1.1.2 CPU Performance

• What does CPU performance measure in terms of clock speed?

  The number of Fetch Decode Execute cycles run per second
• How is clock speed measured?

  In hertz (Hz)
• What does a clock speed of 4.5 GHz indicate?

  It indicates 4.5 billion cycles per second
• How does a higher clock speed affect CPU performance?

  It allows the CPU to process more instructions per second
• What is the function of cores in a CPU?

  Cores allow parallel processing to take place
• How does each core in a CPU operate?

  Each core can execute a separate instruction at the same time
• What is the benefit of having multiple cores in a CPU?

  It enables multitasking by processing instructions independently
• Why might additional cores not increase performance for some software?

  Some software isn't programmed to utilize multiple cores
• What does dual-core mean?

  It means the CPU has 2 cores
• What does quad-core mean?

  It means the CPU has 4 cores
• How does cache improve CPU performance?

  Cache stores frequently used instructions and data for faster access
• Why is it faster to transfer data to and from cache than from RAM?

  Cache is designed for quicker access compared to RAM
• What is the effect of having more cache on CPU performance?

  More cache generally improves CPU performance
• What can be a downside of having too much cache?

  It can take longer to find instructions in cache
• What are Fetch Decode Execute cycles?

  They are the cycles that a CPU runs to process instructions
• How does multitasking relate to CPU cores?

  Multitasking allows multiple instructions to be processed simultaneously by different cores