Computer Jargon Explained: CPU or Processor

In this lesson, I’d like to explain something about a computer term “CPU,” which is short for “central processing unit.” It’s also sometimes just referred to as just “the processor.”

Many people don’t fully grasp this term, so I will use very simple, plain-English ways of clarifying it that are going to just make sense, much more than what you’ve probably heard before today.

I’m also going to explain to you why it is your computer seems to be slower than it used to be. I’ll also explain why a high end computer can end up as a low end one.

I’ll share with you a better understanding of the processor. Once you understand this, you can better choose the right computer for you. That depends on what you’re doing with it.

You can think about the computer’s processor as a brain because it is the closest equivalent to a brain in a computer. It’s the part that “thinks”.

Another way of thinking about it is to think of it like muscles. A computer that has a low-end processor, not one of the fastest ones on the market, is like that stereotypical 98-pound weakling. A high-end computer’s processor is sort of like a Charles Atlas or Arnold Schwarzenegger, someone who is very strong, maybe takes steroids and is very big and muscular.

Think about them – the regular guy and then the “Mr. Universe” type. Either of them could carry the book across the room with ease, so it’s no big advantage being a weightlifter. Either one of them can easily carry a book across a room.

But, what if the person is instead trying to lift a big, 100-pound bag of concrete, theweak guy might not be able to make it across the room or possibly might not even have a hope of lifting it.

If they can get all the way across the room, they’re probably going to stagger slowly and barely make it since they’re trying to do something that’s just too heavy for them to mange.

The bodybuilder, on the other hand, will couldn’t miss that the weight is more than a book, but they’ll be able to carry it across the room much more easily than the 98-pound weakling.

You can think of it like that. A professional level computer is like the bodybuilder. Your average-level computer is not the 98-pound weakling, but is like a normal, average person who is not particularly muscular. While a book would be an easy task to carry, the cement bag wouldn’t be so easy.

OK, so you may be wondering what the cement or the book are in practical terms? What does the book represent? Let me give you some examples. Most people are doing a few things with their computer. They’re writing, using a word processor like Word, or reading their emails.

They’re looking at web pages, listening to some music, watching some little video like a DVD or looking at some photographs. Those are average things. Those are equivalent to carrying a book or something light across a room. A modern computer can do this stuff without breaking a sweat.

Things like or making changes to a large, super-high-quality photograph from an expensive pro camera, is a bigger, heavier task for the computer to work with.

Playing the latest and greatest computer games is another great example. Those activities are more like carrying that big bag of concrete, so they do need a high-end computer.

Lastly, I want to explain is why, as time goes by, what used to be a high-end~powerful computer goes from being Charles Atlas to being a 98-pound weakling.

Newer programs tend to be more complicated than older versions. Some cars are more powerful and sophistocated, but it doesn’t necessarily make them more complex to drive, and the same can be true with computers.

As the years go by, it’s kind of like they get heavier. The typical “weight” has grown over time and so becomes harder for the computer to deal with.

I hope that makes sense, even if you’ve never had much luck learning basics of computer skills so far. It actually can be a lot simpler than you may have thought with a good source of computer training.