the purpose of the cpu

what is the purpose of the cpu?

The purpose of the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is to fetch, decode and execute instructions

what is the cpu and its job?

The CPU is the brain of the computer and its job is to take an input, process data and produce an output

what is the fetch decode execute cycle?

The Fetch-Execute Cycle is the cycle that the central processing unit (CPU) runs through billions of times per second to make a computer work

what is the cpu made up of?

The CPU is ‘the brain’ of a computer and is made up of components and registers

what does the computer do?

A computer takes an input, processes the input and then delivers an output for the user

give an example of the computer process when the input is clicking a button on a gamepad

• Input: Clicking a button on the gamepad 

• Process: The CPU inside the console follows a set of instructions to carry out the task

• Output: The player moving on screen

what happens during the fetch stage? (2)

• During the fetch stage of the cycle, the next instruction or data must be fetched from the computer's memory (RAM)

• The instruction or data is brought back to the CPU

what happens during the decode stage? (2)

• During the decode stage of the cycle, the CPU needs to work out what is required from the instruction 

• This could be a range of tasks depending on what the instruction or data included

what happens during the execute stage? (1)

During the execute stage of the cycle, the CPU will carry out the instruction that was fetched

what are 3 examples of what would happen if at the execute stage?

• Performing a calculation

• Storing a result or data back in main memory (RAM)

• Going to main memory to fetch data from a different location

give a summary of the fetch-decode-execute cycle (4)

• An instruction or data is fetched from memory

• The instruction is decoded 

• The instruction is executed

• The cycle repeats billions of times per second

Identify two events that take place during the fetch-execute cycle.

Any two of the following

• An instruction is fetched from memory 

• The instruction is decoded

• The decoded instruction is executed

• The instruction is transferred to the MDR