CHIP
A small piece of a computer
containing integrated circuits and transistors, and usually made
of silicon. Chips you are likely to encounter include
microprocessors (CPUs) and memory chips.
More Detailed Definition:

A small piece of semiconducting
material (usually silicon) on which an integrated circuit is
embedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inches and can
contain millions of electronic components (transistors). Computers
consist of many chips placed on electronic boards called printed
circuit boards.
There are different types of chips. For example, CPU chips (also
called microprocessors) contain an entire processing unit, whereas
memory chips contain blank memory.
Chips come in a variety of packages. The three most common are:
- DIPs : Dual in-line packages are the traditional buglike chips
that have anywhere from 8 to 40 legs, evenly divided in two rows.
- PGAs : Pin-grid arrays are square chips in which the pins are
arranged in concentric squares.
- SIPs : Single in-line packages are chips that have just one row of
legs in a straight line like a comb.
In addition to these types of chips, there are also single in-line
memory modules (SIMMs), which consist of up to nine chips packaged
as a single unit.
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