Architecture Of The CPU Flashcards
What are the common components of the CPU
ALU (arithmetic logic unit)
CU (control unit)
Cache
Registers
Basic registers in the von neumann architecture
MAR (memory adress register)
MDR (memory data register)
Program counter
Accumulator
What is the basic purpose of the CPU
To process instructions (when you run a program, it is the CPU that does that)
What is the von neumann architechture?
Storing the program instructions as well as data in the memory.
What does it mean that the program instructions and the data are stored in the same memory?
The CPU accesses the same instructions and data from the same RAM
What is a register in the CPU?
A very fast memory location
What is the cache?
The cache is a temporary data location that is faster to access than RAM but slower than the registers
What is the Program counter?
The PC holds the adress of the next instruction to be executed.
What does the Memory Adress Register (MAR) do?
Holds the address of the current instruction that is to be fetched from memory, or the address in memory to which data is to be transferred
What does the memory data register (MDR) do?
Stores the data to be sent/received from memory.
What does the accumulator do?
Temporarily stores the result of arithmatic and logic calculations
What is the function of the Control Unit?
The CU coordinates and controls all of the activities taking place within the CPU. It, Decodes instructions and executes them, receives instructions from the system clock, directs and controls the timings of other parts of the CPU
What is the function of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)?
The ALU is where the actual arithmetic operations are done. It also carries out basic logical operations such as AND, OR and NOT.
What does the FETCH part of the cycle do?
Causes the instruction and any data involved to be fetched from memory.
What does the DECODE part of the cycle do?
Decodes the instruction
