CPU Central Processing Unit P2 Understand hardware technologies for game platforms CPU Central Processing Unit P2 -Central processor unit (CPU): types; speed; cache; address/data bus

Can you think of any brands that make CPU’s? What is a CPU? A Central Processing Unit is the brains of the computer, device or gaming platform. Also known as the processor or microprocessor. The CPU is responsible for executing a sequence of stored instructions called a program. Can you think of any brands that make CPU’s?

Intel AMD

How does a CPU work It processes instructions that it gathers from decoding the code in programs and other such files. A CPU has four primary functions:  Fetch: Retrieves the instruction that it needs to run from program memory. Decode: Breaks the code down to Assembly Language. Execute: Calculate extremely complicated mathematical functions and move data from one memory location to another. Write back: Takes the output and writes it into the computer’s memory

Does a higher CPU speed mean it’s automatically better? A CPU's clock speed rate is a measure of how many clock cycles a CPU can perform per second. A CPU with a clock rate of 2.0 GHz can perform 2,000,000,000 clock cycles per second. Does a higher CPU speed mean it’s automatically better?

CPU Speed No It’s important to look not just at clock cycles but at the amount of work a CPU can do per clock cycle. Fewer clock cycles with more work are better than more clock cycles with less. So fewer clock cycles means the CPU requires less power and produces less heat. This is why a current generation Intel I7 is significantly faster than a Pentium 4 from 2006. Even if they had the same Clock cycle speed.

CPU Cores Multi Core CPU’s such as dual or quad core processors have several CPU’s on one chip. A dual core processor literally has 2 CPU’s. This helps dramatically improve performance while keeping the physical CPU unit small so it fits in a single socket. Great for multi-tasking. There only needs to be a single CPU socket with a single CPU unit inserted into it — not four different CPU sockets with four different CPUs, each needing their own power, cooling, and other hardware.

Hyper-Threading Technology A technology that tricks the operating system into thinking there is multiple cores when there isn’t. So a signal core CPU with Hyper-Threading Technology will show as having 2 cores. This is helpful for multi tasking but ultimately not as good as actually having two physical cores.

Cache The cache is used by the CPU of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory(RAM). The cache is a smaller, faster memory(Compared to RAM or a Hard Drive) which stores copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations. The more cache a processor has the lower the latency between transferring data back and forth while the CPU works.

Address/ data bus Buses are circuits on the motherboard that connect the CPU to other components. There are many buses on the motherboard. A bus moves instructions and data around the system. The bus that connects the CPU to the memory is called the front-sided bus (FSB) or system bus.

Address/ data bus The FSB contains two types of bus: Address bus - When the computer processor needs to read or write from or to the memory, it uses the address bus to specify the physical address of the individual memory block it needs to access (the actual data is sent along the data bus).The address bus only sends data in one direction - from the CPU to RAM. Data bus - this sends data to the memory or receives data from the memory. Data can flow both ways along the data bus. A data bus simply carries data.

CPU - Understanding hardware technologies for game platforms Put together a table containing a latest/recent high end processor from Intel & AMD for Pc’s. Then include Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4(You could include other gaming platforms if you wish) CPU specs. Include model name, speed, cores and cache. Introduce CPU’s and what they are, CPU speed, Cores(Including Hyper-threading), Cache and finally FSB including Address and data bus. Make sure to explain why a Xbox 360 CPU is not more power full than an xbox one despite a higher clock rate(GHz). As always include reference and examples