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CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide

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discrete microprocessor that differs in both function and architecture from the

CPUs designed for general-purpose computing. The generic term for the

video processor is a graphics processing unit (GPU). I’ll spare you the details

until we get to video in Chapter 17, but it turns out that graphics processors

can handle certain tasks much more efficiently than the standard CPU.

Integrating a GPU into the CPU enhances the overall performance of the

computer while at the same time reducing energy use, size, and cost. With the

proliferation of mobile devices and portable computers today, all these

benefits have obvious merit.

Both Intel and AMD produce CPUs with integrated GPUs. For many

years, the quality of the GPU performance with demanding graphical

programs like games made the choice between the two easy. The Intel HD

Graphics and Intel Iris Pro Graphics integrated into many Core i3/i5/i7

processors pale in comparison with the AMD accelerated processing unit

(APU), such as the AMD A10. AMD bought one of the two dedicated GPU

manufacturers—ATI—years ago and used their technology for

microprocessors with integrated CPU and GPU. (The Xbox One and

PlayStation 4 gaming systems, for example, use AMD APUs.) Intel is slowly

closing the gap.

Security

All modern processors employ the NX bit technology that enables the CPU to

protect certain sections of memory. This feature, coupled with

implementation by the operating system, stops malicious attacks from getting

to essential operating system files. Microsoft calls the feature Data Execution

Prevention (DEP), turned on by default in every OS (see Figure 3-32).

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