Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

computing > cpu > Flashcards

cpu Flashcards

1
Q

what is the purpose of a CPU(2)

A

processes data and executes instructions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is processor speed measured in

A

hertz(Hz)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what is a typical speed for a processor

A

MHz-GHz

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is processor speed

A

how many instructions can be carried out per second

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

how many instructions does a 1 GHz processor execute in 1 second

A

1 billion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what are cores

A

cores are the part of the processor where commands are executed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what is the purpose of having a multicore PC

A

faster processing speed as each core can execute instructions independently

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

how do you figure out how many instructions a CPU executes per second

A

you multiply the processor speed by the number of cores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are caches

A

Small amounts of memory on the processor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the cache an intermediary between

A

Main memory and the CPU

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What does the cache hold

A

Commonly used instructions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the purpose of the PC

A

Stores the address of the next instruction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the purpose of the MAR

A

Store the address of the current instruction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the purpose of the MDR

A

Store the instruction that has been fetched from memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the purpose of the CIR

A

Temporarily holds the instruction while the control unit decodes it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What does the PC stand for

A

Program counter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What does the MAR stand for

A

Memory address register

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What does the MDR stand for

A

Memory data register

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What does the CIR stand for

A

Current instruction register

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What does the ACC stand for

A

Accumulator

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What does the ALU stand for

A

Arithmetic logic unit

22
Q

What does the ACC do

A

Holds the rest of the ALUs calculations

23
Q

What does the ALU do

A

Calculates all of the mathematical instructions and logic comparisons

24
Q

What does the control unit do

A

Synchronises all other units and decodes instructions

25
What is the FDE
The FDE refers to one clock cycle from a single core
26
How does the FDE cycle work
It starts with the PC holding the address for the next instruction. This address is then copied onto the MAR which tells the address bus where to point to. The data bus then goes to where the address bus points and gets the instruction/data. The address bus then gives it to the MDR which gives it to the CIR which gives it to the control unit which gives it to the ALU where it is calculated then using is given back to the control unit where it is decoded. The pc then tells the address bus where to point and the data bus goes and stores the decoded instruction where the address bus says.
27
What are I/O controllers
They are user input/output controllers
28
What do I/O controllers allow
An interface between a hardware device external to the motherboard and CPU
29
What is an example of a device in I/O controller is used for
Keyboard
30
What are embedded systems
Small computers that are part of a wider system
31
What is the purpose of embedded systems
To allow the user to control and interact with the device
32
What is the disadvantage of embedded systems
Only have a few limited tasks they can peform
33
What is an example of an embedded system
Washing machine
34
What does LAN stand for
Local area network
35
what are LANs
computers that are connected together over small geographical areas that use their own infrastructure
36
what is an example of a LAN
school network
37
what does WAN stand for
wide area network
38
what is a WAN
a network where computers are connected over large geographical areas that us other infrastructure like fibre optics and satellites
39
what is an example of a WAN
the internet
40
what is a peer to peer network(4)
all computers are equal, each device can be a client and a server, all devices can request and provide network services, no additional hardware needed
41
what is a client server(3)
network relies on centralised server, all devices request services from the server, additional high end hardware is needed
42
what are 6 characteristics of a peer to peer network
each computer can be backed up individually, all computers have the same network authority, storage facilities are distributed across all computers, great for small networks, individual security may need to be installed on each computer, appropriate for small numbers of computers in a low traffic environment
43
what are 6 characteristics of a client server
can support 1000s of users, one controlling computer that oversees all actions, a central backing stored is available to all computers, centralised security, backups can be done centrally, useful if there are lots of computers an it will be a high traffic environment
44
what is a NIC
a network interface card that allows a computer to connect to a network
45
what does a switch do
routes packs of data around a network and decides where they go
46
what is the server
the controlling computer
47
what does the router do
accepts and directs packs of data between 2 networks
48
what is bandwidth
the max rate of data transfer
49
what is latency
the delay taken by one packet of data to be sent from one computer and received by another.
50
what is the error rate
the number of errors/collisions on a network
51
why should you use a network(5)
shared software, centralised backups, better security, shared devices, ability to login from different machines

computing (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions