Technical Support Fundamentals Week 2 Flashcards
Ports
Connection points that we can connect devices to that extend the functionality of our computer
CPU
Central Processing Unit - the brain of the computer, controls all calculations and data processing, a binary calculator
Uses an instruction set which are rules of what a CPU can carry out
RAM
Random Access Memory - the computers short term memory
Hard Drive
Holds all of our data which includes pictures, music, apps, etc.
Motherboard
Holds everything in place, allows components to communicate - the body or circulatory system of the computer.
Power Supply
Converts wall electricity to one PC can use - AC wall power to low-voltage regulated DC power
Programs
Instructions that tell the computer what to do
Data Bus
Row of wires that interconnect parts of computer, comes in 8, 16, 32 and 64 bit sizes.
The external data bus (also known as the external bus or simply data bus) is the primary route for data in a PC. All data-handling components or optional data devices are connected to it; therefore, any information (code) placed on that bus is available to all devices connected to the computer.
Memory Controller Chip (MCC)
Bridge between CPU and RAM - MCC takes address and looks for the requested data from RAM and sends it back to CPU.
Address Bus
An address bus sends a memory address along the bus from the CPU to the memory (unidirectional). To fetch/write data, the CPU needs to tell the RAM the address.
CPU Cache
A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average cost to access data from the main memory. A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, which stores copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations.
! How many cache levels are in a CPU?
3 - L1, L2, L3
L1 is the smallest and fastest level
What does the CPU’s Internal Clock do?
Let’s the CPU know when instructions end and new begins and keeps all operations in sync. Has a clock wire that receives a volt to let the CPU know it can do calculations and when it can’t.
Clock Cycle
When a volt gets sent to the clock wire
Clock Speed
The maximum number of clock cycles that a CPU can handle in a certain time period. 3.4gHz is 3.4 billion cycles per second.
Overclocking
Increasing the rate of CPU clock cycles to perform more tasks
What are the two different CPU sockets?
LGA: Land Grid Array - pins stick out from the motherboard
PGA: Pin Grid Array - pins are on the processor
Heat Sink
Takes heat and dissipates it from CPU through a fan or another medium
What does 32/64 Bit Operating System architecture specify?
Specifying how much data can be efficiently handled with the CPU
What happens to the RAM once a PC is shut off?
It gets cleared, since its short term memory that means RAM is volatile
How does RAM interact with programs?
Has a copy of it within the RAM so the CPU can process it.