Central Processing Unit (CPU) Flashcards
What does CPU stand for?
Central Processing Unit
What does a CPU consist of?
Arithmetic Logic Unit
Control Unit
Clock
Bus
Who is John Von Neumann?
A mathematician in the 1940s that identified that data and programs could be stored in the same memory
What did John describe system architecture as?
input -> ALU -> Output
What is the job of the Arithmetic Logic Unit?
To carry out arithmetic calculations e.g. Addition, subtraction
Also carries out logical operations e.g. and, or, not, greater than
What is the job of the Control Unit?
To manage the execution of instructions
Ensures all components work at the correct time
Responsible for fetch-execute cycle
What is the job of the clock?
To emit a signal to synchronize tasks
What is a clock cycle known as?
A tick
What happens at the clock after a fetch-execute is finished?
A tick
What states does a clock cycle have?
A low and a high
What is the cache?
A super-fast memory built into the CPU that stores recently used instructions,
Frequently used instructions can be retrieved from the _____ instead of the RAM
Cache
What can be accessed quicker? Cache or RAM
Cache
What happens during the fetch-execute cycle?
Next instruction is fetched from memory -> The instruction is decoded as it is in binary -> The instruction is executed
