The CPU, or central processing unit, is the component of a computer that processes instructions and information. It controls all other parts of the computer. The CPU is made up of millions of tiny switches called transistors mounted on a silicon chip. The speed at which a CPU processes data is measured in megahertz or gigahertz, and processors are becoming faster, with one gigahertz equaling one billion cycles per second. The main manufacturers of CPUs today are Intel, which produces Pentium chips, and AMD, which produces Athlon chips, though other manufacturers like IBM also exist.