Chapter 6 - Understanding Hardware Flashcards
3-D sound card
An expansion card that enables a computer to produce omnidirectional or 3-D sounds
Access time
The time it takes a storage device to locate its stored data
Audio MIDI interface
Interface technology that allows a user to connect guitars and microphones to their computer
Cache memory
Small blocks of memory, located directly on and next to the central processing unit chip, that act as holding places for recently or frequently used instructions or data that the CPU accesses the most
Clock speed
The steady and constant pace at which a computer goes through machine cycles, measured in hertz (Hz)
Core
A complete processing section from a CPU embedded in one physical chip
CPU benchmarks
Measurements used to compare performance between processors
CPU usage
The percentage of time the CPU is working
CPU usage graph
Records CPU usage for several seconds
Graphics double data rate 5 (GDDR5)
A standard of video memory
Graphics processing unit (GPU)
A specialized logic chip that is dedicated to quickly displaying and calculating visual data such as shadows, textures and luminosity
Hard drive
The computer’s nonvolatile, primary storage device for permanent storage of software and documents
Head crash
Impact of the read/write head against the magnetic platter of the hard drive; often results in data loss
Hyper threading
A technology that permits quicker processing of information by enabling a new set of instructions to start executing before the previous set has finished
Latency
The process that occurs after then read/write head of the hard drive locates the correct track and then waits for the correct sector to spin to the read/write head
Machine cycle
The series of steps a CPU goes through when it performs a program instruction
Memory module (memory card)
A small circuit board that holds a series of random access memory chips
Moore’s Law
A prediction named after Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel) that states the number of transistors on a CPU chip will double every two years
Optical media
Portable storage devices (CDs, DVD,s and Blue-ray discs) that use a laser to read and write data
Overclocking
Running the CPU at a speed faster than the manufacturer recommends
Physical memory
The amount of RAM that is installed in a computer
Platter
A thin, round, metallic storage plate stacked onto the hard drive spindle
Read/write head
The mechanism that retrieves (reads) and records (writes) the magnetic data to and from a data disk
Redundant array of independent disks (RAID)
A set of strategies for using more than one drive in a system
