Computer Performance

Computer Performance

1. RAM

   • What?
     • RAM is volatile storage
     • RAM stores instructions and data while a program is running
   • How?
     • The greater the amount of RAM, the more instructions and data can be stored while a program is running. This means that less instructions will be stored in the much slower virtual memory and will therefore improve the performance of the computer

2. Cache

   • What?
     • Cache memory is a small amount of memory which is either inside the CPU or closer to the CPU than RAM
     • Cache memory stores frequently-used instructions
     • Cache memory is faster and more expensive than RAM
   • How?
     • If there is a larger amount of cache memory storage, a greater number of frequently-used instructions can be stored. This means that more instructions can be accessed quickly, which will improve the performance of the computer

3. Clock Speed

   • What?
     • The clock speed of a CPU is the number of fetch decode execute cycles than can be run every second
     • Clock speed is measure in hertz (Hz)
   • How?
     • The higher the clock speed, the more instructions can be executed per second so the performance of the computer will be improved

4. Cores

   • What?
     • Cores are independent processors in the CPU
     • Cores run the fetch decode execute cycle simultaneously
     • Dual core means 2 independent processors. Quad core means 4 independent processors
   • How?
     • If there are more cores, the CPU will execute more instructions every second so the computer's performance will be improved.

5. Virtual Memory

   • What?
     • Virtual memory is used when RAM is full.
     • Part of secondary storage is used for virtual memory
   • Why?
     • It takes longer to access data on virtual memory than RAM. This means it will take longer to execute the instructions of a program and the performance will be worse