Related topics: computer chips

HP Labs find memristors can compute (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at HP Labs, the central research arm of HP, have discovered that a resistor with memory, a “memristor” can also perform logic operations. This means chips storing data may also be able to ...

New software design technique allows programs to run faster

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new approach to software development that will allow common computer programs to run up to 20 percent faster and possibly incorporate new security ...

Fujitsu develops world's fastest processor

(AP) -- Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday that it has successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer processing unit with more than twice the speed of the current leader.

Small tilt in magnets makes them viable memory chips

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new way to switch the polarization of nanomagnets, paving the way for high-density storage to move from hard disks onto integrated circuits.

Researchers capture wasted heat, use it to power devices

(Phys.org) —Imagine how much you could save on your electricity bill if you could use the excess heat your computer generates to actually power the machine. Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and ...

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Central processing unit

A central processing unit (CPU) or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs. This term has been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are made for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured to tolerances on the order of nanometers. Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones and children's toys.

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