Ch.6 Microprocessors Flashcards
External Data Bus
EDB; A set of wires that run from components within a computer to the CPU. These wires communicate data to the CPU by sending On/Off signals by the presence of a charge on the wire.
Central Processing Unit
CPU, Microprocessor; A part of the computer in which arithmetic and logical operations are performed and instructions are decoded and executed. The CPU controls the operation of the computer.
Registers
Worktables within the CPU for the purpose of performing calculations
Name the General-Purpose Registers
AX
BX
CX
DX
Machine Language
A set of instructions executed directly by a computer’s CPU. Each instruction performs a specific task, such as a load, a jump, or an ALU operation on a unit of data in a CPU register or memory.
Instruction Set
The complete set of machine language commands a CPU understands
Clock Wire
A wire connected to the CPU that tells the CPU that another piece of information is waiting to be processed.
Clock Cycle
A single charge on the clock wire; the CPU requires at minimum two clock cycles to act on a command
Clock Speed
The number of clock cycles a CPU can handle in a given period of time. It is the fastest speed at which a CPU can reliably operate.
Clock Speeds
1 hertz (1 Hz) = 1 cycle per second 1 megahertz (1 MHz) = 1 million cycles per second 1 gigahertz (1 GHz) = 1 billion cycles per second
System Crystal
A quartz oscillator that sends out an electrical pulse millions of times a second, determining the speed at which the CPU and the rest of the PC operate. It essentially creates the clock speed.
Program
A series of commands sent to the CPU in a specific order in order for the CPU to do work
1 or 0
Bit
4 bits
Nibble
8 bits
Byte
16 bits
Word
32 bits
Double word
64 bits
Paragraph/Quad word
RAM
Random Access Memory
DRAM
Dynamic Random Access Memory
MCC
Memory Controller Chip; A chip that stands between the CPU and RAM that selects the portion of RAM asked for by the CPU
Address Bus
The wires running from the CPU to the MCC that facilitate the communication of which spot in memory the CPU wants
Formula for calculating potential RAM
2 to the X power where X equals the number of wires on the address bus
What is throttling?
Limiting the speed of something, such as a processor or network speed
CPUID
CPU identifier; a function of the CPU that reports to the motherboard to set the speed and multiplier
How are 64-bit and 32-bit software applications represented?
64-bit = x64 32-bit = x86
Virtualization
The ability to run more than one OS at a time
Parallel execution
The CPU is able to run multiple commands and parts of commands in parallel. he CPU uses multiple pipelines, dedicated cache, and the ability to work with multiple threads.
4 steps of Pipelining
- Fetch
- Decode
- Execute
- Write
Fetch
Get the data from the External Data Bus (EDB)
Decode
Figure out what type of command needs to be executed
Execute
Perform the calculation
Write
Send the data back to the External Data Bus (EDB)
Pipeline Stall
A halt in the pipeline due to a complex command that requires more clock cycles to complete
ALU
Arithmetic Logic Unit; handles integer math, basic math for numbers with no decimal point
FPU
Floating Point Unit; Special circuitry that handles complex numbers
Wait State
A pipeline stall that results because RAM is unable to keep up with the CPU
SRAM
Static RAM
CPU Cache
L1, L2, and L3; a small amount of memory located on either the CPU (L1 and L2) or motherboard (L3) that stores frequently run commands by the CPU. The intention is to speed up the processing of data.
Frontside Bus
The address bus and external data bus connecting the CPU, MCC, and RAM
Backside Bus
The connection between the CPU and L2 cache
Hyper-threading
The ability of a CPU to run multiple threads at the same time
What are the 2 limitations of hyper-threading?
- The OS and application must be designed to take advantage of hyper-threading
- The processing power is not doubles because the main execution resources are not duplicated
Multicore Processor
A processor that is the combination of two or more CPUs (or cores) into one
GPU
Graphics Processing Unit; The generic term for the video processor
LGA 775
Intel; 775 pins; Pentium 4, Celeron, Pentium 4 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Xeon
LGA 1155
Intel; 1155 pins; Core i3/i5/i7, Pentium, Celeron, Xeon
LGA 1156
Intel; 1156 pins; Core i3/i5/i7, Pentium, Celeron, Xeon
LGA 1366
Intel; 1366 pins; Core i7, Xeon, Celeron
940
AMD; 940 pins; Opteron, Athlon 64 FX
AM2
AMD; 940 pins; Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2; Athlon 64 FX, Opteron, Sempron, Phenom
AM2+
AMD, 940 pins; Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2, Athlon II, Opteron, Phenom, Phenom II
AM3
AMD, 941 pins; Phenom II, Athlon II, Sempron, Opteron
AM3+
AMD; 942 pins; FX
FMI
AMD; 905 pins; A
F
AMD; m1207 pins; Opteron, Athlon FX
Zero Insertion Force
ZIF; Sockets are made in such a way that they require zero force to insert a CPU into them.
What are the three cooling options for a CPU?
- An OEM heat-sink and fan
- An after market heat-sink and fan
- Liquid cooling
What are the three parts to a liquid cooling system?
∙ A hollow metal block that sits on top of the CPU
∙ A pump to move the liquid around
∙ A device to cool the liquid
What 3 things must be setup properly for the CPU to work properly?
∙ Motherboard speed
∙ Multiplier
∙ Voltage
In what 2 categories to CPU failures typically fall?
∙ Overheating
∙ Catastrophic failure
What are potential causes of overheating of the CPU?
∙ Overclocking ∙ Failure of the cooling elements ∙ Too much thermal paste ∙ Too little thermal paste ∙ Failure to connect the fan assembly to the system board
What is the result of a catastrophic error?
Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), otherwise known as a Windows Stop Error
Symptoms of overheating
∙ Slow/sluggish PC
∙ Random shutdowns
