1 - Hardware Flashcards
(45 cards)
What is used to protect and contain all the components of the pc?
PC Case
What does a power supply unit do?
A power supply unit converts mains AC to low-voltage regulated DC power for the internal components of a computer.
What type of storage do hard disk drives use (HDD)?
Magenetic storage
What does SSD stand for?
Solid State Drive
What are some advantages of SSD’s over HDD’s
SSD’s can store information permanently even without power
SSD’s have no moving parts so are less vulnerable to mechanical issues
SDD’s have much better read performance and does not need to be defragmented
What do speakers do?
Speakers output audio.
What are some disadvantages of SSD’s over HDD’s
SSD’s are newer technology so they can cost more per gigabyte
SSD’s have a limited number of write cycles so can degrade over time
What is RAM?
RAM (random access memory) is a type of data storage used in computers that is generally located on the motherboard.This type of memory is volatile and all information that was stored in RAM is lost when the computer is turned off.
What is volatile memory?
Volatile memory is temporary memory that will delete if the power is turned off
What is a motherboard?
A motherboard is the main printed circuit board (PCB) found in general purpose computers. It holds, and allows, communication between many of the crucial electronic components of the PC.
What does a keyboard and mouse do?
Keyboard’s and mice are input devices that allow the user to type and control a mouse
What does a router do?
A router directs packets of data between computer networks
How do optical drives work?
Optical drives work by using a series of pits and bumps to distort a laser that hits it . As the disk spins, the computer shines a laser through the disk which gets reflected back to a detector, the computer then can read these signals and convert them into data.
What are the 4 Components of a CPU?
- Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
2.Register
3.Cache
4.Control Unit (CU)
What does the ALU do in the CPU?
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) - The ALU performs all the mathematical calculations / logical operations in the CPU
What does the Cache do in the CPU?
The Cache stores program instructions and data that are used repeatedly in the operation of programs or information that the CPU is likely to need next.
What does the Register do in the CPU?
Fast access storage locations found on the CPU where data or control information is temporarily stored.
What does the Control Unit do in the CPU?
Directs the flow of instructions and/or data and coordinates the other parts of the CPU. It generates clock ticks or controls the clock.
What are the 4 registers?
- Program Counter (PC)
- Memory Address Register (MAR)
- Current Instruction Register (CIR)
- Accumulator (ACC)
What is a Program Counter Register (PCR)?
A counter that keeps track of the memory address of the instruction to be executed next.
What is a Memory Address Register (MAR)?
Stores the address in the main memory that is currently being read or written.
What is a Current Instruction Register (CIR)?
A temporary holding area for the instruction that has just been fetched from memory.
What is an Accumulator (ACC)?
An accumulator is primarily used as a register in a CPU to store intermediate logical or arithmetic data in multistep calculations.
Describe the “Fetch” part of the FDE cycle
The fetch cycle takes the address required from memory, stores it in the current instruction register and moves the program counter on one, so that it points at the next instruction
