The CPU

1.       What is the function of the CPU?

The function of the CPU is to perform operations that allow the computer to run.

2.       What was the name of the first CPU?

The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in 1971.

3.       Referring to the graph on page 2 of the article, describe how the speed of CPU’s has changed.

The speed, transistors, microns, clock speed, data width and MIPS have all increase a significant amount since model 8080 to model pentium 4.

Name	Date	Transistors	Microns	Clock speed	Data width	MIPS
8080	1974	6,000	6	2 MHz	8 bits	0.64
8088	1979	29,000	3	5 MHz	16 bits 8-bit bus	0.33
80286	1982	134,000	1.5	6 MHz	16 bits	1
80386	1985	275,000	1.5	16 MHz	32 bits	5
80486	1989	1,200,000	1	25 MHz	32 bits	20
Pentium	1993	3,100,000	0.8	60 MHz	32 bits 64-bit bus	100
Pentium II	1997	7,500,000	0.35	233 MHz	32 bits 64-bit bus	~300
Pentium III	1999	9,500,000	0.25	450 MHz	32 bits 64-bit bus	~510
Pentium 4	2000	42,000,000	0.18	1.5 GHz	32 bits 64-bit bus	~1,700
Pentium 4 "Prescott"	2004	125,000,000	0.09	3.6 GHz	32 bits 64-bit bus	~7,000

4.       What does MIPS measure?

 MIPS stands for "millions of instructions per second" and is a rough measure of the performance of a CPU