Intro to Computer

Architecture
Von Neumann architecture

Computer architecture is a term

used to describe the design of a
computer system.

Modern computers use the von

Neumann architecture designed by
John von Neumann.

Von Neumann was a mathematician

whose research has had a huge
impact on a number of fields.
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Von Neumann architecture

Before von Neumann

In the beginning, computers were

nowhere near as efficient or small as
they are now.

The instructions they ran were hard-

wired, physical switches that your
data went through. This meant
changing one thing in your program
could take months to check.
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Von Neumann architecture

The stored program concept

Von Neumann proposed a new way

to store and run programs on a
computer.

His idea was to store common

instructions in memory alongside the
data, making computers much more
versatile. This architecture has been
widely adopted today.
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Von Neumann architecture

1. Data and instructions are stored

in memory as binary digits
2. The instructions are fetched
from memory, one at a time in
order (serially)
3. The processor decodes
instruction before it executes it

In order to follow this system,

modern CPUs contain several key
components that all play a role.
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Von Neumann architecture

The CPU

Input Output

Main Memory

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Inside the CPU

CPU stands for central processing

unit. Bus
Clock

Inside of the CPU, there are a Bus

ALU
number of key components:
Control
1. Control unit Unit
Bus
2. Arithmetic logic unit
3. Buses
4. Registers Registers
Bus
5. Clock