Systems Architecture Flashcards
1
Q
What is the purpose of the CPU?
A
- Brain of the computer system
- Processes all of the data and instructions that make the system work
2
Q
What does the speed of the CPU depend on
A
- Clock speed
- number of cores
- cache size
3
Q
What happens in the fetch part of FDE cycle
A
- Copies memory address from PC to MAR
- Copies instruction stored in MAR address to MDR
- Increases PC by 1
4
Q
What happens in Decode
A
- CU decodes instruction in MDR
5
Q
What happens in execute
A
- Instruction is performed
- Goes to Fetch stage
6
Q
What are the parts of the CPU?
A
- CU
- ALU
- Cache
7
Q
What does the CU do
A
- manage the FDE
- Controls flow of data
8
Q
What does the ALU do
A
- Does calculations in the CPU
9
Q
What does the cache do
A
- Fast memory in the CPU
- Stores regularly used data
- L1 quickest, L3 slowest and largest
10
Q
What are the registers?
A
- Accumulator
- MDR
- MAR
- PC
11
Q
What does each register do?
A
- Accumulator stores the results of calculations done by the ALU
- MDR stores the instruction to be processed
- MAR holds the memory address of the instruction about to be executed
- PC holds the memory address of the next instruction
12
Q
How does clock speed affect the CPU and how can you incrase it?
A
- Higher the clock speed, higher the CPU speed
- CPUs can be overclocked to make them run at high clock speeds.
- Can causes overheating, crashes or permanent damage.
13
Q
How does number of cores affect CPU speed
A
- Each core processes data independently of the rest
- More cores, more instructions done at once
14
Q
How does cache size affect CPU speed?
A
- Large cache size means that the CPU gets faster access to more data it needs to process.
15
Q
What is an embedded system?
A
- Computers built into other devices, dedicated systems
- Dedicated to one task
16
Q
Advantages of embedded systems
A
- Cheap
- efficient
- easy to design
17
Q
Examples of embedded systems
A
- Calculator
- Washing machine
- Microwave
- GPS
