ALU Definition Stands for “Arithmetic Logic Unit.” An ALU is an integrated circuit within a CPU or GPU that performs arithmetic and logic operations. Arithmetic instructions include addition, subtraction, and shifting operations, while logic instructions include boolean comparisons, such as AND, OR, XOR, and NOT operations. ALUs are designed to perform integer calculations. Therefore, besides adding and subtracting numbers, ALUs often handle the multiplication of ..
Category : Hardware
APU Definition An APU is a processor that includes both the CPU and GPU on a single chip. The name “APU” was coined by AMD, which released the first APU in January, 2011. For many years, CPUs handled all non-graphics calculations, while GPUs were only used for graphics operations. As GPU performance increased, hardware manufacturers and software programmers realized GPUs had a lot of unused ..
Quad-Core Definition A quad-core CPU has four processing cores in a single chip. It is similar to a dual-core CPU, but has four separate processors (rather than two), which can process instructions at the same time. Quad-core CPUs have become more popular in recent years as the clock speeds of processors have plateaued. By including multiple cores in a single CPU, chip manufacturers ..
Dual-Core Definition A dual-core processor is a CPU with two processors or “execution cores” in the same integrated circuit. Each processor has its own cache and controller, which enables it to function as efficiently as a single processor. However, because the two processors are linked together, they can perform operations up to twice as fast as a single processor can. ..
Multiprocessing Definition For many years, the speed of computer processors increased through improvements in the architecture and clock speed of processors. However, in recent years, chip manufacturers have reached a limit in how small they can make the transistors inside CPUs without them overheating. Therefore, using multiple processors, or multiprocessing, has become the next step in increasing computing performance. Multiprocessing can ..
Multi-Core Definition Multi-core technology refers to CPUs that contain two or more processing cores. These cores operate as separate processors within a single chip. By using multiple cores, processor manufacturers can increase the performance of a CPU without raising the processor clock speed. Since the upper threshold of clock speeds has leveled out during recent years, multi-core processors have become ..
Toslink Definition Toslink is a type of digital audio connection developed by Toshiba Corporation. It uses a fiber optic cable to transmit an audio signal in the form of pulses of light. A single Toslink cable can be used to carry a mono, stereo, or even a surround audio signal. Toslink is similar to the Sony/Philips Digital Interfance, known ..
Fiber Optic Cable Definition Fiber optic cable is a high-speed data transmission medium. It contains tiny glass or plastic filaments that carry light beams. Digital data is transmitted through the cable via rapid pulses of light. The receiving end of a fiber optic transmission translates the light pulses into binary values, which can be read by a computer. Because fiber optic ..
CISC Definition Stands for “Complex Instruction Set Computing.” This is a type of microprocessor design. The CISC architecture contains a large set of computer instructions that range from very simple to very complex and specialized. Though the design was intended to compute complex instructions in the most efficient way, it was later found that many ..
Cable Modem Definition A cable modem is a peripheral device used to connect to the Internet. It operates over coax cable TV lines and provides high-speed Internet access. Since cable modems offer an always-on connection and fast data transfer rates, they are considered broadband devices. Dial-up modems, which were popular in the early years of the Internet, offered speeds close to 56 Kbps over analog ..
Recent Comments