Inside the Computer (General Component Questions) Flashcards
What’s the system crystal? What does it do, and where is it lcoated?
The System Crystal is a quartz oscillator.
It fires a charge to the clock wire establishing the clock speed.
It’s usually located on the Motherboard.
What is the Northbridge?
The Northbridge deals with high speed interfaces such as connecting to your video card and RAM.
It is the primary bridge between the CPU and the rest of the computer.
What does the CPU use registers for?
For temporary storage of internal commands and data
Which MOBO form factor refers to a VIA-Proprietary low-power consumption SFF type known for industrial and embedded PC applications?
Mini ITX
What is the function of the address bus in the PC?
It enables the CPU to communicate with the memory controller chip (MCC)
What is the NIC port? What’s another name for it?
The “Network Interface Controller”.
The RJ45 Port.
What does ZIF stand for?
Zero Insertion Force.
What’s the most common motherboard form factor?
ATX
T or F? A separate expansion bus crystal enables the expansion bus to run at a different speed than the frontside bus.
True
All hardware needs BIOS, T or F?
True. all hardware needs BIOS
What function does the External Data Bus have in the PC?
Provides a channel for the flow of data and commands between the CPU and RAM
How many cycles is
- Hertz
- Megahertz
- Gigahertz
- 1 Cycle per second
- 1 Million cycles per second
- 1 Billion cycles per second
What is the component that transfers heat from an electronic or mechanical device, often the CPU, called?
The Heat Sink.
What’s the significance of 64-bit processing?
More data can be processed. More data can be moved around, faster processing.
EDB increased to 64-bits, so did the address bus.
What is the frontside bus?
It describes the connections between the Address Bus and External Data bus.
It’s also the connections between the CPU, MCC, and RAM components.
What is Clock Speed?
The maximum number of Clock Cycles a CPU can process in a given time.
T or F? An electrical outlet does not need a ground wire for PC use.
False.
What is the Southbridge?
What does Intel and AMD call it?
The Southbridge works with low-speed devices such as USB controllers and hard drive controllers. Other peripherals as well.
Intel- I/O controller hub. (Input Output controller hub)
AMD- Fusion Controller Hub
What is the security function that CPU’s employ?
Disable Execute Bit
What is the Memory Controller Chip? (MCC)?
How does the CPU communicate with the MCC?
Handles the mechanics of retrieving a row of data from the RAM and putting it on the EDB
The CPU communicates with the MCC through the Address Bus.
Where is the Clock Wire located? What is it’s purpose?
It’s located on the EDB
It’s purpose is that it tells the CPU that data is ready to be processed.
A single Clock Cycle is the equivalent of how many signals sent by the system clock?
Two adjacent signals sent by the system clock
What do the chips in a Motherboard’s Chipset do?
Serve as electronic interfaces in which the CPU, RAM, and input/output devices interact.
