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Computing > Section 5- Components of a Computer System > Flashcards

Section 5- Components of a Computer System Flashcards

1
Q

What is a computer?

A
  • A computer is a machine that processes data
  • The purpose of a computer is to take data, process it and then output it
  • A computer system consists of hardware and software that work together to process data and complete tasks
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2
Q

What is hardware?

A

-Hardware is the physical stuff that makes up your computer like the CPU, monitor, motherboard and printer

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3
Q

What is software?

A
  • Software is the programs that the computer system runs
  • You can have application software (programs that help the user perform specific tasks) and system software (operating systems and utilities)
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4
Q

What are embedded systems?

A
  • Embedded systems are computers which are built into other devices, like dishwashers,microwaves and TV
  • They are often used as control systems- they monitor and control machinery in order to achieve a desired result
  • They are usually easy to design, cheap to produce and more efficient at doing the task than a normal computer as they are specific to one task only
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5
Q

What components do the computer contain?

A
  • Computers contain components which work together:
  • Power Supply- supplies power to the motherboard, optical and hard drive, and other hardware
  • Case cooling fan- extracts hot air from the computer case
  • CPU Heat Sink and Cooling Fan- keeps the CPU at a steady temperature
  • CPU- most important component (does all the processing)
  • Graphics Card
  • Motherboard- the main circuit board in the computer, where the hardware is connected
  • Hard Disk Drive- internal secondary storage
  • RAM sticks- Computer Memory slots in here
  • Optical Drive- for read/writing of optical disks
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6
Q

What is the CPU?

A
  • The CPU is the brain of the computer system
  • It processes all of the data and instructions that make the system work
  • The processing power of the CPU depends on:clock speed, number of cores and cache size and type
  • The CPU also contains various registers which temporarily hold tiny bits of data needed by the CPU. They are very quick to read/write to, way quicker than other forms of memory
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7
Q

What is the Control Unit(CU)?

A
  • The control unit is in overall control of the CPU. It’s main job is to execute program instructions by following the fetch-decode-execute cycle
  • It controls the flow of data inside and outside of the CPU
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8
Q

What is the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)?

A
  • Does all the calculations
  • It completes simple addition and subtraction, compares the size of numbers and can do multiplications and divisions using repeated addition and subtraction
  • It performs logic operations such as AND, OR and NOT and binary shifts
  • Registers are used to store intermediate results of calculations
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9
Q

What is the cache?

A
  • The cache is a very fast memory in the CPU. It’s slower than the registers, but faster than RAM
  • It stores regularly used data so that the CPU an access it quickly the next time it is needed. When the CPU requests data, it checks the cache first to see if the data is there. If not, it will fetch it from the RAM
  • Caches have a very low capacity and are expensive compared to the RAM and secondary storage
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10
Q

What is the clock?

A
  • The clock sends out a signal that continually cycles between 1 and 0, usually at a constant rate
  • The Signal is used to synchronise when instructions will be carried out
  • The number of clock cycles per second is called the clock speed
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11
Q

What are buses?

A
  • Buses are collections of wires that are used to transmit data between the components of the CPU, and to other parts of the computer system.
  • A processor may have separate buses for carrying data, instructions and memory addresses
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12
Q

What is Von Neumann architecture and how does it work?

A
  • The Von Neumann architecture describes a system where the CPU runs programs stored in memory. Programs consist of instructions and data which are stored in memory addresses
  • The Registers hold any data, instructions and memory addresses that are about to be used by the CPU. There are specific registers for different tasks
  • The memory holds the program instructions and the program data
  • The CU controls the flow of data. It also keeps track of the memory address of the instruction for each cycle
  • The ALU gets data from the CU and registers, performs an operation on it an sends the output back to the registers
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13
Q

What is the Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle?

A

-FETCH- the control unit reads the memory address of the next CPU instruction->the instruction stored in that address is copied from memory to one of the registers->the memory address in the control unit is incremented to point to the address of the next instruction, ready for the next cycle
-DECODE-the instruction that was copied from memory is decoded by the control unit->the control unit prepares for the next step,e.g. by loading other values into the registers
-EXECUTE-the instruction is performed.This could be:load data from memory, write data to memory, do a calculation or logic operation, change the address in the CU, or halt the program
-

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14
Q

What is RAM (Random Access Memory)?

A
  • RAM is high speed, volatile memory
    1) RAM is used as the main memory in a computer. It can be read and written to.
    2) The main memory is where all data, files and programs are stored while they are being used
    3) When a computer boots up, the operating system is copied from secondary storage to RAM
    4) When software applications, documents and files are opened, they are copied from secondary storage to RAM. They stay in RAM until the files or applications are closed
    5) RAM is slower than the CPU cache, but way faster than secondary storage
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15
Q

What is ROM (Read Only Memory)?

A

1) ROM is non-volatile memory
2) ROM comes on a small, factory-made chip built into the motherboard
3) It contains all the instructions a computer needs to properly boot up. These instructions are called the BIOS(Basic Input output system)
4) As soon as the computer is powered on, the CPU reads the instructions from ROM. This tells the CPU to perform self checks and set up the computer,e.g. test the memory is working OK,see what hardware is present and copy the operating system into RAM
5) Although the CPU can only read ROM, it is possible to update the BIOS on a ROM chip

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16
Q

What is volatile and non-volatile memory?

A
  • Volatile Memory is temporary memory. It requires power to retain its data
  • non-volatile Memory is permanent memory-it keeps its content even when it has no power
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17
Q

What happens in a non-embedded system?

A
  • Non-embedded Systems usually have much more RAM than ROM because they often need to write data to main memory
  • ROM is typically only used for BIOS, which does not require much memory
  • ROM and RAM are usually stored on the motherboard, away from the CPU
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18
Q

What happens in a embedded system?

A
  • embedded systems usually have more ROM than RAM because they do not write much (if any) data to memory
  • they do not tend to have secondary storage so ROM is used to store all programs
  • ROM and RAM are often stored on the same chip as the CPU to reduce physical space needed and cost
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19
Q

How does CPU performance depend on Clock Speed?

A
  • for most desktop computers, clock speed is somewhere around 3.5 GHz. This determines the number of instructions a single processor core can carry out per second- the higher the clock speed, the more instructions that can be carried out per second
  • some CPUs can be overclocked to make them run at a higher clock speed than the factory-set rate. But this can be risky if it is not done properly- it can make CPUs overheat, causing crashes or permanent damage to the system. High performance cooling systems (e.g. water cooling) are usually needed
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20
Q

How does CPU performance depend on the CPU Cores?

A
  • Each Core in a CPU can process data independently of the rest
  • The more cores a CPU has, the more instructions it can carry out at once, so the faster it can process a batch of data
  • Most PCs and Smartphones have 4 or more cores these days
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21
Q

How does CPU performance depend on Cache Size?

A
  • The Cache is data storage inside the CPU that is much faster than the RAM
  • A larger CPU cache gives the CPU faster access to more data it needs to process
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22
Q

How does the CPU performance depend on the Cache type?

A
  • There are different levels of Cache memory-L1, L2 and L3. The higher the level, the more it can hold, but the slower it is
  • Cache Speed is based on how far it is from the CPU. L1 is quick because it is on the CPU itself, while L3 is often on the motherboard so it is slower
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23
Q

How does the RAM affect the overall performance of a CPU?

A

1) If a computer has too little RAM, it may not be able to keep all application data loaded at once, slowing the system down
2) The more RAM, the more applications or more memory-intensive applications it can smoothly run, making it faster overall
3) If the computer already has plenty of RAM to run everything the user wants, increasing RAM may make no difference to performance

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24
Q

How does the GPU affect the overall performance of a CPU?

A

1) GPUs (graphics Processing Units) handle graphics and image processing. They relieve the processing load on the CPU, freeing it to do other things
2) Computers have Basic GPUs integrated onto the motherboard or the CPU, but you can install a dedicated GPU (graphics card) to improve performance in graphics-intensive applications, e.g. PC Gaming and design software

25
Q

What are the two types of storage and what do they do?

A

1) PRIMARY STORAGE refers to the memory areas that the CPU can access directly, like CPU registers, cache, ROM and RAM. Primary storage has the fastest read/write speeds and is mostly volatile
2) SECONDARY STORAGE is non-volatile storage that is not directly accessible by the CPU. It is where all data are stored when not in use. It included magnetic hard disk drives, solid state drives, CDs and SD cards. Read/write speeds for secondary storage are much slower compared to primary storage

26
Q

What are magnetic hard disks?

A
  • they are high capacity and reliable storage
  • Hard Disk drives (HDDs) are the traditional internal storage in PCs and laptops
  • A Hard Disk drive is made up of a stack of magnetised Metal disks spinning at a rate between 5400 and 15000 rpm (revolutions per minute)
  • Data is stored magnetically in small areas called sectors within circular tracks. Read/write heads on a moving arm are used to access sectors on the disks
  • Portable HDDs are popular for backing up and transporting large amounts of data
  • Despite their moving parts,HDDs are generally very long lasting and reliable, although they could be damaged by large impacts like being dropped
27
Q

What are other types of magnetic storages?

A
  • Another type of magnetic storage is magnetic tape. It has a very high capacity and an extremely low cost per GB. It is often used by large organisations for backing up large amounts of data
  • Reels of tape are stored in plastic cassettes. Tapes are read/written sequentially by the tape drive i.e. from beginning to end. This means it can be slow when finding specific data stored on them, but once it is in the right place, reading/writing to the tape is very fast
28
Q

What are solid state drives (SSDs)?

A
  • fast and reliable secondary storage
  • Solid State Drives (SSDs) are storage devices with no moving parts. Most of them use a type of flash memory. SSDs are used for the same purpose as HDDs- for internal storage
  • SSDs have significantly faster read/write times than HDDs. Using a SSD rather than traditional HDD can give much quicker times for booting up and opening programs and files
  • Hybrid drives exist which use solid state storage for the OS and programs, and a hard disk for data
  • Like HDDs, Portable SSDs can be used to back up and transport data
29
Q

What are other types of flash storage?

A
  • USB pen drives and memory cards are also flash-based, solid-state storage
  • They are much slower than SSDs and have a much shorter read/write life
  • They are used to expand the storage capacity of small devices like cameras, smartphones and tablets. Their capacity is very high relative to their tiny size
30
Q

What are the advantages of HDDs and SSDs?

A 
HDDs:
-They are cheaper
-HDDs have a higher capacity
-They have a longer read/write life than SSDs
SSDs:
-they are faster
-don’t need defragmenting 
-more shock proof than HDDs
-silent whereas HDDs make noise
31
Q

What are optical disks?

A

1) optical disks are things like CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs
2) CDs can hold about 700mb of data, DVDs can hold about 4.7GB and Blu-Ray discs can hold around 25GB
3) they come in three forms:read only, write once,rewritable
4) use is declining
5) very cheap, portable,won’t be damaged by shocks and water although it can easily be scratched

32
Q

What is cloud storage? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

-Cloud Storage is a service where files can be uploaded via the Internet to a remote server. You normally pay a subscription, though some provide a limited service for free

Advantages:
-users can access files from any connected device
-files can be shared with others or made public
-easy to increase how much storage is available
-no need to buy expensive hardware to store data
-no need to pay IT staff to manage he hardware
-cloud host provides security and backups for you
-can be cheap/free if not much storage is required
Disadvantages:
-need connection to the internet to access files
-upload/download speed depends on bandwidth
-dependent on host for security and backup
-stored data can be vulnerable to hackers
-unclear who has ownership over cloud data
-subscription fees for using cloud storage may be expensive in the long term

33
Q

Quick Summary

A

AVERAGE READ/WRITE SPEED

Optical disk->memory card->magnetic tape->HDD->SSD

AVERAGE COST

Magnetic tape->optical disk->HDD->memory card->SSD

AVERAGE CAPACITY

Optical disk->memory card->SSD->HDD->magnetic tape

34
Q

What is the operating system and what does it do?

A

-The OS (operating system) is a complex piece of software found on most computer systems.
=The main functions are:
-Communicate with input and output devices via device drivers
-Provide a platform for applications to run on, and a user interface
-Control Memory Management and allocation
-Organise the CPU and it’s Processing tasks
-Deal with the file Management and Disk Management
-Manage System Security and user accounts

35
Q

How does the operating system (OS) communicate?

A

I/O (input/output) devices allow computers to take inputs and give outputs. Operating systems use device drivers to communicate with I/O devices connected to the computer system:

  • Every I/O device connected to the computer system requires a device driver. Drivers essentially act as a ‘translator’ for the signals between the OS and the device
  • When a computer is booted up, the OS will choose the correct device drivers for the device it detects. If new devices are connected to the computer, the system may automatically find and install a new, matching driver
  • Device manufacturers may release updates to device drivers in order to fix bugs, add features or improve the performance of their device. Updates may be installed automatically by the OS or manually by the user
36
Q

How does the OS (operating system) manage applications?

A

1) Operating Systems provide a platform for applications to run on, and manage system resources to allow computers to run multiple applications at once
2) It also allows applications to access hardware and other peripheral devices are needed
3) It also provides a user interface that applications are accessed through. Most desktop computers traditionally use graphical interface that are WIMP-based where applications are displayed with (Windows, Icons, Menus and pointers)
4) These interfaces are ideal for use with a mouse and keyboard, but devices with different input methods may have different interfaces
5) Applications are usually written for a specific OS and will take advantage of its features

37
Q

How is the OS in charge of memory management?

A

1) When an application is opened, the OS copies the necessary parts of the application to memory, followed by additional parts when they are required. The OS will decide if applications or features have been used recently-if not, then they will be removed
2) Manages how much RAM a program has access to. This will depend on the program- for example, image editing software will use a lot of memory, while text editors require less RAM
3) When running multiple applications at once, the OS makes sure that they do not overwrite of interfere with each other by allocating certain applications certain memory addresses, keeping their processes in separate locations

38
Q

What does the OS tell the CPU about what to process?

A

1) When an application is launched, it creates one or more processes. Each process has instructions that it needs the CPU to execute. However, CPUs can only carry out instructions from one process at a time
2) Operating Systems deal with this by using scheduling to determine the most efficient order for the CPU to execute instructions
3) Each process is allocated a ‘priority’ by the OS. The CPU carries out the instructions from the highest priority and the other after in a queue
4) The OS may interrupt the current CPU process if a higher-priority process becomes available
5) In order to allow multitasking, the CPU swaps between different processes very rapidly

39
Q

How does the OS handle file and disk management?

A

1) Computers store data as files. images, videos, music and spreadsheets are all just collections of data. File extensions tell the computer which software should be used to open the file
2) The OS is responsible for file management- the organisation of data into a usable hierarchical structure. It also deals with the movement, editing and deletion of data
3) The OS manages the hard disk. It splits the physical disk into storage sectors, decided which sectors to write data to, and keep ps track of free space on the disk.
4) The OS also organised and maintains the hard disk with utility software like defragmentation software

40
Q

How does the OS manage system security?

A

1) Most popular OSs include ways of keeping data stored on a system secure. One common way in which they do this is through user account control. User accounts allow different users to be granted or denied access to specific data or resources on a computer system
2) On most desktop operating systems, each user has access to their own personal data and desktop, but cannot access other users’ personal data, unless they are a system administrator
3) Operating Systems May have anti-theft measures to prevent other users from accessing locked devices or accounts to steal information. User accounts may be password or pin protected. Some devices also require a user to draw a specific pattern on the screen, or have fingerprint or retina scanners

41
Q

How does the utility software help to maintain a computer?

A

Utility system software refers to any software used to maintain or configure a computer. Many useful utilities are installed with the operating system, but you can install other ones to perform additional tasks

42
Q

What is defragmentation?

A

Files are stored on a hard disk in available spaces. Ideally, whole files would be stored together, but as files are moved and deleted, gaps appear on the disk. The OS has to split new files up to fill the gaps. This makes reading these files slower as the read/write head has to move back and forth across the disk. Defragmentation puts the files back into one block and collects the free space together

43
Q

What is disk health?

A

Over time, hard drives can start to deteriorate, causing corrupted data and slow read/write speeds. Disk health utilities scan the drive for problems and fix issues where possible

44
Q

What is compression?

A

Compression software reduces the size of files so they take up less disk space. It is used a lot on the internet to make files quicker to download. Standard file formats include . zip and .rar. Compressed files need to be extracted before they can be used

45
Q

What is encryption?

A

Encryption software scrambles (encrypts) data to stop third-parties from accessing it. Encrypted data can be decrypted using a special ‘key’

46
Q

What is backup?

A

A backup is a copy of a computer systems files and settings stored externally that can be restored in the event of data logs. Data loss can happen for many reasons-fire, theft, flood, malware and hardware failure. A backup utility is software with facilities such as scheduling of regular backups, creating rescue disks, disk images and options for how much data to backup

47
Q

What are Virus scanners?

A

These inspect each file on your computer, looking for viruses. They usually have a list of known viruses to check for- they need to be update regularly so they do not miss anything

48
Q

What is a system cleanup?

A

Programs like web browsers leave a lot of temporary files on your hard drive which can end up taking up lots of space unnecessarily. System cleanup utilities go through and get rid of files like these

49
Q

What is the CPU?

A
  • The CPU is the brain of the computer system
  • It processes all of the data and instructions that make the system work
  • The processing power of the CPU depends on:clock speed, number of cores and cache size and type
  • The CPU also contains various registers which temporarily hold tiny bits of data needed by the CPU. They are very quick to read/write to, way quicker than other forms of memory
50
Q

What is the Control Unit(CU)?

A
  • The control unit is in overall control of the CPU. It’s main job is to execute program instructions by following the fetch-decode-execute cycle
  • It controls the flow of data inside and outside of the CPU
51
Q

What is the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)?

A
  • Does all the calculations
  • It completes simple addition and subtraction, compares the size of numbers and can do multiplications and divisions using repeated addition and subtraction
  • It performs logic operations such as AND, OR and NOT and binary shifts
  • Registers are used to store intermediate results of calculations
52
Q

What is the cache?

A
  • The cache is a very fast memory in the CPU. It’s slower than the registers, but faster than RAM
  • It stores regularly used data so that the CPU an access it quickly the next time it is needed. When the CPU requests data, it checks the cache first to see if the data is there. If not, it will fetch it from the RAM
  • Caches have a very low capacity and are expensive compared to the RAM and secondary storage
53
Q

What is the clock?

A
  • The clock sends out a signal that continually cycles between 1 and 0, usually at a constant rate
  • The Signal is used to synchronise when instructions will be carried out
  • The number of clock cycles per second is called the clock speed
54
Q

What are buses?

A
  • Buses are collections of wires that are used to transmit data between the components of the CPU, and to other parts of the computer system.
  • A processor may have separate buses for carrying data, instructions and memory addresses
55
Q

What is Von Neumann architecture and how does it work?

A
  • The Von Neumann architecture describes a system where the CPU runs programs stored in memory. Programs consist of instructions and data which are stored in memory addresses
  • The Registers hold any data, instructions and memory addresses that are about to be used by the CPU. There are specific registers for different tasks
  • The memory holds the program instructions and the program data
  • The CU controls the flow of data. It also keeps track of the memory address of the instruction for each cycle
  • The ALU gets data from the CU and registers, performs an operation on it an sends the output back to the registers
56
Q

What is the Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle?

A

-FETCH- the control unit reads the memory address of the next CPU instruction->the instruction stored in that address is copied from memory to one of the registers->the memory address in the control unit is incremented to point to the address of the next instruction, ready for the next cycle
-DECODE-the instruction that was copied from memory is decoded by the control unit->the control unit prepares for the next step,e.g. by loading other values into the registers
-EXECUTE-the instruction is performed.This could be:load data from memory, write data to memory, do a calculation or logic operation, change the address in the CU, or halt the program
-

57
Q

What is RAM (Random Access Memory)?

A
  • RAM is high speed, volatile memory
    1) RAM is used as the main memory in a computer. It can be read and written to.
    2) The main memory is where all data, files and programs are stored while they are being used
    3) When a computer boots up, the operating system is copied from secondary storage to RAM
    4) When software applications, documents and files are opened, they are copied from secondary storage to RAM. They stay in RAM until the files or applications are closed
    5) RAM is slower than the CPU cache, but way faster than secondary storage
58
Q

What is ROM (Read Only Memory)?

A

1) ROM is non-volatile memory
2) ROM comes on a small, factory-made chip built into the motherboard
3) It contains all the instructions a computer needs to properly boot up. These instructions are called the BIOS(Basic Input output system)
4) As soon as the computer is powered on, the CPU reads the instructions from ROM. This tells the CPU to perform self checks and set up the computer,e.g. test the memory is working OK,see what hardware is present and copy the operating system into RAM
5) Although the CPU can only read ROM, it is possible to update the BIOS on a ROM chip

Computing (6 decks)

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