CPU

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU stands for Central Processing Unit, and refers to the main computational processor in use on a given computer system The CPU's used in all Atari TOS Family were variations of the 68000 family and is commonly written as 680x0 where the x is one of the numbers that mark the class of the CPU.

MC68000

The Atari ST and Atari Mega ST series of computer uses the 8 MHz 32-bits Motorola 68000 CPU while the Atari Mega STE uses the 16 MHz version. Variant of the CPU can be found here.

MC68030

The Atari Falcon030 and Atari TT030 computers uses the 32-bits Motorola 68030 CPU. The Falcon uses the 16 MHz version while the TT uses the 32 MHz version. Variant of the CPU can be found here.

MC68060

Some hardware CPU accelerator uses this type of 32 bits CPU. Variant of the CPU can be found here.

Coldfire

The ColdFire is a microprocessor that derives from the Motorola 68000 family architecture, manufactured for embedded systems development by Freescale Semiconductor (formerly the semiconductor sector of Motorola). More information here.

Floating Point Unit (FPU)

The floating point processor is a specialized chip that is optimized to perform fast floating point arithmetic.

MC68881

The Atari ST series of computers make use of the Motorola 68881. More information about the 68881 here.

MC68882

The Atari Falcon030 and Atari TT030 series of computers make use of the Motorola 68882. More information about the 68882 here.

Digital Signal Processor (DSP)

A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.

MC56001

The Atari Falcon030 uses the Motorola 56001 DSP chip. More information about the 56001 here.