Wondering what I mean by the book~Are you asking yourself what I mean with the book example~What does the example of the book represent~Just what do I mean by the book}? Let me share with you one or two examples. Most people are doing a few things with their computer. They’re writing, using a word processor like Word, or reading their emails.
They’re looking at web pages, listening to some music, watching some little video like a DVD or looking at some photographs. These are common things. Those are equivalent to carrying a book or something light across a room. Most modern computers have no problem with these things.
Things like editing video, is a bigger, heavier task for the computer to work with.
You could also think of playing the latest and greatest computer games. Those activities are more like carrying that big bag of concrete, so they do need a high-end computer.
Finally, I want to explain is why it is, over the course of time, what used to be a high-end~powerful computer goes from being Charles Atlas to being a 98-pound weakling.
You tend to get more complicated programs as new versions come out. They are not necessarily more complicated to use, but under the hood they are.
As the years go by, it’s kind of like they get heavier. The average weight has gotten greater over the years so that what used to be light and easy for an older computer is now heavy and harder to do.
I hope that makes sense, even if you’ve never had much luck learning computer basics before now. It actually can be a snap with the best computer training.
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