topic 4.1 CPU architecture

what is stored in the CPU

data and instructions

what are some components in the von neumann architecture

buses, registers, CPU, ALU

what do general purpose registers do

hold temporary data when performing operations

what does the program counter do

holds the address of the next instruction to be loaded

what does teh MAR do

holds address of memory location currently being read from

what does the MDR do

holds the data in the address from MAR, data is copied to CIR

what odes the CIR do

holds instruction currently being executed

what does the Index register do

stores a value that is added to an address to give another address

what does the status register do

stores flags and contains bits

what does the CU do

controls communication between components of the CPU

what does the clock do

synchronises CPU components by creating time signals

what odes the immediate access store do

holds all the data currently in use

what factors affect performance

clock speed, number of cores, bus width, cache, quantity of RAM

hwo does clock speed affect performance

faster clock speed = more FE cycles per second

how does number of cores affect performance

more cores means more instructions can be carried out simultaneously

why might more cores not mean better performance

software may not be designed for multiple cores

how does bus width impatc performance

allows transfer of more data each FE cycle

how does cache impact performance

more cache means more instructions can be transferred faster