its 80 × 86 series of CPU chips (i.e., 80386, 80486, . . .) and then its PentiumTM
chip (i.e., Pentium 4 or P4) series. In the large computer world, IBM (International
Business Machines) is probably the most recognized name.
One measure of CPU processing capacity is called MIPS (“millions of
instructions per second.”) Although not a totally accurate measure, it is
useful to see the growth of processing capacity over time. Intel’s 80386 chip,
produced in 1985, was rated at 5 MIPS. Intel’s Pentium chip, introduced
8 years later in 1993, was rated at 100 MIPS—about 20 times faster. Intel’s
Pentium 4 chip, made 7 years later in 2000, was rated at 1700 MIPS.
All CPUs have three basic elements: a control unit, an arithmetic logic
unit (ALU), and an internal memory unit. The ALU performs all the mathematical
operations, the control unit determines where and when to send
information being used by the ALU, and the internal memory is used to
hold and store information for those operations. The CPU has an internal
system clock that it uses to keep everything in synchronized order. The
clock’s speed is described in terms of frequency, using megahertz (MHz) or
gigahertz (GHz), so a CPU might be described as having a clock speed of
450 MHz or 2.4 GHz. Generally, the faster the clock, the faster the CPU can
process information.
Storage
Thememoryof a computer is not the place to store information and programs