Unit 1.1 Systems Architecture

Unit 1.1 Systems Architecture

1. System performance is affected by and will speed up the CPU...

   • Cores
     • Each core executes information individually
       • eg. Dual Cores, Quad Cores, 8 Cores
         • Doubling the clock speed will double the number of instructions executed per second
           • eg. A single 1GHz Processor can execute 1 billion instructions per second whereas a 2GHz Quad core processor can execute 8 billion instructions per second
       • Each processor has at least one core
   • Cache
     • Intermediary between the processor and the main memory and holds commonly used instructions
       • Very fast but a very small amount of memory
         • Data is transferred faster and makes the CPU more efficient
   • Clock Speed
     • Number of executions per second in the processor
       • The Processor is the brains of a computer system and executes instructions
       • eg. MHz, GHz (speed)
   • Solid state drive
   • Graphics card

2. Embedded system - a computer system built into another device

   • Allows for programming for a specific reasoning cheaper than buying a new computer

3. A ROM stores instructions that are needed to boot up a computer

   • The POST (Power On Self Test)- The BIOS chip will start up the operating system and will perform checks and make sure all components are present and functioning properly.
     • When checks are completed the CPU will start the system and will send an error message if something has gone wrong