Computer Architecture Flashcards
What does a basic computer system consist of?
CPU, System clock, RAM, HDD, Input/output devices, Bus
What does the CPU do?
Executes instructions, controls data transfer across the bus
What are the 3 main parts of the CPU?
Control Unit, ALU, Registers
Function of the control unit?
CU directs the execution of instructions
Function of the ALU?
Performs arithmetic and logical instructions on data stored in registers
Function of registers?
Binary storage units within the CPU
What is the PC(Program Counter)?
Contains the address of the currently executing instruction in memory
What is the SR(Status Register)?
Contains information(flags) about the result of a previous instruction
What is the purpose of the system clock?
to synchronize the CPU and other clocked devices through a signal
The bus
Used to transfer data between computer components.
Subdivided into address, data, and control buses.
Secondary Memory
HDD. Holds a computer’s file system. Non-volatile read/write memory.
Only which instructions can access RAM?
Load and Store instructions
RISC architecture
Uses only simple instructions that can be executed in one machine cycle. Enables faster clock rates
CISC architecture
May have instructions that take multiple cycles to execute. Machine instructions vary in length
Steps of the instruction cycle(fetch-decode-execute)
Fetch next instruction from RAM
increment PC
Decode instruction
Execute instruction
Store result
