1.1 Systems Architecture

1.1 Systems Architecture

1. 1969 was the famous year for what?

   • - Man on the moon

2. Key Words

   • Processor
   • MHz
   • Ghz
   • Hertz
   • Instruction
   • Execute
   • Embedded System
   • Clock Speed
   • Cache
   • Core

3. What is the purpose of a processor?

   • The processor is "the brains of the computer system"
     • It processes data
     • It carries out instructions (Executes them)
   • Processors have a clock speed measured in Hertz
     • Clock Speed - Number of cycles per second
   • Processor Speed
     • Typical Speeds have spanned across MHz and GHz
       • 1GHz Processor executes 1 billion instructions per second
       • 2GHz Processor executes 2 billion instructions per second
   • Processor Cores
     • Each processor has a "core" in which instructions are executed
   • Processors can be multi-core
     • Dual Core
       • May execute up to twice as many instructions per second
     • Quad Core
     • 8 Core
     • Each one executes instructions independently
   • Processors have "Cache"
     • This is very fast, and usually a very small amount of memory on the processor chip
     • The Cache acts as an intermediary between the processor and the main memory
     • As programs are executed - the cache holds commonly used instructions