Computer Hardware Processor The processor or Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of the computer Controls all functions of the computer Its processing speed is measured in hertz (Hz) –Current systems run at GHz speeds (billion machine cycles per second) –Not the only determinant of overall computer speed Modern systems have multiple processors or cores 11 Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012 Introduction to Information and Computer Science Basic Computing Concepts Including History Lecture a Intel 80486DX CPU (Dunn, 2005)
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