What’s the Meaning of CPU in Computer Terms

cpu defined

In this lesson, I want to talk about a little bit about computer jargon “CPU,” which is short for “central processing unit.” It’s also sometimes just referred to as just “the processor.”

A lot of people don’t fully grasp this term, so I will use some very simple, plain-English methods of explaining it that are going to make a lot of sense, probably more than what you may have heard before.

I’m also going to clarify why it is your computer seems to have slowed down from it used to be. After a while, all computers, no matter how good, become incapable of doing much. I’ll explain why this is.

I’m going to help you understand a little bit more about the {processor~The processor will make a lot more sense with my help~Reading this article will help you understand the computer’s processor better~I’ll share with you a better understanding of the processor~The CPU 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. And that all depends 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 component that does the main processing, which is more or less like thinking.

Another way of thinking about it is to think of it like muscles. The under-powered computer is like the weakling getting sand kicked in his face in the old Charles Atlas ads. A high-end 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.

Think about those two people, the 98-pound weakling and the bodybuilder. Carrying a book across a room is no challenge to either the bodybuilder or the weakling. Either one of them can easily carry a book across a room.

But, what if the person is trying to lift a huge, 100-pound bag of concrete, the98-pound weakling might not be able to cross the room or might not even be able to pick it up.

If they do actually make it across the room, they’re probably going to stagger slowly and barely make it across since they’re attempting to do something that’s just too heavy and too big for them to do.

The bodybuilder, on the other hand, will probably notice} that the weight is more than a book, but they’ll be able to carry it across the room much more easily than the 98-pound weakling.

That’s a great way to think about it. A high-end computer is like the weightlifter. The mid-level computer is, as you might expect, something like a person of average strength. 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 concrete 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 concrete bag}.

So what do I mean by the {concrete?~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’s the concrete?} What’s 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 give you some 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 average 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 making a DVD movie with footage that you’ve shot with your camcorder, is a bigger, heavier task for the computer to work with.

Playing the latest and greatest computer games is another great example. Those activities are more like carrying that big bag of concrete, so they do need a high-end computer.

The last thing I want to speak about is why it is, as time goes by, what once was 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.

So you can think of them as becoming heavier over time. 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 basics of computer up to this point. It actually can be a lot simpler than you may have thought with a good source of computer training.

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