| Forum Home | ||||
| Press F1 | ||||
| Thread ID: 80387 | 2007-06-21 00:48:00 | microprocessor or CPU? | newb. (10067) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 561215 | 2007-06-21 00:48:00 | Am I correct in saying that a microprocessor is the same as a CPU? And a microcomputer is the same as personal computer? | newb. (10067) | ||
| 561216 | 2007-06-21 00:59:00 | Yep pretty much :thumbs: unless i am also wrong anyone else keen to correct me? |
MAC_H8ER (5897) | ||
| 561217 | 2007-06-21 00:59:00 | Yes. Microcomputer is just a term from the late 70's and early 80's used to describe the difference between the big fridge sized commercial computers and the likes of Amiga, the Apple I and II, the Commodore 64 etc. Now days you use a "personal computer" aka "workstation" or "dumb terminal" at work to connect to a server. | winmacguy (3367) | ||
| 561218 | 2007-06-21 01:03:00 | And now Core 2 Duo's have 2 microprocessor's on one chip and 4 on a Quad Core etc. | beeswax34 (63) | ||
| 561219 | 2007-06-21 01:20:00 | Am I correct in saying that a microprocessor is the same as a CPU? And a microcomputer is the same as personal computer? It is likely you will have a microprocessor in your fridge or washing machine. Try running an operating system on it though. :eek: |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 561220 | 2007-06-21 01:49:00 | And now Core 2 Duo's have 2 microprocessor's on one chip and 4 on a Quad Core etc. With 8 microprocessors on a Dual Quad Core setup.:cool: |
winmacguy (3367) | ||
| 561221 | 2007-06-21 02:13:00 | en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org |
Rob99 (151) | ||
| 561222 | 2007-06-21 05:06:00 | The "microprocessor" name was initially applied to processing elements which were essentially in one chip, and, usually 8-bit at a time when "real" CPUs were 16-bit at least. I've got a PDP11 minicomputer whose 16-bit CPU is on 6 large boards. Some mainframe CPUs occupied several rack cabinets. I've got a microVax minicomputer whose 32-bit CPU is on one chip. It's called a microVax because it uses a "microprocessor". Some of the later PDP11s also used the micro11 chips and their CPU cards were 1/3 the size of each of the Unibus PDP11 boards. The Z80 was a popular 8-bit microprocessor, and it's still used in many disk controllers. The 8042 was a processor+programme microcomputer used as the keyboard controller of the PC. It would be reasonable to call the processing element of a PC a "CPU" rather than a "microprocessor", because they are 32-bit or even 64-bit. They are more powerful than many mainframe computers of the 1970s, and although they are in one package their power consumption is comparable. :D Mostly, "micros" these days are called "microcontrollers", and they almost all have internal programme storage. They are the hundreds of computers built into some modern cars. I supppose the name should depend on the function (basically computation or control): a breadmaker would use a microprocessor (microcontroller) to time operations. It's not a computer. A car can send a signal through the data wire to lock all the doors. It uses microcontrollers on the locks. The central processor might be a CPU. PDAs ... ? |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 1 | |||||