Beginner · Systems

CPU

Visual diagram · (in preparation) · Math · (in preparation) · Worked example · 3 difficulty levels.

TL;DR. Central Processing Unit — the general-purpose chip that runs most software.

Technical Definition

Central Processing Unit — the general-purpose chip that runs most software.

How it works

CPUs handle complex branching logic well but are far slower than GPUs at the parallel matrix math used in deep learning. Still essential for data preprocessing, orchestration, classical ML, and inference of small models at the edge.

Related Concepts

• GPU — Graphics Processing Unit — a massively parallel processor that powers most modern AI workloads.
• TPU — Tensor Processing Unit — Google's custom-designed AI accelerator chip.
• Accelerator — Any specialized hardware designed to run AI workloads faster or more efficiently than a general CPU.