Systems architecture

• What are the two main components of a computer system?

  Hardware and software
• What is the role of hardware in a computer system?

  Physical components of a computer
• What does software refer to in a computer system?

  Programs that run on a computer
• What is the central processing unit (CPU) often referred to as?

  The brain of the computer
• What are the six main components of a CPU?

  Control unit, ALU, registers, cache, buses, clock
• What is the function of the control unit (CU) in a CPU?

  Manages instructions
• What does the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) do?

  Performs arithmetic and logic calculations
• What is the purpose of registers in a CPU?

  Store small amounts of data
• What types of data can registers store?

  Addresses, current instructions, calculation results
• What is cache memory?

  A small amount of high-speed RAM
• Why is cache memory important for a CPU?

  It allows faster processing by holding data
• What is a bus in computer architecture?

  A high-speed internal connection
• What are the three types of buses in a computer?

  Address bus, data bus, control bus
• What is the function of the clock in a CPU?

  Coordinates all computer components
• How is clock speed measured?

  In hertz (Hz)
• What does a higher clock speed indicate?

  More instructions can be performed
• How does the function of the ALU relate to primary and secondary storage?

  Data passes through the ALU between them
• What are the functions of the control unit (CU)?

  • Fetches data from memory
  • Decodes instructions
  • Executes instructions
  • Issues control signals to hardware
• What are the main functions of the arithmetic logic unit (ALU)?

  • Performs arithmetic operations
  • Makes logical decisions
  • Acts as a gateway between memory types
• What are the roles of the three types of buses?

  • Address bus: carries memory addresses
  • Data bus: carries actual data
  • Control bus: carries control signals and clock pulses
• What is the significance of clock speed in a CPU?

  • Indicates the number of cycles per second
  • Higher speeds allow more instructions per second
  • Measured in hertz (Hz)
• What are the characteristics of cache memory?

  • High-speed RAM
  • Temporarily holds frequently used data
  • Built directly within the processor
• What are the types of data that can be processed by a CPU?

  • Integers
  • Characters
  • Boolean values
• What are the different types of registers in a CPU?

  • Program counter
  • Memory address register (MAR)
  • Memory data register (MDR)
  • Current instruction register (CIR)
  • Accumulator (ACC)
• What are the two main components of computer systems?

  Hardware and software
• What is hardware in a computer system?

  Physical components of a computer
• What is software in a computer system?

  Programs that run on a computer
• What is the central processing unit (CPU)?

  • The brain of the computer
  • Processes program instructions
• What does clock speed measure?

  The speed of a computer's CPU
• How is clock speed measured?

  In hertz
• What does a higher clock speed indicate?

  More fetch-decode-execute cycles per second
• What is overclocking?

  Speeding up the CPU clock
• What is cache memory?

  A small amount of high-speed RAM
• Why is cache memory important for CPU performance?

  It reduces wait time for instructions
• What is a core in a CPU?

  A processing unit within the CPU
• How do multiple cores affect CPU performance?

  They allow more instructions to be processed
• What factors affect CPU performance?

  • Clock speed
  • Cache size
  • Number of cores
• What is the function of the CPU clock?

  To synchronize the computer's hardware components
• What happens to data in RAM when the computer is turned off?

  It is lost
• What is the unit of frequency?

  Hertz (Hz)