The processor, also called the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of a computer. The CPU handles all the basic commands you input and allocates those that are more complicated to other components of your device. It does the fundamental computing within the system, and directly or indirectly controls all the other components. The CPU is a square or rectangle shaped silicon chip with millions of microscopic transistors. The chip is covered by hundreds of rounded, metallic, short connector pins. The CPU gets attached to the motherboard of a PC via a specialized socket that corresponds with the connector pins on the CPU. CPUs consist of three main parts the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), control unit (CU) and memory unit. A CPU contains at least one processor or “Core”. The Core is the chip inside of the CPU that performs calculations. CPUs produce a lot of heat. Cooling fans and heat sinks are normally connected to the top of the CPU to keep it running smoothly and from overheating. Some PCs are built with an advanced watering cooling kit to cool not only the CPU but the GPU and RAM too. There are only two true manufacturers of processors, Intel and AMD (Jone, 2020).
The processor is also one of the most essential
components for a gaming PC because it is important for
overall system performance. The processor is one of the
most difficult parts to upgrade, while others like
storage, memory, and graphics cards are easy. The
general advice is to purchase the best processor you can
and upgrade the other components (Hoslok, 2019).
The CPU is a very complicated and one of the most importnat components of a PC. The links and vidoes below provide additonal and more in depth inforomation about CPUs
Compare current processors and specifications
Parts of a CPU and Their Functions
AMD Ryzen 3,5, and 7 Explained