Exam 5: Computer Systems Organization

Both RAM and ROM are memory chips into which information has been pre-recorded during manufacture.

Why aren't computer memories built completely out of cache memory?

How many bytes are in a gigabyte?

The ____ of a disk is the time needed to position the read/write head over the correct track.

Why would a computer engineer choose to use CISC?

A(n) ____ is a high-speed memory unit.

Computer manufacturers use a standard cell size of 8 bytes.

To solve the difficulty of scaling memory organization, memories are physically stored into ____ dimensional organization.

The RAM of a computer provides volatile storage.

The time it takes to fetch or store a cell is the same for all the cells in random access memory.

The Memory Data Register holds the address of the cell to be fetched or stored.

A(n) ____ is used to represent the instructions that can be decoded and executed by the control unit of a computer.

In a two-level memory hierarchy, when the computer needs a piece of information, it looks in RAM first, then cache memory.

The ____ are the devices that allow a computer system to communicate and interact with the outside world as well as store information.

Examples of nonvolatile storage are mass storage devices such as disks and tapes.

Parallel processing enables researchers to easily and transparently access computer facilities without regard for their locations.

During the ____ phase, the control unit circuitry generates the necessary sequence of control signals and data transfer signals to the other units of the computer to carry out the instruction.

As computers become faster, memory access speeds are keeping pace.

The normal mode of operation of a Von Neumann machine is sequential.

Machines that use the simplified approach to designing instruction sets are known as RISC machines.