Unit 06: Understanding and Assessing Hardware: Evaluating your System Flashcards
Moore’s Law
the pace at which CPU’s improve
who created Moore’s law? when?
Gorden Moore - 1965
DRAM?
dynamic random access memory - most common form of memory found in personal computers
will Moore’s law always be true?
probably not
6 main types of devices available?
- smartphones
- tablets
- ultrabooks
- 2-in-ones
- laptops
- desktops
3 types of tech users?
- casual users - internet access focus
- power users - fast and powerful process focus
- mobile users - lightweight focus
4 computer subsystems?
- CPU
- memory
- storage
- media
3 advantages of the desktop?
- more computing power
- easier to upgrade hardware
- bigger screen
how long should I keep my computing device?
2-5 years depending on upgrading system
system evaluation?
checks how the computer’s subsystems perform during a typical workday
CPU?
located on motherboard responsible for processing instruction, performing calculations, and managing the flow of info
AMD?
popular manufacturer of CPU
Ryzen and FX series are examples of?
AMD CPU’s
Step on how CPU processes data (4)
- fetch - collects binary data from RAM
- decode - decodes binary code into commands
- execute - CPU uses specialized hardware to perform the task
- store - outcome is stored in register
register?
special memory storage area built into CPU
machine cycle?
series of step CPU goes through when performing program instructions
the 2 units of a CPU?
- ALU
2. control unit
ALU?
arithmetic logic unit - performs all the arithmetic calculations and makes logical comparisons
control unit?
manages CPU switches
system clock?
the internal clock used by the motherboard to control when the CPU moves to the next stage
clock cycle?
sets the pace by which the CPU moves from process to process
clock speed?
the pace/speed by which the CPU moves from process to process - frequency
what determines a CPU’s processing power? (3)
- clock speed
- number of cores
- amount of cache memory
benefits of higher clock speed?
faster processing of instructions by CPU
overclocking?
CPU runs faster than the manufacturer recommends
results of overclocking
- shorter lifespan
2. faster processing power
who uses overclocking?
gamers
what does a core contain?
parts of the CPU required to process an instruction
results of having more cores?
allows multiple instructions to be executed at once
parallel processing?
the network of computers that each work on a portion of the same problem simultaneously
cache memory?
form of RAM that gets data to the CPU faster
what are the 3 levels of cache memory?
a) speed?
b) storage area
- located as a block of memory on the CPU chip - fastest
- located on the CPU chip but further away - more storage area
- located in the CPU chip - slowest speed but the biggest storage area
pipelining?
a technique that enables the CPU to work on more than one instruction at the same time
does pipeline increase or decrease processing speed? by how much?
increase 4 times