Chapter 4 - Cpus

Front 1

CPU

Back 1

Central Processing Unit, or the brain of the computer.

Front 2

ALU

Back 2

Arithematic Logical Unit, handles all simple mathematical equations.

Front 3

MCC

Back 3

Memory controller card

Front 4

EDB

Back 4

Primary route for all data on a PC

Front 5

What is a register in relevance to a CPU?

Back 5

Registers are tiny storage areas located on the CPU, made up of tiny microscopic semiconductor circuits that hold charges.

Front 6

What is RAM?

Back 6

Random Access Memory. RAM stores any data that the CPU actively uses.

Front 7

Define a "1 or 0"

Back 7

"A bit"

Front 8

Define "a nibble"

Back 8

4 bits

Front 9

Define a "byte"

Back 9

8 bits

Front 10

Define a "word"

Back 10

16 bits

Front 11

Define a "double word"

Back 11

32 bits

Front 12

Define a "paragraph or a quad word"

Back 12

64 bits

Front 13

Describe RAM's physical appearance

Back 13

RAM is consisted of groups of semiconductor chips soldered onto small cards. These snap into place on a motherboard.

Front 14

Describe the "random access" part of RAM

Back 14

The CPU must be able to access any row quickly, and easily.

Front 15

What is DRAM?

Back 15

Computers use dynamic RAM (DRAM) for the main system memory. DRAM requires both a constant electrical charge, and a periodic refresh of the circuits. Otherwise, it loses data. This is why its considered dynamic, rather than static.

Front 16

What do HDDs and RAM have in common?

Back 16

While they are both memory devices, RAM data is not permanent, where HDD data is permanent data storage.

Front 17

How does the CPU and RAM connect?

Back 17

Memory controller card. This chip helps the CPU express which row of RAM it wants, and the memory to supply it with that row. The MCC is comprised of special circuitry so it can grab any single line of RAM and place that data or command on the EDB.

Front 18

How does the CPU tell the MCC which specific line of RAM it wants?

Back 18

The address bus helps the CPU advocate which specific piece of data it is requesting of the MCC. These wires can vary in number based on CPU. These wires are very important.

Front 19

What architechture of CPU uses simpler, energy-efficient designs?

Back 19

ARM. That stands for reduced instruction set computing, or RISC architechture.

Front 20

What architechture of CPU are more powerful, but have increased power cost?

Back 20

Intel and AMD. Or, complex instruction set computing. (CISC)

Front 21

What are the chip names for Intel brand CPU?

Back 21

Core, Pentium, Celeron. Low power and portable chips are Atom. High end chips are Xeon.

Front 22

What does AMD stand for?

Back 22

Advanced Micro Devices. The only company capable of keeping cutthroat competition on Intel's back.

Front 23

In the mainstream and enthusiast desktop market, what Intel CPUs and AMD CPUs are typically utilized?

Back 23

For Intel, the i7, i5, and i3. For AMD, A-series and the FX series.

Front 24

In the budget desktop market, what CPUs are typically utilized?

Back 24

For Intel, Pentium and Celeron. For AMD, Sempron and Athlon.

Front 25

In the portable and mobile market, what CPUs are typically utilized?

Back 25

For Intel, i3, i5, and i7 all have mobile versions, as well as the Core M, and their Atom chips. For AMD, the A-series.

Front 26

In the server market, what CPUs are typically utilized?

Back 26

For Intel, their Xeon chips. For AMD, their Opteron chips.

Front 27

What is a code name?

Back 27

The information printed on the CPU's face. Each piece of letter or numbering stands for a specific meaning, ultimately labeling the manufacturer, series, socket type, and SKU.

Front 28

What is speedstep technology?

Back 28

Speedstep technology was created by Intel. Its designed to allow the CPU to run in low power mode, and if an application calls for more demand in power. The CPU will scale in power usage to accomodate.

Front 29

What is it reffered to as, when the CPU is purposely run in a lower power than it is meant for?

Back 29

Throttling

Front 30

What are some features in which engineers have improved upon CPUs?

Back 30

Clock multipliers

64-bit processing

Virtualization support

Parallel execution

Multicore processing

Integrated memory controller (IMC)

Integrated graphics processing unit

Security

Front 31

X86 systems process what kind of processing?

Back 31

These are 32 bit systems, and are only capable of running 32 bit software.

Front 32

What does LGA stand for?

Back 32

Land Grid Array, the socket type for Intel based motherboards.

Front 33

What does PGA stand for?

Back 33

Pin grid array, the socket type for AMD processors.

Front 34

When placing in a CPU, what is it reffered to in regards to how easily it falls into place?

Back 34

Zero insertion force.

Front 35

What is the process a CPU functions in to recieve data, process it, and return results to you?

Back 35

Fetch

Decode

Execute

Write

Hint 35

There are four steps

Front 36

Other than the ALU, what other mathematical unit has special wiring in the CPU to allow for more intricate mathematical calculations?

Back 36

The FPU, or the Floating Point Unit.

Front 37

What is a cache?

Back 37

A cache is data that is consistently stored on RAM for the computer to easily be able to reference it later.

Front 38

To reduce wait states, what kind of RAM was designed?

Back 38

SRAM, or static random access memory.

Front 39

After awhile, the address bus and external data bus were put together into a single term. What was this term?

Back 39

The frontside bus

Front 40

After awhile, the connection between the CPU and the L2 cache became known as the what?

Back 40

The backside bus