Lecture 1 Computer Architecture Flashcards
(47 cards)
What are components made of
Digital circuits based on logic gates
What is computer architecture
Placement and interconnection of the different components in a computer system
What is Boolean algebra used for
To design circuits and then optimise the designs to use as few gates as possible
What is Moores law
The law that states the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles every 18 months
What is the Von Neumann architecture
The CPU has a control unit And an arithmetic logic unit
What is the fetch decode execute cycle
Fetch an instruction
decode the instruction
execute instruction
Where does the von Neumann architecture store instructions
In the memory of a computer
In the von Neumann architecture what executes the instructions
The control unit
At the lowest level what are represented in binary
Instructions and Data
What is the flow of information
How components are connected to one another by a collection of wires called the bus
What is a bus
A set of wires that interconnects all the components of a computer
What is an address bus
Moves memory locations or memory addresses between different components
What is a Data bus
Moves the content of memory addresses between different components
What is the control bus
This determines the direction of dataflow and when components can access the bus
What is the system bus model
The Data bus address bus and control bus all connect to the CPU memory and I/O (See diagram)
What is the function of a computer clock
It’s synchronises the activities of its components
What measurements does the computer clock work in
Megahertz or gigahertz
How many clock cycles does a 1 GHz processor have
Hundred and nine per second
What are three major components in the computer
Memory
CPU
IO devices
What is the function of memory
The unit that stores and retrieves instructions and data
What is the function of an arithmetic logic unit
Performs mathematical and logical operations
What is the job of the control unit
Fetches an instruction from memory
Decode instruction
Executes the instruction
What are the function of input output devices
Handle communication with the outside world
What is a memory cell
A cell is the smallest addressable unit of memory
