Transcript Slide 1
LECTURE 5:
CPU and MEMORY
I. Four main types of electronic
components in computers:
1.
2.
3.
transistors/resistors semi –
conductors that acts as an electronic
switch that can either conduct electricity
or prevent its flow
integrated circuit (a.k.a. “IC”) – a
chip that contains transistors/resistors
circuit board – the actual conductive
pathways that connect components
inside the CPU
all of these are mounted on a larger
circuit board called the motherboard
II. The CPU: Central Processing Unit
The CPU is the “brain” of the computer.
It:
receives input
interprets instructions from programs
processes data
controls output
directs other components of the system
to act
III. Parts of a CPU
control unit – coordinates the flow
of data and instructions
ALU – (arithmetic logic unit)
performs calculations and
comparisons of data
registry – holds program
instructions, data, values, and
memory locations as the processor
executes a program
busses – carries information from
the CPU to a device
IV. Control Unit
the control unit contains a clock
that generates a uniform stream of
electrical pulses that synchronize the
operation of the CPU and other
components
the faster this clock rate, the faster
the CPU can process information
this clock speed is measured in
gigahertz (GHZ)
V. RAM: Random access Memory
Before programs are executed or before data is
processed they must enter into main memory
(a.k.a. primary storage or RAM)
Ram does the following:
accepts and holds programs instructions and data
acts as the CPU’s source of data and instructions as a
destination for operation results
holds the final processed information until it can be sent to
the desired output or secondary storage device
RAM is way faster to access than secondary storage
Data is located in the main memory using addresses
RAM is volatile (changeable) and requires constant change,
so save your work often to secondary storage
ROM (read only memory) is different in that it is a
permanent instructions
Two Major Processors:
Intel
8088
386
486
586 Pentium
Pentium 2
Pentium 3
Pentium 4
Core Duo and
Quad Duo
AMD
Turon
Athlon
Opteran