Different Types of Processor

What is a Processor?

A processor or micro-processor is the 'brains' of a computer system. It is the processor that controls the working of all of the hardware and software.

The processor is sometimes referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

There are many processors available and processor specification is usually one of the first things considered when buying a new personal computer (PC). The type of processor and its speed have the greatest impact on the overall performance of a computer system. Processor performance is related directly to its speed of operation and its architecture

Competition among processor manufacturers is fierce and because of this there is a wide and diverse choice of processors in the market place. Processor manufacturers, such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are continually developing more advanced processors and new models are released within the space of months rather than years. This is in stark contrast to earlier processor developments, such as the 8086, 80286 and 80386 which were released years apart.

Types of Processor

A processor connects directly to the computer's motherboard. Processors can be categorized by the way they are connected to the motherboard.

There are two main types of processor connections to motherboards:

• Sockets

• Slots

Processor Sockets

The type of processor that is connected to a socket is a square package with many pins (more than 250) on the bottom surface of the chip, which connects to a motherboard by a Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket. The pins are found around all sides of the package and there will be more than one row of pins on each side.

Processor Slot

The other form that processors take is a chip soldered on to a card, which then connects to a motherboard by a slot similar to an expansion slot. The picture slows a slot for a Pentium 3 processor.

Example Slot Processors

This picture shows a side view of a Pentium 3 processor housing including heat sink, cooling fans and power connectors. Note, the gap in the circuit board; this is here as a guide to the installer so that the processor is not incorrectly connected.

This picture shows the Pentium 3 Processor face on.

Processor Heatsinks

Due to the amount of heat generated during normal computer operation modern processors require some method of temperature control. This task is generally carried out by a heatsink. This is an aluminium alloy device, equipped with fins, that is used to dissipate heat. As well as the heatsink processors will also have a small fan attached to help reduce the build-up of heat.