Unit 1 Lesson 3 - Types of Processor Flashcards
What are the 2 main Processor Architectures?
Von Neumann
Harvard
What exactly is Von Neumann Architecture?
It is a model of a processor which Instructions and Data are stored in a common Main Memory and transferred along a single shared bus. However, this causes bottlenecking.
What Exactly is Harvard Architecture?
An alternative model which separates the data and instructions into separate memories using different buses.
What are the advantages of Von Neumann Architecture?
- It simplifies the design of the Control Unit.
- Data from memory and from devices are accessed in the same way
- Almost all general purpose computers are based on Von Neumann’s principles
What are the advantages of Harvard Architecture?
- Separate buses allow parallel processing
- Memories can be different sizes: more efficient use of space
What is contemporary processing?
It is where a processor takes the combination of Von Neumann & Harvard Architectures.
Vonn Neumann is used for handling data & instructions in Main Memory.
Harvard is used for retrieving data from Cache. It divides cache into Data Cache & Instruction Cache.
What is CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computers) ?
A large instruction set which completes tasks in the shortest amount of Assembly lines possible.
What is RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computers) ?
An instruction set which takes the minimum number of simple instructions in 1 clock cycle.
This allows for Pipelining as it is in one clock cycle.
What are the advantages of RISC?
- Hardware is simpler to build. Less circuits are needed to carry out complex instructions
- Because each instruction takes same amount of time (one clock cycle), pipelining is possible
- RAM is now cheaper, RISC use of RAM and software allows for better performance processors at less cost
What are the advantages of CISC?
- Quicker to code programs
- The compiler has very little work to do
- Code is relatively short which means very little RAM is required to store instructions
What is a Multi-core system?
It essentially means Multi-core processor.
It distributes workload across multiple processor cores, which means it achieves a significantly higher performance by performing the tasks in parallel. (hence why they are known as parallel systems).
What is a co-processor?
A co-processor is an extra processor used to supplement functions of the CPU.
Essentially, performs a very specific function to supplement the CPU, e.g a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a co-processor.
What is a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)?
It is a specialised circuit which is very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing.
It has thousands of small cores designed for parallel processing.
This is why it can process large blocks of visual data simultaneously.
What can a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) do?
It can act together with CPU to accelerate scientific, engineering and other applications.
They are found in numerous devices like phones, cars, drones etc.
