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08 - Additional CPU Theory

1. Watch the video below and fill in the blanks.

In this video the Raspberry Pi was made a bit faster
by ____________ the clock speed of the CPU.

Now there can be a problem with that, if 
you ______________[too high], you could:

>>cause system instability

>>the system might crash, 

>>it might overheat. 

Therefore there are advantages and disadvantages to overclocking.

increasing / declock

decreashing / declock

increasing / overclock

increasing / doubleclock

2. What is overclocking?

increasing the clock frequency to above it's recommended design speed - this can be done but requires some serious cooling systems!

adding a clock to increase the speed of the computer

increasing the number of cores so that the clock speed is doubled or quadrupled, depending on the cores added

decreasing the clock frequency so it is not 'over' the limit

3. Parallel and multi-core processing both refer to the same thing: the ability to __________________________________ (in more than one core/CPU/machine.) So in this sense multi-core is just a means to do parallel processing.

execute code at the same time

to run instructions in the ALU core

read data and instructions together

to hold the data on multiple, parallel wires

4. Analyse the "pipeline" below and fill in the blanks.

Instruction pipelining is a technique for implementing instruction-level 
parallelism within a single processor. 

Pipelining attempts to keep every part of the processor busy with some 
instruction by dividing incoming instructions into a series of sequential
steps (the eponymous "pipeline") performed by different processor units 
with different parts of instructions processed in parallel. 

It allows ______________________________________________________________, 
but may increase latency due to the added overhead of the pipelining
process itself.

*Latency is referring to the amount of time taken to traverse a system

lighter data passing through the system

slower CPU throughput

equal CPU throughput

faster CPU throughput than would otherwise be possible at a given clock rate

5. The image shows an Intel CPU with a math co-processor. What is a co-processor?

Additional information about a coprocessor
==========================================

Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating point 
arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, 
encryption or I/O Interfacing with peripheral devices. 

By offloading processor-intensive tasks from the main processor, 
coprocessors can accelerate system performance. Coprocessors allow 
a line of computers to be customized, so that customers who do not 
need the extra performance do not need to pay for it.

A coprocessor is an additional processor which works as ROM

A coprocessor is when a CPU is placed underneath the ALU so that it can co-work more closely

A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU)

A coprocessor is a type of computer that operates much faster than traditional computers

6. Describe how the CPU and RAM work together to make a tablet computer work and execute instructions/programs?

Instructions currently running are stored in RAM - these are fetched by the CPU which then executes them

Instructions currently running are stored in the ROM (Hard drive) - these are then executed by the RAM and CPU together

Instructions are stored in the RAM and CPU and the ALU fetches them from the RAM to execute them.

Instructions currently running are stored in the CPU - these are fetched by the RAM which executes them

7. What is one of the key advantages of Cache memory?

Instructions are executed by the Cache which frees up the CPU

Data is held permanently by the Cache which makes it reliable

Data does have to be fetched from RAM so it provides an additional place to fetch from

Data does not have to be fetched from RAM so it speeds up the access

8. Which of the following are key advances in memory technology that allow for significant improvement in the performance of certain devices - e.g. tablets.

#1 Smaller in Size
#2 Faster Access
#3 Larger CPUs
#4 Smaller Capacity
#5 Larger Capacity
#6 More durable
#7 Costs less per byte

5,6

3,4,5

1,2,5,6,7

1,2

9. Using examples from the image above, what is an opcode? (You can also look up the term 'Operand' which is the data/value that is being operated on)

The python code required to carry out the instruction

Part of the instruction that specifies what operation to be carried out (e.g. 00001000 = add to timer/00000100 = subtract from timer)

The value on which the instruction operates e.g.0000010

the binary code referring to a number that will be added to the ALU

10. Explain how the CPU can determine whether it represents an instruction or data

#1 ==============
Instructions and data are fetched at different points in the
fetch execute cycle

#2 ==============
Instructions and data are kept in seperate parts of the memory
(by the operating system)

#3 ==============
The program counter points to the address of the instructions

#2 is the only correct option

#1 #2 and #3 are all correct

#3 is the only correct option

None of the above are correct explanations

11. Data and Instructions in use are stored in the:

Processor

Main Memory

Embedded System

Hard Drive

12. What does NOT affect the performance of the computer?

The number of instructions in a program

Number of Cores

Clock Speed

Cache Size

13. If the number of cores increases from two cores to four cores,what is the exact effect on performance?

performance decreases

The maximum number of instructions executed per second quadruples

The maximum number of instructions executed per second is halved which increases performance

The maximum number of instructions executed per second doubles

14. If the processing speed goes up from 1GHZ to 4GHZ ? what is the exact effect on the performance of the computer?

The maximum number of instructions executed per second is halved

The maximum number of instructions executed per second quadruples

The maximum number of instructions executed per second is quartered

The maximum number of instructions executed per second doubles

15. If the processing speed goes up from 2GHZ to 4GHZ and the number of cores goes from 2 to 4 ? what is the exact effect on the performance of the computer?

The maximum number of instructions executed per second is quartered

The maximum number of instructions executed per second quadruples

The maximum number of instructions executed per second is halved

The maximum number of instructions executed per second doubles

16. If the processing speed goes from 1GHZ to 4GHZ and the processor is changed from an 8 core to a dual core processor ? what is the exact effect on the performance of the computer?

The number of instructions executed per second is halved

The number of instructions executed per second quadruples

The number of instructions executed per second doubles

The number of instructions executed per second stays the same

17. What component holds the address of the next instruction

Program Counter

Accumulator

Memory Data Register

Memory Address Register

18. Results of calculations are held in this register:

Program Counter

Memory Address Register

Accumulator

Memory Data Register

19. This holds the instruction/data temporarily after it is brought to the processor from the main memory

Accumulator

Program Counter

Memory Data Register

Memory Address Register

20. This holds the number of the current instruction being worked on

Memory Address Register

Program Counter

Memory Data Register

Accumulator

21. This would perform an operation including the logic command/word ?And?

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Accumulator

Control Unit

Cache

22. This would send a signal such as ?Memory Read?

Control Unit

Cache

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Accumulator

23. This would perform an operation such as 5+8 (1-4)

Cache

Accumulator

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Control Unit

24. This would reduce the number of memory/processor transfers

Cache

Accumulator

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Control Unit

25. This sends signals such as ?I/O Read?

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Control Unit

Cache

Accumulator

26. This sends signals such as ?Memory write?

Arithmetic Logic Unit

Control Unit

Cache

Accumulator

27. This doesn?t happen during the Fetch part of the cycle:

Status Register updated

Results are held in the Accumulator

Instructions are transferred from Main Memory and Hard drive

Current Instruction is held in the CIR

28. Which of the following is held in ROM?

Data currently in used

ROM instructions and clocks

Bootstrap loader

Instructions frequently used (ROM is the same as CACHE)

29. What carries the address of the next instruction that will be fetched

Address Bus

Data Bus

Control Bus

System Bus

30. One of the properties of an address bus is that it is uni-directional.

TRUE

FALSE

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