1.1 Systems Architecture Flashcards
What is the Purpose of the CPU
The CPU performs the Fetch - Decode - Execute Cycle
What is the MDR
Memory Data Register - Holds values and instructions ready to be used by the CPU
What is the MAR
Memory Address Register - Holds Address of next value or instruction to be fetched or stored
What is the PC
Program Counter - Holds Address at the memory which can be fetched by the Memory Address register.
What is the CU
Control Unit - Centre of operations; receives and decodes instructions; sends out commands to the other components in the CPU
What is the Memory (RAM)
RAM - Holds data and values in the form of a computer program. The CPU can store data here as well as fetch from it. Can hold billions of lines of code.
What is the ALU
Arithmetic logic unit - performs arithmetic and logic calculations
What is the ACC
Accumulator - temporarily stores data and instructions of arithmetic and logic calculations that are being performed by the ALU.
What are Buses
Buses transport data, addresses and instructions to different components of the CPU
What is the Cache
The Cache is short term memory that hold recently used data that is easily accessible by the CPU
What is Clock Speed
Clock speed is the number of cycles performed by the computer per second, measured in Hertz (Hz)
What is an Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system that is dedicated to to limited tasks and is often connected to a larger mechanical system.
What are examples of Embedded systems
Traffic Lights, Coffee machines, Washing machines
What is Overclocking
Over clocking is when the clock speed is increased to make the computer faster. However, extra cooling fans must be purchased to stop the computer overheating and they can be expensive.
What are cores
Cores are complete copies of the CPU that help process information faster. You can get Dual and Quad Core Computers.
