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GCSE Unit 2 > 1 Hardware > Flashcards

1 Hardware Flashcards

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1
Q

What is FDE?

A

Fetch, Decode, Execute cycle

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2
Q

What is the purpose of the CPU?

A

To process data and instructions

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3
Q

What is the purpose of the Control Unit?

A

It directs the flow of data and information around the CPU and coordinates other components in the CPU

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4
Q

What is the purpose of the ALU?

A

The arithmetic and logic unit performs simple calculation’s and logical comparisons

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5
Q

What is the purpose of the registers?

A

The registers are temporary storage spaces used in the FDE cycle

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6
Q

What is the purpose of Cache memory / internal memory?

A

Cache memory is used to store data that is frequently accessed, it is split into three levels it is faster than RAM

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7
Q

What is computer architecture?

A

The ay a computer is designed and laid out, the most common type is Von Neumann

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8
Q

What is Harvard architecture?

A

An alternative architecture with the control unit as the most essential component

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9
Q

What are the key features of Von Neumann architecture?

A

> The CPU is the most important component
Instructions and data are stored in memory
Data input/output is important.

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10
Q

Why is storing instructions in memory important?

A

It allows the computer to be re-programmed more easily

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11
Q

What is the purpose of buses?

A

They allow data to be transferred to different parts of the computer.

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12
Q

What is the purpose of the address bus?

A

This carries the storage address of any data that needs to be loaded or saved

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13
Q

What is the purpose of the Data bus?

A

It carries data to and from RAM as well as input/output deivces

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14
Q

What is the purpose of the control bus?

A

The control unit uses the to send control signals to different parts of the computer

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15
Q

What is the purpose of Fetch in FDE?

A

Fetch takes the address from the PC puts it in MAR from memory stores it in the instruction register and increments the program counter

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16
Q

What is the purpose of Decode in FDE?

A

The control unit checks the instruction in the instruction register. The instruction is
decoded to find the action that needs to be carried out

17
Q

What is the purpose of Execute in FDE?

A

The instruction fetched is performed this depends on the nature of the instruction

18
Q

What is the purpose of the program counter?

A

It stores the RAM address of the next instruction to be fetched

19
Q

What is the purpose of the memory address register?

A

The MAR stores the RAM address of the instruction / data that is to be fetched

20
Q

What is the purpose of the memory data register?

A

THE MDR stores the instruction / data that has been transferred from RAM to the CPU

21
Q

What is the purpose of the current instruction register?

A

This register stores the instruction that has been fetched from RAM and is about to be decoded or executed

22
Q

What is the purpose of the Accumulator

A

The Acc stores the result of mathematical and logical calculations

23
Q

What are the levels of cache memory?

A

There is level 1, 2 and 3. 1 is the fastest but smallest and 3 is slowest but larger and is located outside the CPU

24
Q

How does cache memory work?

A

When the CPU looks for data, it looks in level 1 cache, then level 2 and then level 3. If the data is not found then the CPU searches in RAM instead which takes more time

25
Q

How does cache memory improve performance?

A

> It is closer to the CPU so is faster than RAM
More cache memory allows repeatedly used instructions to be accessed faster
Cache memory is expensive so computers only have a small amount

26
Q

What is clock speed?

A

Clock speed is the measure of how quickly a CPU can process instructions. measured in Ghz

27
Q

How does clock speed improve performance?

A

The faster the clock speed, the faster the computer can perform the FDE cycle resulting in better performance because more instructions can be processed each second.

28
Q

What is overclocking?

A

It’s when the clock speed is increased, allowing the computer to perform faster but can lead to overheating an could damage the machine

29
Q

What is underclocking?

A

It’s when the clock speed is decreased making the computer to perform slower but will increase

30
Q

What are cores in computers?

A

A core is a complete set of CPU components, a multi-core CPU has more than one set of components

31
Q

How do cores effect performance?

A

In theory dual core processor is twice as fast as a single core but sometimes one core may be waiting for another or software is not written for multiple cores

32
Q

What is a Reduced Instruction Set Computer?

A

> They process

GCSE Unit 2 (3 decks)

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