- In computing, a processor is the unit that reads and executes program instructions and provides expected output
- Clock speed plays major role in determining the speed of the processors
- Initially it was started at 20MHz and later gone up to 3.8GHz
- Later the situation was such that they could not increase the clock speed. So they researched about other aspects where they could improve the speed of processing
- So they came up with MULTI-CORE TECHNOLOGY.
Cores and Multi-Cores
- Initially processors were originally developed with only one core
- The core is the part of the processor that actually performs the reading and executing of the instruction
- Single-core processors can only process one instruction at a time
- A multi-core processor is a processing system composed of two or more independent cores. It is an integrated circuit(IC) to which two or more individual processors (called cores in this sense) have been attached
- So if a system has more cores, the more strength it has.
- One best example you could think off is, just imagine what if you had 4 hands instead of two..? that means you can work faster.. :)
- But there is certain limit on it, which i will dicuss in future posts.
- But more number of cores does not mean that performance of the system will always be better than before.
- That is because suppose if you have 4 hands but your mind is not able to utilize the 4 hands efficiently, so whats the use of having four hands then..?
- It is the same case in today's Computer Industry. Hardware improvement isn't just enough, there has to be change in software trend to improve efficient usage of the multi-core technology.
- Always remember the basic thing about computer
Hardware + Software = Computer
- Of-course that's not exactly accurate in today's trend, i mean there is many more additions to the above like firmware,etc.. But the above equation is the very basic one.
Other Issues :
- Currently computer market has hardware that will only run at full speed with parallel programs. But unfortunately number of programmers who write such supportable and efficient programs are very less…
- Usually Parallel computing requires,the problems to be decomposed into sub-problems that can be safely solved at the same time(concurrently)
- The programmer structures the code and data to solve these sub-problems concurrently.
- There are various tools that help the programmer achieve this, which i will discuss in next post,click here to go to next post.