CS401A's Midterms: Comp. Sys. Architect Module 03

Question 1

Hardware Architecture

is the collection of physical parts of a computer system.

Answer 1

Computer hardware

Question 2

Hardware Architecture

It can be categorized as having either external or internal components.

Answer 2

Computer hardware

Question 3

Hardware Architecture

also called peripheral components, are those items that are often connected to the computer in order to control either its input or output.

These include the computer case and monitor (output component), and keyboard and mouse (common input components).

Answer 3

External components,

Question 4

Hardware Architecture

include items such as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others.

Answer 4

Internal components

Question 5

Generation and Advancements

> 1st Generation

Answer 5

(Vacuum Tubes)

Question 6

Hardware Architecture

was invented in parallel to the electric bulb and used a similar concept.

Answer 6

• The vacuum tubes

Question 7

Generation and Advancements

> 2nd Generation

Answer 7

(Transistors)

Question 8

Hardware Architecture

became faster, smaller, highly reliable, and significantly cheaper than vacuum tubes.

Answer 8

• Transistors

Question 9

Generation and Advancements

> 3rd Generation

Answer 9

(Integrated Circuit)

Question 10

Hardware Architecture

• Sometimes referred to as a “semiconductor chip,”
  is a collection of transistors integrated and compacted into a single chip.

Answer 10

the integrated circuit

Question 11

Generation and Advancements

> 4th Generation

Answer 11

(Microprocessors)

Question 12

Hardware Architecture

• Computers in this generation were characterized by a significant increase in the number of transistors integrated into a single chip and by the invention of the

Answer 12

microprocessor.

Question 13

Generation and Advancements

> 5th Generation

Answer 13

(Artificial Intelligence [AI])

Question 14

Hardware Architecture

• VLSI technology in this generation became ULSI technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.

Answer 14

(Artificial Intelligence [AI])

Question 15

Hardware Architecture

• It is composed of integrated circuits that hold thousands of transistors responsible for processing the unique set of instructions and processes.

Answer 15

Microprocessor

Question 16

Hardware Architecture

• It is designed to execute logical and computational tasks with typical operations such as arithmetic interprocess, device communication, input/output management, etc.

Answer 16

Microprocessor

Question 17

Hardware Architecture

— It is responsible for accepting data from input devices, processing the data into information, and transferring the information to memory and output devices.

Answer 17

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Question 18

Hardware Architecture

— As the name implies, its function is to perform arithmetic operations, such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, and logic operations such as AND, OR, and NOT.

Answer 18

2. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Question 19

Hardware Architecture

— Its function is to control the input and output devices, generate control signals to the other components of the computer such as read and write signals, and perform instruction execution.

Answer 19

3. Control Unit (CU)

Question 20

Hardware Architecture

— It is the fastest memory in a computer that holds information.

Answer 20

4. Registers

Question 21

Hardware Architecture

— This device is capable of storing information temporarily.

Answer 21

5. Main Memory

Question 22

Hardware Architecture

— It refers to a microchip that regulates the timing and speed of all computer functions.

Answer 22

6. Clock

Question 23

Hardware Architecture

— These are any hardware used to communicate with a computer.

Answer 23

7. Input/Output Devices

Question 24

Hardware Architecture

— These are physical devices, ports, or connections that interact with the computer or other hardware devices.

Answer 24

8. Input/Output Interfaces

Question 25

# **Hardware Architecture** — It is a feature of some computer bus architectures that allow data to be sent from a storage device to memory without using the CPU.

Answer 25

9. **Direct Memory Access**

Question 26

# **Hardware Architecture** — It is a pathway of data or instruction from one (1) element to the other.

Answer 26

10. **Bus**

Question 27

# **Hardware Architecture** — This bus is used to carry data to and from the memory.

Answer 27

a. **Data Bus**

Question 28

# **Hardware Architecture** — This bus defines the number of addressable location in a memory IC.

Answer 28

b. **Address Bus**

Question 29

# **Hardware Architecture** — This bus carries control signals from the control unit to the computer components in order to control the operation of each component.

Answer 29

c. **Control Bus**

Question 30

# **Hardware Architecture** In computer architecture, provides the fastest way for a CPU to access data.

Answer 30

a processor register

Question 31

# **Hardware Architecture** * It holds a temporary value (IN BINARY) like data, instructions, memory addresses or I/O address, and special binary codes.

Answer 31

**Registers**

Question 32

# **Hardware Architecture** * It can store, manipulate, and calculate values which vary from 16-bit, 32-bit, up to 64-bit registers sizes.

Answer 32

**Registers**

Question 33

# **Hardware Architecture** — These store any transient data required by the processor.

Answer 33

* **General-Purpose Registers / Accumulator**

Question 34

# **Hardware Architecture** — This holds the address of the current instruction being executed.

Answer 34

* **Program Counter Register / Instruction Pointer**

Question 35

# **Hardware Architecture** — This holds the address of a memory location.

Answer 35

* **Memory Address Register**

Question 36

# **Hardware Architecture** — This holds a data value that is being stored to or retrieved from the memory location currently addressed by the memory address register.

Answer 36

* **Memory Data Register**

Question 37

# **Hardware Architecture** — These are used to allow the computer to keep track of special conditions such as arithmetic carry and overflow, power failure, and internal computer error.

Answer 37

* **Status Registers / Flags**

Question 38

# **CPU Architecture** * It is a program consisting of code (instructions) and data.

Answer 38

***Von Neumann Architecture***

Question 39

# **CPU Architecture** * It uses separate buses for instructions and data.

Answer 39

***Harvard Architecture***

Question 40

# **Hardware Architecture** It allows communication between the hardware component and the software component of a computer.

Answer 40

**Instruction Set Architecture**

Question 41

# **Hardware Architecture** — It is a computer where single instructions can execute several low-level operations (such as a load from memory, an arithmetic operation, and a memory store) or can do multi-step operations or address modes within a single instructions. ## Footnote *Example:* x86-x64 processors (Intel)

Answer 41

* Complex Instruction Set Computer

Question 42

# **Hardware Architecture** — It is a computer which only uses simple instructions that can be divided into multiple instructions and perform low-level operations within a single clock cycle. ## Footnote *Example:* x86-x64 processors (Intel)

Answer 42

* Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Question 43

# **Instruction Set Architecture** * A large number of instructions. * Multiple number cycles per instruction. * Takes time to process instructions. * Has greater energy consumption due to power-hungry components. * Hardware-centric design. * Efficient in RAM usage.

Answer 43

CISC * Complex Instruction Set Computer

Question 44

# **Instruction Set Architecture** * Requires few instructions. * Single number of instruction per cycle. * Can perform simple task quicker. * Has low power consumption and it can go to sleep mode when not in use. * Software-centric design. * Heavy in RAM usage.

Answer 44

RISC * Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Question 45

# **Microprocessor Operations** — It is designed to fetch several instructions at a time in parallel.

Answer 45

* Fetch

Question 46

# **Microprocessor Operations** — It identifies the opcode in which it determines the type of instruction.

Answer 46

* Decode

Question 47

# **Microprocessor Operations** — It executes the part/s for each different instruction.

Answer 47

* Execute

Question 48

# **Hardware Architecture** It is a method of simultaneously breaking up and running program tasks on multiple microprocessors, thereby reducing processing time.

Answer 48

**Parallel Processing**

Question 49

# **Hardware Architecture** It is the process of accumulating and executing computer instructions and tasks from the processor via a logical pipeline.

Answer 49

**Pipelining**

Question 50

# **Hardware Architecture** It allows storing, prioritizing, managing, and executing tasks and instruction in an orderly process.

Answer 50

**Pipelining**