Internal Hardware

Question 1

What is memory used for:

Answer 1

Storing data and instructions

Question 2

What is RAM:

Answer 2

Random Access Memory

Question 3

What is ROM:

Answer 3

Read Only Memory

Question 4

What is main memory:

Answer 4

Memory that stores data and instructions for use by the processor

Question 5

Define chip:

Answer 5

A small piece of silicon that contains an electronic component

Question 6

What does it mean for memory to be accessed randomly:

Answer 6

Specific locations are requested and found rather than searching serially through the data until the matching address is found

Question 7

What are the differences between ROM and RAM:

Answer 7

RAM is volatile, ROM is not
RAM stores current programs, ROM stores set-up related instruction sets (BIOS(basic input/output system))
RAM is (re)writable, ROM is not

Question 8

Standard RAM size:

Answer 8

4-8GB (originally more like 32MB)

Question 9

What are buses:

Answer 9

Small groups of dedicated parallel wires that transfer data between components in the computer - three types, data, address and control

Question 10

What does the data bus do:

Answer 10

Carries data between primary storage, the cpu and I/O devices, usually the same width as the memory and processor word length

Question 11

What does the address bus do:

Answer 11

Takes data from the processor to memory, carries the address of the next instruction/data item, the width controls how much memory can be accessed by the processor, 32 bit is common

Question 12

What does the control bus do:

Answer 12

Carries control signals to the registers and the other buses, it makes sure everything is synchronised and controls access of components to the other buses, examples include specifying direction of data bus, transmitting the clock pulses

Question 13

How does word length and width affect buses/the cpu:

Answer 13

The width is how many wires in a bus, and the word length is the number of bits that can be dealt with at once as a unit, so if the width is shorter than the word length, the data has to be split and sent in multiple trips, which is slower

Question 14

What are some examples of I/O devices:

Answer 14

Mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer

Question 15

What is an I/O controller:

Answer 15

A piece of hardware that acts as an interface between the I/O devices and the processor

Question 16

What does the I/O controller provide:

Answer 16

A way of adding new devices without having to redesign the processor, there’s one for each device, they can work as a buffer as they work slower than the processor

Question 17

What is needed for Von Neumann architecture:

Answer 17

The data and instructions to be stored in the same area of memory and the same bus used to access them - most modern computers use this architecture

Question 18

What is needed for Harvard architecture:

Answer 18

The data and instructions to be stored in different areas of memory, with different buses for each

Question 19

Advantages of Harvard architecture:

Answer 19

It’s faster, it’s more efficient, but is mainly used for embedded systems

Question 20

Define DSP:

Answer 20

Digital signal processing - continuous data is compressed to enable faster processing - chips optimised in this way use less power, so they’re ideal for apps for phones