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21 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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what is the CPU often described as ? |
The brain of the computer |
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Wheredoes CPU fetch the data and instructions from and where does it store them?
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The CPU fetches data and instructions from main memory then stores it in its own internal temporary memory areas.
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What is the name of the internal temporary memory areas?
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Registers
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For the fetch part of the cycle to happen, the CPU placesthe address of the next item in a vital hardware path. What is this called?
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The address bus.
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Data from this bus then moves from the main memory into the CPU by travelling along another bus. What is its name?
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Data bus.
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The next step is for the CPU to make sense of the instructions, what is this process called?
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Decode.
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TheCPU is designed to understand a specific set of commands which are differentfor every make of CPU. What are these set of commands called?
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The instruction set.
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The CPU decodes the instructions but what does it do next?
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prepares various areas within the chip in readiness of the next step
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What is the name of the part of the cycle where the actualdata processing takes place?
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Execute
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what are the three main jobs of the control unit |
· It controls and monitors the hardware attached to the system to make sure that the commands given to it by the applicationsoftware are used. For example, if you send something to print, the controlunit will keep a check that the instructions are sent to the printer correctly.· It controls the input and output of data so thatthe signals go to the right place at the right time· It controls the flow of data within the CPU -which is the Fetch-Execute cycle
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The CPU reads data and programs kept on the backing storage,but where does it store it?
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Immediate Access storeholds the data and programs needed at that time by the Control Unit.
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Why does the CPU need to store data and programs in the IAS?
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Backing Storage (e.g. the hard disk) is much too slow to be able to run applications directly.
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The ALU manipulates or acts upon the data. List the name of the parts of the ALU and say what they do?
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Arithmetic- carries outmath problems Logic-carries out logicproblems
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How many instructions can a computer process at any onetime?
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One.
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How is the clock speed measured?
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MHz (megahertz, ormillions of pulses per second) or GHz (gigahertz, or billions of pulses persecond)
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The faster the speed the better the performance, but what isthe downside of this fact?
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It is more expensive butmight not actually be needed
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What does “overclocking” mean?
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Increasing a component's clock rate, running it at a higher speed than it was designed to run.
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what does the term dual core mean?
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A CPU that includes two complete execution cores per physical processor, combining two processors and their caches and cache controllers onto a single integrated circuit (silicon chip).
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what order does the CPU look at different storage areas it can access? |
Registers, cache, hard disc.
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The cache memory is known as volatile memory. Explain theterm volatile.
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It is deleted after the computer shuts down.
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If the cache is larger how does this affect the performanceof the CPU?
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It is faster because it doesn’tneed to get information components further from it for example the hard disc.
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