LU2 - Hardware Flashcards
Control Unit
Controls execution of each instruction (sends read/write signals to memory and the addresses of the instruction to be fetched)
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Where calculations and logical calculations take place. (Current Instruction is broken down and stored in registers)
Registers
- Made of Static RAM ( is extremely fast)
- very expensive
- Eiter 32-bit or 64-bit
Read Only Memory (ROM
Non-volatile memory chip that can be used to permanently store data.
Serial Processing
Historically CPU’s process one instruction at a time, on single Processor
Hyper-Threading
A method simultaneously breaking up and running program instructions on multiple microprocessors.
- Each part is broken up into individual sets, each instruction is run on different processor.
Multi-processing
Is having multiple CPU’s or cores, on single CPU chip
Muti-processing and Hyper-threading were brought together. 2 cores that are hyper-threaded thus creating 4 logical core.
Processor Cache
Cache memory made up of Static RAM(faster than DRAM and normal RAM)
- It stores blocks of program instructions and data that has been pre-fetched from RAM. In hope that Instructions or data will be needed next by CPU.
Level 1:
Cache is very small amount of memory built into the internal circuitry of CPU (less latency)
Level 2:
Cache memory can be located on top of the CPU chip (further away)
Level 3:
Motherboards contain level 3 cache on actual board itself ( larger than 2, but significantly slower)
RAM
Stores the programs currently in use and data associated with them
Latency
Time taken for a component to respond
Motherboard
The central printed circuit that connects components and devices to each other
System clock
Microchip that regulates the timing and speed of all computer functions
Overclocking
Practise of making components run at rate faster than designed
Per component:
CPU operates faster than system clock by changing its own clock multiplication factor
The Whole System:
System clock is increased affecting all components that detect the system clock and multiply factor
Bandwidth
The theoretical speed of date
Throughput
The actual speed of data, after latency has been applied
Internal Bus/Front Side Bus
Connects all components to the motherboard (Mostly CPU to RAM)
Data Bus
Transfers actual instruction or data between CPU and RAM
Address Bus
Transfers physical address of each instruction or data between CPU or RAM
Control Bus
Carries commands(what computer needs to do) between CPU and RAM
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)
Used to connect graphic cards, RAID cards, WiFi cards, or SSD’s to motherboard
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)
Computer bus interface used to connect mass storage devices(Hard-drive) to motherboard
USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Technology used to standardise connection of peripherals to computer
NVme (Non-Volatile Memory Express)
Allows SSD’s to read/write at a much higher speed than via a SATA communication bus
M.2 Format
Designed for manufacturers to install a variety of high speed devices that require very little power in small spaces
Hard Drives (secondary storage)
The hard drive is housed in computer case, Stores all user programs and data permanently
Hard Disk Drives
Designed with mechanical moving parts, that include read/write head that scans the disk for data.
- is susceptible to shock or damage
Solid State Drives
They don’t have any moving mechanical parts, only electric units
- much faster and less susceptible to shock or damage
Hybrid drives
A combonation of Hard Disk Drive and Solid State Drive
HDD is joined with high-speed flash memory using SDD technology
Flash Drive
Small, portable storage device that uses SSD tech
Optical Drives
Uses laser light to etch data onto a dis for read/write
- CD, DVD, Blu-ray drives
SD Cards
Secure Digital cards are very small flash memory cards that provide high memory for small size
Input Devices
Equipment that provides data to computer processing
Output Device
Any device that only receives information from computer
Cloud Storage
enables storing data and files on the internet
- iCloud
Disk Cache
Hardware Mechanism for improving the time it takes to read from or write to a hard disk
- included as part of hard disk
Instead of reading line by line, the lines are read into cache , so subsequent reads are from faster cache not slower drive
Browser Cache
Accessing website, a copy of website is kept in browser cache on local hard disk
Web Cache
Stores recently accessed web pages on a sever in network
