direct correlation; positive correlation (a correlation in which large values of one variable are associated with large values of the other and small with small; the correlation coefficient is between 0 and +1).
Quick Answer. A computer's processor is the control center for the computer, and it carries out the computations that allow the computer to function. The circuits in this central processing unit (or CPU) send commands to the other components of the computer to run programs, accept input and produce output. Continue Reading.
Bottom side of an Intel 80486DX2, showing its pins. A central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. The computer industry has used the term central processing unit at least since the early 1960s.