3.1.3 CACHE, CLOCK, & CORE [NEW]

Question 1

What is the system clock?

Answer 1

• The system clock is a component that generates timing signals (clock pulses) used to synchronize all components on the motherboard

Question 2

What role does the control unit(CU) play with the system clock?

Answer 2

• The control unit(CU) sends signals on the control bus to coordinate events according to the pulses of the system clock.

Question 3

What are clock pulses used for?

Answer 3

Clock pulses are used to synchronize the operation of all components in the computer system.

Question 4

What is clock speed?

Answer 4

Clock speed is the number of clock pulses generated per second and determines how many CPU cycles can be executed per second

Question 5

How does clock speed affect CPU performance?

Answer 5

• A higher clock speed allows more fetch–decode–execute cycles per second, improving CPU performance.

Question 6

How many instructions are executed per clock pulse?

Answer 6

One instruction (one fetch–execute cycle) is executed per clock pulse

Question 7

Why does increasing clock frequency improve performance?

Answer 7

• Increasing clock frequency shortens instruction execution time, allowing more instructions to be completed per second.

Question 8

What is overclocking?

Answer 8

Overclocking is increasing the clock speed beyond the speed the computer was designed for by changing BIOS settings

Question 9

Where is overclocking configured?

Answer 9

Overclocking is configured in the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

Question 10

Why can overclocking cause system instability?

Answer 10

Instructions may not complete before the next instruction starts, causing crashes and unstable performance.

Question 11

How does overclocking affect CPU temperature?

Answer 11

Overclocking can cause serious overheating of the CPU, leading to unreliable performance

Question 12

How does bus width affect computer performance?

Answer 12

Increasing the bus width allows more data to be transferred per clock pulse and enables the direct access to more memory locations.

Question 13

How does increasing data and address bus width improve performance?

Answer 13

It improves processing speed by transferring more data at once and accessing more memory locations directly.

Question 14

What is cache memory?

Answer 14

Cache memory is fast memory located inside the CPU that stores frequently used data and instructions

Question 15

Why is cache memory faster than RAM?

Answer 15

Cache memory uses SRAM, which does not need refreshing, giving faster access times.

Question 16

How does cache memory improve CPU performance?

Answer 16

It reduces access time by storing frequently used instructions close to the CPU.

Question 17

How does cache size affect performance?

Answer 17

A larger cache can store more frequently used instructions, improving CPU performance.

Question 18

What is a CPU core made of?

Answer 18

One core is made up of an ALU, a control unit, and registers.

Question 19

What is a dual-core and quad-core processor?

Answer 19

A dual-core processor has two cores, and a quad-core processor has four cores.

Question 20

How do multiple cores improve performance?

Answer 20

Multiple cores allow instructions to be split and executed simultaneously, reducing task completion time

Question 21

How many instructions can each core process per clock pulse?

Answer 21

Each core can process one instruction per clock pulse

Question 22

Why does adding more cores not double performance?

Answer 22

The CPU must communicate with all cores, which reduces overall performance gains.

Question 23

Why is performance limited in dual-core and quad-core CPUs?

Answer 23

Communication channels between the CPU and cores reduce potential performance improvements

Question 24

List four factors that affect computer performance

Answer 24

Clock speed, number of cores, bus width, and cache memory size.

Question 25

Why does a higher clock speed improve performance?

Answer 25

It allows more fetch–decode–execute cycles per second

Question 26

Why do more cores improve performance?

Answer 26

More cores allow more instructions to be executed simultaneously

Question 27

Why does increasing bus width improve performance?

Answer 27

More data can be transferred per clock pulse and more memory locations can be accessed

Question 28

Why does a larger cache improve CPU performance?

Answer 28

It stores more frequently used instructions for faster access