The control unit (often called a control system or central controller) manages the computer's various components; it reads and interprets (decodes) the program instructions, transforming them into a series of control signals which activate other parts of the computer.[38] Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of some instructions so as to improve performance.A key component common to all CPUs is theprogram counter, a special memory cell (a register) that keeps track of which location in memory the next instruction is to be read from.[39]
The control system's function is as follows—note that this is a simplified description, and some of these steps may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type of CPU:
