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section 1 components of a computer system Flashcards

1
Q

what are embedded systems

A

computers built into other devices often used a control system

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2
Q

pros of embedded systems

A

easier to design , cheaper and efficient

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3
Q

what is the power supply

A

supplies power to motherboard

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4
Q

what is the cooling fan

A

extracts hot air

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5
Q

what is the CPU heat sink and cooling fan

A

keeps CPU at steady temp

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6
Q

what is the CPU

A

does all the processing

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7
Q

what is the motherboard

A

main circuit board in computer

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8
Q

what is the optical drive for

A

for read/writing

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9
Q

what is the hard disk drive

A

internal secondary storage

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10
Q

what is the graphics card

A

controls the graphics

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11
Q

what are the two types of computer system

A

general purpose

dedicated systems

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12
Q

what is the purpose of a computer

A

take data, process it, then output it.

complete tasks more efficiently

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13
Q

what is hardware

A

physical stuff that makes up your computer

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14
Q

what is software

A

programs that the computer system runs

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15
Q

what is the CPU

A

brain of the computer

processes all the data and instructions

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16
Q

what does the CPU depend on for processing power

A

clock speed
number of cores
cache size

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17
Q

what is the control unit and what does it do

A

executes program instructions by following the fetch-decode-execute cycle
controls the flow of data

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18
Q

what is the Arithmetic logic unit

A

does all the calculation and performs logic operations

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19
Q

what is the cache

A

fast memory in the CPU
stores regularly used data so that the CPU can access it quickly
caches have low capacity and are expensive

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20
Q

what are buses

A

collections of wires that are used to transmit data between components of the CPU

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21
Q

what is the clock

A

sends out a signal that continually cycles between 1 and 0

the number of clock cycles per second is called the clock speed

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22
Q

what does the ALU do

A

gets data from the CPU and register performs an operation and outputs it back

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23
Q

what are registers and what does the registers do

A

used to store intermediate results of calculations

hold data, instructions and memory addresses that are about to be used by the CPU

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24
Q

how does the fetch decode execute cycle work

A

1) The program counter gets the next instruction
2) processor then collects the address data from the MAR
3) The processor then fetches the data from memory the via the data bus
4) stored in MAR via the address bus
4) The instruction is then decoded by the ALU that does all the calculations
5) the processor then goes back to the program counter to collect the next instruction

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25
what are the two types of register
memory data register | memory address register
26
what does RAM stand for
Random access memory
27
what is RAM and what does it do
main memory that is volatile operating system is copied from secondary storage to RAM Data stays in RAM until files are closed
28
what is ROM and what does it do
Read only memory that is non volatile | contains the BIOS that tells the CPU what to check during start up
29
how much ROM and RAM do embedded systems need
more ROM because they don't write much | ROM and RAM stored on the same chip as the CPU
30
how much ROM and RAM do non-embedded systems need
Have more RAM because they need to write data to main memory | ROM and RAM stored on the motherboard
31
how does clock speed effect performance of the CPU
The number of instructions a single processor core can carry out per second
32
how does cores effect performance of the CPU
each core process data independently of the rest | the more cores the more instructions it can carry out at once
33
how does cache size effect performance of the CPU
a larger cache gives the CPU faster access to more data it needs to process
34
how does cache type effect performance of the CPU
Has levels of L1, L2, L3 Higher the level the more it can hold, but the slower it is speed based on how far it is from the CPU
35
how does RAM effect performance of the CPU
too little RAM won't keep all data loaded at once slowing system down more RAM more application if user has enough RAM increasing RAM will make no difference
36
what is primary storage
memory areas that the CPU can access directly | fastest read write and is mostly volatile
37
what is secondary storage
non volatile storage that isn't directly accessible to the CPU
38
what are HDDs
traditional internal storage that is made up of magnetised metal disks they are long lasting but get damaged
39
what is magnetic tape
reels of tape that are read/written sequentially by the tape drive
40
advantages of magnetic tape
high capacity low cost reading/writing is fast once it has found data
41
disadvantages of magnetic tape
slow at finding data
42
what are SSDs
storage devices with no moving parts used for internal storage
43
advantages of HDDs
cheaper high capacity longer readwrite life
44
advantages of SSDs
faster shock-proof silent don't need defragmenting
45
usb drive(what is it and advantages and disadvantages
solid state storage slower than SSD capacity is high for size
46
advantages of optical disks
cheap portable won't be damaged by water
47
disadvantages of optical disks
low capacity slow read/write streaming and downloading is better
48
what is cloud storage
a service where files can be uploaded via the internet to a remote server
49
what is utility software
software used to maintain or configure a computer
50
What is defragentation
Files are stored on a hard disk in available spaces eventually as files are moved and deleted gaps appear on the disk and the OS has to fill the gaps making the files slower as read/write has to move back and forth Defragmentation puts the files back into one block and collects the free space together
51
what does disk health do
hard drives start to deteriorate causing corrupted data | and disk health scan the drive for problems and fix it
52
what does compression do
reduces the size of files so they take up less disk space
53
what does encryption do
scrambles data to stop third parties from accessing it | to access it you need a key
54
what does backup do
copy of a computer systems files and settings stored externally that can be restored in event of data lose the back up software schedules regular backups
55
what do virus scanners do
inspect each file on your computer , looking for viruses
56
what does system clean up do
web browsers leave a lot of temporary files and cleanup gets rid of them
57
what are the main functions of the OS
communicate with input and output devices provide a platform for applications to run on controls memory management organise the CPU deal with file management and disk manage system security
58
what are l/0 devices
(input/output)allow computers to take inputs and give outputs
59
how doe's the OS communicate with the l/0 device
l/0 devices require a device drive and these act as translators for the signals between both the OS and device when computer is booted up the OS will find the correct device drivers for the device it detects device manufactures may release updates and these may be installed automatically
60
how the OS manages Applications
it provides a platform to run off allows then to access hardware and other devices like RAM and storage provides a user interface that applications are accessed through
61
how does the OS take charge of memory management
copies necessary parts of the application to memory, followed by additional parts when required manages how much RAM a program has access to when running multiple applications the OS stops interference with each other by allocating memory addresses
62
how does the OS take charge of memory management
copies necessary parts of the application to memory, followed by additional parts when required manages how much RAM a program has access to when running multiple applications the OS stops interference with each other by allocating memory addresses
63
how the OS tells the CPU what to process
use scheduling to determine the most efficient order using priority the instruction with the highest priority goes to the CPU first OS can interrupt if a more important instruction comes up
64
how the OS handles files
use file extensions to tell the computer what software is needed deals with the movement, editing and deletion of data
65
how the OS handles disk management
splits the physical disk into storage sectors and keeps track of free space on the disk maintains the hard disk with utility software
66
how the OS manages security
use user account control can only access there personal data and not others have anti theft measures such as passwords
67
what is open source software
software where the source code is made freely available
68
what examples are there for open source software
GIMP , firefox
69
advantages of open source software
``` free made for greater good software can be adapted collaborators are creative very reliable and secure ```
70
disadvantages of open source software
``` won't update regularly buggy security holes no warranties no customer support ```
71
what is proprietary software
software where only the compiled code is released
72
examples of proprietary
microsoft | adobe
73
advantages of proprietary software
comes with warranties, documentation, customer support well tested and reliable cheaper for companies than developing thier own custom built software
74
disadvantages of proprietary software
expensive may not fit a users needs may not maintain older software after warranties expire
75
what is the program counter
holds the address of the next instruction
76
what is the accumulator
where arithmetic are temoraliy stored
77
what is the MDR
holds the next instruction and then the data copied from the RAM
78
what is the MAR
holds the address of the current instruction and address of that data

Ict (8 decks)

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