BASIC COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

➡Control Unit : has a set of registers and circuits to generate
control signals.
➡Arithmetic Logic Unit:
responsible for executing arithmetic and logical operations.

1
2. Main Memory / Memory
➡A place to store data and instructions temporarily.

2
3. I/O Components
➡Input Module : consists of same basic components that accept data & instructions
in some form and convert them into an internal form of signal usable by system.
➡Output Module:
It serves as a medium for displaying the results.

3
The Von Neumann Architecture
Almost all computer designs are based on the
concepts developed by John Von Neumann. Such
designs are referred to as Von Neumann
Architecture.
The 3 main concepts:-
(1) Data and instructions are stored in a single
read-write memory.
(2) The contents of this memory are addressable by
location irrespective of the type of data or instruction
present there.
(3) Execution occur in a sequential manner from one
instruction to the next, unless changed explicity.

4
Interactions between Various Computer Components
Exchange of data takes place between memory and CPU. The CPU
uses 2 of its internal registers for this purpose.

1) Memory Address Register (MAR)

➡Specifies the address in memory for the next Read/Write.

5
2) Memory Buffer Register (MBR)
➡Contains data to be written into memory / receives the data read from the memory.

I/O Address Register:

➡specifies the particular I/O device to interact with the CPU.

I/O Buffer Register: facilitates / enable

➡exchange of data between
I/O modules and processor

6
Memory:
➡Set of locations
➡each location is addressed sequentially
➡Data or instruction