Internal Hardware Components of a Computer Flashcards
What does a computers processor do
Executes Program Instructions in order to run applications
What is a computers main memory
It’s RAM and ROM
Used to store program instructions and frequently used data
Why is frequently used data saved in the ROM or RAM
Main Memory is faster than Secondary Storage
Helps the processor to execute instructions quickly
What is a Bus
Series of parallel wires that connects internal components of a computer to send information
What is a width of a bus
Number of parallel wires in a bus
Direct Relationship to the number of bits can be transferred simultaneously by the bus
What are the 3 buses
Address Bus
Data Bus
Control Bus
Describe Address Buses
Transport Memory Addresses - Specifying where data is to be sent to or retrieved from - unidirectional
What does increasing the width address bus lead to
Increasing the range of addresses that it can specify
Increasing the computer’s amount of addressable memory
Increases the volume of data that can be transferred over the bus at any one time
Describe Data Buses
Sends data and instructions to and from the different components of the computer system - bidirectional
Describe Control Buses
Carry Control Signals that regulate the operation of the computer system - unidirectional
What are I/O Controllers
Pieces of hardware that control the communication of data between the motherboard and external hardware devices
Describe the Harvard Architecture
Processor uses two separate main memory locations
One for Instructions - One for Data
Used in Embedded Systems
Each instruction can be done in one clock cycle if pipelining is included
ALU
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Instruction
Mem Control Unit Data Mem
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I/O
Describe the Von Neumann Architecture
Instructions and Data are stored together in the same memory
Perform worse than Harvard - older Architecture - Buses have to be shared for fetching both instructions and data
Each instruction takes two clock cycles (decode and execute)
Control Unit
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ALU Main Memory
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I/O
Define Addressable Memory
Memory that is accessible from a computer program to store data
