Understanding Computer Hardware from CPU to Cache
Understanding Computer Hardware from CPU to Cache Understanding computer hardware helps you pick a PC, troubleshoot slow software, or just learn how computers work. This article focuses on the CPU and its cache, and shows how data moves from fast cores to slower memory. How the CPU fits into a system The CPU is the brain that performs calculations and makes decisions. Most desktops and laptops today have several cores. Each core can execute its own tasks, and some CPUs support multi‑threading, letting a core handle more than one thread at a time. The CPU talks to memory and storage through the motherboard and controllers. Key ideas to know are cores, threads, clock speed, cache, and memory bandwidth. ...