How is parallel processing handled by modern CPUs?

Modern CPUs handle parallel processing through multiple cores, hyper-threading technology, and instruction-level parallelism.

Parallel processing is a method of simultaneously executing multiple tasks or processes. This is achieved in modern Central Processing Units (CPUs) through a combination of multiple cores, hyper-threading technology, and instruction-level parallelism.

Multiple cores in a CPU allow for the simultaneous execution of multiple threads. Each core in a CPU can process its own task or thread, thus enabling the CPU to handle multiple tasks at the same time. This is known as multi-core processing. For example, a quad-core processor can theoretically process four tasks simultaneously.

Hyper-threading is another technology used by modern CPUs to handle parallel processing. This technology, developed by Intel, allows a single CPU core to execute two threads simultaneously. It achieves this by utilising resources in the CPU that would otherwise be idle during the execution of a single thread. This effectively doubles the number of threads that a CPU can handle at any given time, thus increasing its parallel processing capabilities.

Instruction-level parallelism (ILP) is a technique used in CPU design to increase performance. It involves executing multiple instructions from a single thread simultaneously, rather than sequentially. Modern CPUs achieve ILP through a combination of pipelining and superscalar execution. Pipelining is a technique where multiple instructions are overlapped in execution, much like an assembly line in a factory. Superscalar execution, on the other hand, involves executing more than one instruction during a single clock cycle.

In summary, modern CPUs handle parallel processing through a combination of multiple cores, hyper-threading technology, and instruction-level parallelism. These technologies and techniques allow modern CPUs to execute multiple tasks or processes simultaneously, thus significantly increasing their performance and efficiency.