Factors affecting CPU performance

• What does CPU performance measure?

  How fast the processor completes tasks
• What is clock speed compared to in the study material?

  A car's engine RPM
• How can clock speed be compared to a car's engine RPM?

  • Higher RPM means more power and speed
  • Higher clock speed means more instructions executed
• How does a higher clock speed affect CPU performance?

  More instructions can be executed per second
• What does cache size influence in CPU performance?

  Faster memory access speeds up instructions
• What is the purpose of the Job dispatcher in the multi-core computer system?

  To distribute jobs/tasks to the available CPUs
• If a CPU has a clock speed of 4 GHz, how does it compare to a 2 GHz CPU?

  It executes instructions twice as fast
• How does the data flow between the CPUs and the Job dispatcher?

  • Data flows bidirectionally between the CPUs and the Job dispatcher
  • The Job dispatcher coordinates the distribution of data/tasks to the available CPUs
• What is clock speed measured in?

  Gigahertz (GHz)
• What does clock speed determine in a CPU?

  Number of processor cycles per second
• What are the key factors that determine CPU performance?

  • Clock speed
  • Number of cores
  • Cache size
• What are the main components of the multi-core computer system shown in the image?

  • 4 CPUs (CPU 1, CPU 2, CPU 3, CPU 4)
  • Job dispatcher
  • Job scheduler
• What happens during each processor cycle?

  The CPU executes an instruction
• Which processor is faster: a 3.5 GHz dual-core or a 2.5 GHz single-core?

  3.5 GHz dual-core processor
• How can a multi-core computer system improve performance compared to a single-core system?

  • Parallel processing of tasks by multiple CPUs
  • Increased throughput and faster completion of workloads
  • More efficient utilization of computing resources
• What is the main benefit of parallel processing in modern processors?

  Significantly increases efficiency
• What does the job dispatcher manage in a multi-core processor?

  Communication between different cores
• What is parallel processing?

  Running multiple instructions simultaneously
• What is the main component that connects the CPUs to the Job dispatcher?

  Job scheduler
• How do multiple cores affect CPU performance?

  They enable multitasking like multiple workers
• How does cache size complement the number of cores in a CPU?

  Each core can have its own cache
• What does the cache store?

  Frequently used instructions and data
• How do the Registers & Counters relate to the Combinational & Sequential Circuits?

  The Registers & Counters implement the Combinational & Sequential Circuits
• What is the relationship between clock speed and CPU performance?

  Faster clock speeds mean more instructions per second
• What is the relationship between cache size and memory access speed?

  • Larger cache size stores more data
  • Fewer accesses to main memory required
  • Results in faster overall performance
• How does a larger cache size affect performance?

  It leads to fewer main memory accesses
• How does parallel processing differ from simply increasing clock speed?

  It allows multiple tasks to happen simultaneously
• What is the role of a job scheduler in parallel processing?

  It assigns tasks to different cores
• What does a job scheduler do?

  Assigns tasks to different cores
• What components perform the simpler operations defined by ISA?

  Registers and sequential circuits
• What does the instruction set architecture define?

  The visible instructions a programmer uses
• What does a job dispatcher do?

  Manages communication between cores
• How are ISA instructions broken down?

  Through microarchitecture into simpler operations
• What does the CPU check first when it needs data?

  Cache
• What is the hierarchical design in ISA?

  • High-level instructions
  • Microarchitecture breakdown
  • Physical hardware implementation
• How does the multi-core computer system differ from a single-core computer system?

  A multi-core system has multiple CPUs that can process tasks in parallel, while a single-core system has only one CPU
• What is the name of the component labeled "PC" in the diagram?

  PC
• What are the key differences between Combinational and Sequential Circuits?

  Combinational Circuits:

  • Output depends only on current inputs
  • No memory or state

  
  

  Sequential Circuits:

  • Output depends on current inputs and previous state
  • Have memory to store state
• What is the role of Increasing Level of Abstraction in this architecture?

  • Moves from low-level hardware details to higher-level software interface
  • Allows for more efficient and flexible design and programming
• What are the main components of the Microarchitecture?

  • Registers & Counters
  • Combinational & Sequential Circuits