Exam 2: The System Unit: Processing and Memory

Cache memory today is usually external cache.

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-1 Jess is a musician who has just bought a new computer. Now she has to determine how to connect this computer to the devices that were connected to her old computer. To connect her external hard drive where her music files are stored to the computer, Jess needs to use the ____ port.

Pipelining increases the number of machine cycles completed per second.

Like the CPU, RAM consists of circuits etched onto chips. These chips are arranged onto circuit boards called ____________________.

The process of representing data in digital form so it can be used by a digital computer is called decimal byte representation.

Expansion buses connect directly to ____________________ on the system unit case or to expansion slots on the motherboard.

The ____ tries to predict what data and instructions will be needed and retrieves them ahead of time, in order to help avoid delays in processing.

Eight bits grouped together are collectively referred to as a ____.

Typically, 3D chips are created by layering individual silicon wafers on top of one another.

Case-Based Critical Thinking Questions Case 2-2 Jack has a computer at home that he uses to access the Internet, store and edit personal photos, and create and edit documents. Recently, he has come to realize that in order to keep the computer performing at its best, he needs to carry out regular system maintenance on the computer. Jack can use the ____ program to locate and delete temporary files, such as installation files, Web browsing history, and files in the Recycle Bin.

The buses used to connect peripheral (typically input and output) devices to the motherboard are usually referred to as expansion buses .

The ____ is the section of the CPU that performs arithmetic involving integers and logical operations.

____________________ are the connectors located on the exterior of the system unit that are used to connect external hardware devices.

In a 16.8-million-color (called photographic quality or ____) image, three bytes (24 bits) are used to store the color data for each pixel in the image.

The accompanying figure shows a DIMM RAM microprocessor .

Today's CPUs contain hundreds of millions of transistors, and the number doubles approximately every 18 months, a phenomenon known as Moliere's Law .

The CPU-also called the microprocessor or just the board -does the vast majority of the processing for a computer.

With bitmapped images, the color of each ____ is represented by bits; the more bits used, the better the image quality.

____ are small components typically made out of aluminum with fins that help to dissipate heat.

A(n) ____ instruction might look like a meaningless string of 0s and 1s, but it actually represents specific operations and storage locations.