1.1 Systems Architecture (1.1.1 Architecture of the CPU) Flashcards
What does the CPU do
processes instructions, and co-ordinates and manages the hardware devices
what does CPU stand for
Central Processing Unit
What is the Von Neumann architecture
It stores the program instructions as well as the data in memory
two major components of the CPU
control unit, arithmetic-logic unit
what is a register
Small, superfast memory in the cpu
what is cache
it stores frequently used instructions - it is slower to access than registers but faster than RAM
What are the registers in the CPU
program counter, memory address register, memory data register, accumulator
What is the program counter
holds the memory address of the next instruction to be executed
What is the MAR
holds the memory address of the current instruction, and then the memory address about to be used by the CPU
What is the MDR
holds the actual data or instruction
What is the accumulator
holds the result of a calculation before it is transferred to memory
what is the control unit
co-ordinates and controls all of the activities taking place within the CPU
what is the ALU
Arithmetic logic unit
performs arithmetic and logic operations, such as AND, OR and NOT
What is the Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle
The process that the CPU uses to retrieve and execute instructions
What does the fetch instruction do?
causes the next instruction and any data involved to be fetched from main memory
