Конспект занятия по английскому языку: знакомство с архитектурой компьютера

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

Computer architecture is a specification detailing how a set of software and hardware technology standards interact to form a computer system or platform. In short, computer architecture refers to how a computer system is designed and what technologies it is compatible with. It is the technical drawings and functional description of all design requirements (especially speeds and interconnections), it is how to design and implement various parts of a computer — focusing largely on the way by which the central processing unit (CPU) operates internally and how it accesses addresses in memory.

What is the CPU?

The CPU, Central Processing Unit, or simply processor, is the main chip in a computer responsible for carrying out all tasks. It’s responsible for telling all the other components in a computer what to do, according to the instructions it is given by the programs (software) running on that computer.

In fact, CPUs exist in many kinds of device apart from computers. If something can run programs, chances are it will have a CPU. For example, phones and TVs have CPUs inside them.

In modern computers, and especially in smartphones, the CPU may sit on the same physical chip as other components. Most modern computer CPUs share a chip with a computer’s graphics electronics (that decides what appears on your monitor.

In a computer, the CPU is found at the heart of the system, plugged into the motherboard. You wouldn’t be able to see it if you took the side panel off your desktop PC, as it will be hidden under a cooling fan – a CPU is a powerful component and would get very hot without proper cooling.

Most of the time, if you’re upgrading to a CPU that’s a year or two newer than your current one, you’ll also need to fit a new motherboard.

In laptops, on the other hand, the CPU and cooler are as good as impossible to remove (and even harder to replace). It’s also not possible to change the motherboard, so it’s best to think as laptops as non-upgradable in this regard.

How the Processor Operates

The computer processor fetches, decodes, and executes program instructions. A computer program consists of a series of steps called instructions which tell the computer what to do. Each instruction can be a basic arithmetic calculation or a logic operation. Before the program can be executed it is loaded into the working space (memory).

It is the job of the microprocessor, which is controlling the computer to fetch a program instruction from the memory, decode the instruction and then carry out any action that might be needed which is the execution process. It is the responsibility of the processor inside the computer to carry out the fetch-decode-execute cycle over and over again operating from the instructions it obtains from the main memory.

This fetch - decode - execute cycle is often referred to as the fetch - execute cycle.

The CPU uses a timing signal to be able to fetch and execute instructions. The timing signal is provided by the system clock. The clock speed is measured in Hz (cycles per second). In early processors speed was measured in Megahertz (MHz) is one million hertz (1 million cycles per second). Most of the computers we have today operate in the GHZ (Gigahertz) range. The clock speed varies from one computer processor to another.

Whenever you are using a computer to achieve a task, the computer processor gets busy fetching, decoding and executing program instructions that are being issued to it. But remember it must work in conjunction with other computer components so as to achieve the desired goals.

Адрес публикации: https://www.prodlenka.org/metodicheskie-razrabotki/324439-computer-architecture