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EECS 1520 > Computer Components > Flashcards

Computer Components Flashcards

1
Q

What is CPU?

A

central processing unit

controls the interpretation and execution of instructions, decodes instructions and carries out the corresponding arithmetic, logic, or control operations

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2
Q

What is RAM?

A

random access memory

stores the short term data a pc requires to operate

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3
Q

What is SDRAM?

A

synchronous dynamic RAM

DDR (double data rate) (DDR2…)

faster version of RAM (used in gaming PC)

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4
Q

What is ROM?

A

read only memory

computer storage that contains non-volatile, permanent data that, normally, can only be read, not written to

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5
Q

What is BIOS?

A

basic input output system

the program a computer’s microprocessor uses to start the computer system after it is powered on, also manages data flow between the computer’s operating system (OS) and attached devices

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6
Q

What is PCI? What was it replaced with?

A

peripheral component interconnect, replaced with PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express)

connecting a computer to one or more peripheral devices

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7
Q

What is BUS?

A

the wires connecting the CPU and the other components

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8
Q

How does data flow between input devices, output devices, storage devices, communication devices, and the CPU?

A

data flows from the input devices to the CPU, data flows in both directions from storage devices and communications to the CPU, and then data flows from CPU to the output devices

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9
Q

Summarize Von Neumann architecture?

A

a computing model that is composed of a CPU, memory, and input/output devices

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10
Q

Are CPU replacable?

A

sometimes (usually desktops), often smoldered onto the motherboard

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11
Q

How is processing speed represented?

A

computation occurs in cycles, the unit is Hz which represents the number of cycles per second

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12
Q

How is storage space represented?

A

data is represented in bits, the base unit is a byte (8 bits)

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13
Q

How are larger magnitudes of processing speed and storage space represented?

A

combining them with metric or binary prefixes

ex. gigahertz, terabytes

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14
Q

How many bytes are in a kilobyte? What about a megabyte?

A

2^10 (1024 bytes)

2^20 (1048576 bytes)

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15
Q

What is the difference between a control bus and a data bus?

A

control: carries control signals from the processor to other components, also carries the clock’s pulses

data: carries the data between the processor and other components. The data bus is bidirectional

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16
Q

What is used to prolong cell lifespan of flash storage?

A

wear leveling (does this by spreading the storage of the cells equally)

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17
Q

Can hyper-threading make CUP do 1+ intructor in one core?

A

yes (executes more than one instruction at a time)

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18
Q

Is the CPU-RAM BUS normally narrower thatn PCIe BUS?

A

no its noramlly wider

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19
Q

Are solid state drive or hard disc drives more resistant to shock?

A

solid state

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20
Q

What is the control unit?

A

decodes instructions and activates the relavant components

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21
Q

What is the arithmetic logic unit?

A

instructions are applied to data, performs arithmatic, logical, and bit manipulation

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22
Q

What is the instruction register?

A

contains the instructions being executed

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23
Q

What is the program counter?

A

contains the location of the enxt instruction

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24
Q

What is CPU speed often called? Why?

A

clock speed, all operations are synced to a clock

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25
Where is the data contained inthe CPU?
reigster file
26
What is main memory also known as?
DRAM or RAM
27
What is the main memory?
a collection of temporary storage locations each with their own address, contains volatile contents and data for currently running programs
28
What does volatile contents mean?
erased once powered off
29
What is the fetch-decode-execute cylce?
instrucitons and data stored in main memory are fetched, instructions/data is decoded in the control unit, the ALU exectues the instruction/data
30
Up until 2005 how many core components did the CPU have?
only 1 set (CU,ALU,registers)
31
Nowadays how do manufacturers design CPUs?
multiple modestly fast cores, rather than a single really fast core, or 1–2 fast cores and 6–7 power-efficient cores
32
How many cores do smartphones usually have? What about laptops? Desktops? Servers?
2-8 2-4 2-8 4-64
33
What is cache?
acts as temporary storage for recently acessed data, faster than main memory
34
What is turbo boost? What does it typically require?
where you increase the processing speed one or more cores, disabling other cores to ensure continued stable operation
35
What is hyper threading? Is it better than using two real cores?
processing two unrelated instructions at the same time in the same core no
36
What is GPU?
graphics processing unit specializes in rendering 3D graphics
37
How many cores can exist in a GPU? Why?
100s-1000s do not require sophisticated computing cores
38
What does bus width mean?
the number of bits that can transfer at the same time
39
What is the width of the CPU-RAM bus? What about the speed?
64 or more bits wide plus some additional bits for error detection, 2.4-4.8 GHz and transfer up to 20 GB/s in modern computets
40
What is the width of the PCI-express bus? What about the speed?
1 bit to 32 bit wide (suaully 16 bits), 2.5-8+ GHz (usually 5 or 8)
41
What are hard disc drives?
mechanical in nature, contains a magnetic spinning disc with a head that hovers over disc surface, fixed storage, non volatile, magnetically encoded info
42
What are blue ray/CD/DVD?
optical in nature, lasers read the disc, lands reflect light (binary 1), pits disperse light (binary 0), can change what is being stored on it
43
Do solid state or hard disc drives have a lower data access time?
solid state drives take 100 ns while hard disc takes 10ms
44
Can SSDs or HDDs transfer more data?
SSDs transfer 500 MB/s – 3.5 GB/s while HDDs only can transfer 150–250 MB/s
45
Are HHDs or SDDs more expensive?
SSDs
46
What does flash based storage use? How is data stored?
solid state memory chips, contains non-volatile info (retain state w/out power) in cells, 1-5 bits per cell
47
What are some techniques to extending lifespan of cells?
provisiong: includes extra capacity to use when cells start to fail wear levelling: distributing inf among cells equally
48
What are USB “thumb” drive, flash cards used for?
removable and portable storage, Basic performance for occasionally reading/writing a few files
49
What are SSD used for?
fixed, internal storage, Improved performance for constantly reading/writing random files, performing error checking, and securing data
50
What are SSHD used for?
A hard drive with some solid state flash memory for storage, All data is stored on the hard drive, but frequently accessed data is copied to the flash memory for faster access
51
How are the size, resolution, and density of a display monitor measured?
size is measured diagonally in inches resolution is reported as (# of pixels wide) x (# of pixels tall) desnity is measured in pixels per inch
52
How do modern displays produce an image on screen? How do they do this?
Liquid crystal display and light emitting diodes LCD panel forms an image and LED's provide backlight
53
What is twisted nematic? What is it used for?
accurate reproduction of fast moving images but colours appear distoreted when viewing from off centre angles cheaper latops and some gaming displays
54
What is in plane switching?
better reproduction of colours especially from angles used in most contemporary dispalys, especially mobile phones
55
What do input devices allow users to do?
provide info to the computer
56
What do output deivces allow computers to do?
provide info to the user
57
What do hybrid devices facilitate?
input and output devices
58
What do resistive touch screens consist of?
two transparent sheet, seperated by a gap, they have electrical charges in perpendicular directions
59
How do resistive touch screens work?
pressure causes the electrical charges to touch, sending a signal telling the device where the touch is
60
What are some advantages and disadvantages of resistive touch screens?
pros: pressure from any object will register as touch, low cost con: vulnerable to scratch/damage
61
How do capacitive touch screens work?
an electric field exists on the surface of the screen, touching the screen disrupts this field and a grid of eelctrodes behind the screen detect the position of touch
62
What are some pros and cons of capacitive touch screens?
pro: more durable, can detect multiple touch points con: touch is only activated by bare finger or conductive material

EECS 1520 (11 decks)

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