CPU and Memory

Question	Answer
What is the CPU commonly described as?	The brain of the computer
What does CPU stand for?	Central Processing Unit
What is the purpose of the CPU?	To process data
Put these in order: Execute, Decode, Fetch	Fetch - Decode - Execute
What happens in the "fetch" part of the fetch - decode - execute cycle?	The CPU fetches data and instructions from main memory and stores them in the "registers"
Explain what the computer does during the "decode" section of the fetch - decode - execute cycle	The CPU makes sense of the intructions that it has just fetched
Explain what happens during the "Excecute" section of the Fetch - Decode - Execute cycle	The instruction is carried out. The result of the processing is stored in another register
Name the three main parts of the CPU	-Control Unit -IAS (immediate access store -ALU Arithmetic and Logic Unit)
What does the control unit do? (three points)	-Controls the hardware attatched to the system to make sure the commands given to it by the application software are used -It controls the input and output of data so that the signals go to the right place -It controls the flow of data in the CPU
What does the IAS (immediate access store) Do?	It holds the data and programs needed at that instant by the control unit. The CPU reads data and programs kept on the backing storage and stores them temporarily in IAS's memory
What does the ALU (arithmetic and logic unit) do?	Arithmatic part performs calulations Logic part deals with logic and comparisons, eg, it works out if one value is greater, equal or less than another
With every tick of the clock, the CPU can process how many pieces of data or how many intructions can be executed?	One
What is the CPU clock speed mesured in?	Cycles per second 1 cycle per second = 1 hertz
A computer running at 1 GHz can carry out how many instructions per second?	A thousand million
The higher the clock speed ...	...the faster the performance, but it runs hotter and consumes more power
The lower the clock speed ...	...the lower the performance, less costy, needs less power - so good for battery life in laptops
What is overclocking?	Where someone adjusts their CPU so that the clock runs faster than it was originally designed to run. This makes the CPU run hotter, and so extra cooling fans may be needed
What does a dual - core processor mean?	It means it has two CPU's
What does RAM stand for?	Random Access Memory
What does ROM stand for?	Read Only Memory
Is RAM Volitile or non-volitile?	Volitile
Is ROM volitile or non - volitile?	Non-Volitile
What is the cache?	A special type of computer memory that can be accessed much faster than the RAM.
Is cache memory volitile or non-volitile?	Volitile
What does volitile mean?	When the computer is shut down, you lose all of the data that is stored there
The larger the cache size, the better/worse performance?	The better performance, as you are able to store more data locally

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	Created by LunaLovegood almost 11 years ago