Course 1 Week 2 - The Modern Computer Flashcards
What are ports?
connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer (monitor, mouse, ethernet port, etc)
What is the short term memory of a computer?
RAM (random access memory)
What is often called the foundation of a computer?
Motherboard, the body of a computer
What is a hard drive?
Holds all of our data, long term memory
What is the power supply?
converts electricity from wall outlet to a format our computer can use
What are programs?
instructions that tell the computer what to do
Where do you store programs on a computer?
typically store programs on durable media like Hard Drives
What is an external data bus? What part of the body?
a row of wire that interconnect the parts of our computer (veins of the body)
What are the different sizes of external data buses?
8 bit, 16 bit, 32 bit, 64 bit.
8 bit = 8 wires, 16 bit = 16 wires, etc
What are registers?
component inside CPU that lets you store data (chef’s work table)
Calculations: 1 + 6 = 7
1 = register A
6 = register B
7 = register C
Where are programs copied to for CPU to read?
RAM
Do you send data over the EDB from the RAM?
No, RAM has too much data to send
RAM can hold billions of rows of data
How many lines can you send through an EDB?
1 at a time
What is a memory controller chip? What body part?
Bridge between CPU and RAM (nerve in brain CPU connecting to your memories RAM)
Seeks out address from address bus to deliver data to CPU
What is an address bus?
connects CPU to the MCC, sends location of the data but not data itself to MCC
What is a cache? What does it let us do? Where is it stored?
a small amount of data stored either on hardware or in software
lets us quickly store and access data that we use often or most recently
What’s the fastest way to get data to CPU?
Cache
How many cache levels are there?
3
L1, L2, L3
Which cache level is the smallest and fastest?
Level 1
How does the CPU know when set instructions end and new ones begin? Uses 2 things
CPU uses internal clock and clock wire to keep operations in sync
What are clock wires? Where is it located?
A special wire connected to CPU
sends/receives data through voltage to let CPU know it can start calculations
1 tick = CPU does 1 cycle of operations
What is a clock cycle?
voltage to clock wire
1 “tick” of voltage through wire = 1 cycle
more data = more clock cycles
What is the clock speed of a CPU? (3.4 GHz)
maximum number of clock cycles that it can handle in a certain time period.
More clock speed = more clock cycles (ticks) = more data processed.
What does 3.4 GHz mean?
Clock speed of the CPU, 3.4 billion cycles per second
Doesn’t mean it runs at that speed, only that it can’t exceed that number
What is overclocking?
increases rate of CPU clock cycles in order to increase performance in low end CPUs and complete more tasks
Overclocking simply sets CPU to run at higher clock frequency rate than manufacturer’s original specifications.
How does a cache speed up process of data that’s first accessed that passes through multiple journey points?
holds local copy of most recently accessed data in temporary storage
What is Level 3 cache? Where is the data received from?
largest and slowest. 2x as fast as RAM. 1st cache location to store data received from RAM.
often shared by all cores in a single CPU
What is Level 2 cache?
holds less data than L3, but faster access speed. L2 has copy of recent accessed data not in use by the CPU.
Each core has its own L2 cache
What is Level 1 cache?
fastest and smallest. L1 holds data currently in use by CPU
Each core has its own L1 cache
What is a CPU core?
CPU’s processor
What are the 3 variables to overclock CPU’s frequency?
- base clock frequency (speed), often measured in GHz
- core frequency, calculated by multiplying base frequency x CPU core multipliers
- core voltage, needs to be increased in small increments to meet increasing power demand of CPU
Can you overclock a laptop CPU?
Most no
Can all CPUs be overclocked?
No, check manufacturer’s documentation
What hardware should you double check supports overclocked CPU?
motherboard
Before installing a CPU cooler for overclocking, what things should you do?
Clean inside of computer using compressed air around CPU, fans and intake vents
What are the 4 general steps to overclocking?
- use benchmark software to get baseline of computer performance
- set each CPU core multiplier to value of lowest multiplier using manufacturer’s overclocking software (recommended) or the BIOS. Reboot PC.
- increase each core multiplier by 1
- test each increase for stability
What’s a multiplier? What are some examples?
CPU multiplier (or clock ratio) is a setting that determines the speed of the processor. + base clock speed to calculate the overall frequency of the CPU.
Modifying multiplier examples: Turbo boost, power saving features, etc
(Part of the formula that determines the processor’s speed)
What is an instruction set?
translation book for CPU (add, subtract, copy data)
hard coded into CPU, sets vary by manufacturer but function the same (like car makes and models)
What should you make sure your CPU is compatible with?
motherboard and all hardware
What are the 2 major types of CPU sockets? What’s the difference?
- Land Grid Array (LGA) has pins that come out of motherboard
- Pin Grid Array (PGA) has pins coming out of processor itself
What should you make sure to do after installing CPU?
Install heat sink (keep it cool) like fans, liquid cooling system
What is 32/64 bit?
specifies how much data CPU can efficiently handle
What’s the difference between 32 bit and 64 bit Window versions?
64 bit Window version and applications have more resources such as processing power and memory (64 bit applications access more memory)
When is 64 bit a good choice?
working with large data sets or vids and pics, using add ins with office apps, large animations in PP, files over 2GB on Project
What are 3 reasons to choose 32 bit Windows version?
- 64-bit Windows 10 with ARM-based processor
- 32-bit operating system with an x86 (32-bit) processor
- Less than 4 GB RAM
base frequency (speed) x CPU core multipliers = ?
core frequency
Is RAM data volatile? What is volatile?
Yes
Volatile = power computer off = RAM is cleared
If you have 32GB of RAM, how many programs can you run?
Up to 32GB of programs (programs are copied in the RAM for CPU)
What is an action that uses RAM?
typing on a document
What type of RAM is commonly found in computers?
DRAM
What is DRAM? How does it work?
Dynamic Random-Access Memory
transistor sends bitline-> 1 or 0 sent-> DRAM -> stores each charged or discharged bit in a micro capacitor (chips on RAM, store data)
“Dynamic” because capacitor loses charge so capacitors must be dynamically refreshed periodically
What are DIMM sticks? How are they different?
Dual Inline Memory Module
More modern, have different sizes of pins on them
What is SD RAM? What does it do?
Synchronous D RAM
Synchronized to a system’s clock speed = quicker data processing
When was SD RAM created after?
After DRAM
What is DDR SD RAM? How is it different from SD RAM?
Double Data Rate SD RAM
Faster than earlier SD RAM, needs less power
What is the fastest DDR version available?
DDR5
What to keep in mind when it comes to RAM type and computer compatibility?
compatible motherboard
of pins on RAM must align with motherboard RAM slots
What are 3 functions of the motherboard?
- expands functionality through expansions cards
- routes power from PSU
- central hub for parts to communicate with each other
What is a chipset in a motherboard?
decides how components talk to each other (CPU, RAM, Peripherals)
there are 2 chips hence the chip”set”
What are the chipsets on a motherboard? Which is integrated? What are 2 examples of the 2nd chip?
- Northbridge chip - connects RAM and video cards (some are integrated)
- Southbridge chip - maintains IO controllers (hard drives, usb devices)
What are peripherals and what are some examples?
External devices connect to our computer
mouse, keyboard, monitor
What are expansion slots? What’s the standard slot today?
increase functionality of computer
standard is PCI Express (peripheral component interconnect express)