Functions and Characteristics of CPU Flashcards
What are the components of a computer?
CPU, memory and storage
What is the function of the CPU?
Fetch-decode-execute cycle of instructions in a step-by-step manner
What is the function of memory?
Stores program operations and data during the execution cycle of a program
What is the function of storage?
Stores program files and data even when not in use
List a few examples of memory.
Registers, cache, RAM and virtual memory
List a few examples of storage.
Hard drives, SD cards, USB memory disk and CD
The speed of a computer depends on what factors?
Speeds of CPU, memory and bus
What is benchmarking?
A test to access the performance of a computer
What factors affect the performance of a CPU?
Cores, clock rate, cache size and processor type
True or False: Increasing the number of cores 5 times, increases the speed of computer 5 times.
False, because communication channels use up some speed.
What is clock rate?
Clock rate indicates the number of instructions processed by a CPU in a second.
What is over-clocking?
Increasing the speed of the computer by increasing the CPU clock speed is called over-clocking
What is cache?
Cache is a small memory part located closer to the CPU when compared to RAM to hold temporary data and instructions that the CPU is expected to use frequently.
True or False: Accessing cache is faster than accessing RAM.
True
How is cache classified?
Cache is classified into three levels as Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3(L3).
