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What is the full form of CPU?

Full form of CPU: Here, we are going to learn about the CPU, components of CPU, types of CPU and history. By Anushree Goswami Last updated : March 26, 2024

CPU: Central Processing Unit

CPU is an abbreviation of the Central Processing Unit. A particular region which is called the CPU socket is the region where the CPU gets installed inside the motherboard for the processing of other inputs and outputs of the computer.

It conducts all the fundamental arithmetical and logical operations of functioning and conveys out commands and programs of the computer. Conventionally, the term CPU alludes to a processor that comprises the control unit and arithmetical logical unit. CPU is also called as the brain of the computer.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) = Arithmetical Logical Unit (ALU) + Control Unit (CU)

Components of CPUs

1. Arithmetic Logic Unit

This is a crucial segment of the CPU. This is being the main cause for conducting all the logical and arithmetical operations.

2. Control Unit

It is the most significant segment of the CPU. It commands the whole computer system to perform a specific task.

3. Registers

They are a unique and notable category of memory devices. A processor register or CPU register is one of a small scale order of data holding regions that are the segment of the processor of the computer. A register may carry a command, an address of storage, or any type of data.

Types of CPUs

Following are the three major types of CPU,

• Transistor CPUs
• Small Scale Integration CPUs
• Large Scale Integration CPUs

History of CPUs

Initially, in the 1960s, the term CPU in the Computer industry was first introduced. CPU appeared with the arrival of the stored-program computer, originally the term CPU was used to describe a device for software implementation. Some of the major occurrences associated with the history of CPU are in the following points,

• In 1823, the fundamental constituent of processors, Silicon, was discovered by Baron Jons JackobIn.
• Electrical logic circuits such as gates or switches are patented by Nicola Tesla in 1903.
• At Bell Laboratories, the first transistor was developed by John Barden, Walter Brattain and William Shockley in 1947.
• The first integrated circuit was invented by Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby in 1958.
• The Intel 4004, the first microprocessor was launched by Intel on 15 November 1971.
• The AM386 microprocessor family was launched by AMD in March 1991.
• The Pentium processor, which has a 60 MHz processor with 3.1 million transistors, was launched by Intel, on 22 March 1993.
• The Celeron 553 MHz bus processor was launched by Intel, on 4 January 2000.
• The Core 2 Duo processor was launched by Intel, on 22 April 2006.
• The first Core i7 Desktop processors were launched by Intel in November 2008.
• The first Core i5 Mobile processors such as i5-430M and i5-520E etc, were launched by Intel in January 2010.