What is the CPU?

The central processing unit (CPU) is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system.

Draw a diagram of how the CPU links to input, output and storage devices.

Explain the Fetch Execute Cycle in detail.

When a program runs on a computer it has to be loaded into the main memory first. From here it can be accessed by the processor to run each instruction in turn. When the program is loaded into main

memory the processor is given the start address of where the program is in memory. To run the program the processor fetches an instruction, decodes it and then executes it. The processor executes one instruction at a time. This is called the fetch-execute cycle.

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What is the Clock Speed?

The processor speed at which a processor operates is quoted as the clock speed, in Hertz. Hertz is
the name for the number of electrical cycles per second, or the rate at which the electrical current
changes in the actual circuits

What can affect the performance of the CPU and what can we do to improve it?

 1. Access speed of main memory. Reading from and writing to main memory is much slower than the speed at which the processor can work.

2. One way of improving speed at minimal cost is to use a small amount of much faster memory where frequently used instructions or data can be stored for a while. We call this special sort of high‐speed memory the cache (pronounced “cash”).

List the purposes of the CPU.

• fetch instructions from main memory
• fetch data from main memory
• decode the instructions
• execute the instructions
• performs calculations
• manages the movement of instructions and data to and from peripheral devices

How many processing components does a quad core processor have?

A quad core processor has 4 components.