Overview of computer system

Overview of computer system

Functions of computer
– Receive input
– Process information
– Produce output
– Store information
Computer hardware
– processing hardware (CPU)
– Peripheral devices ( people interact with CPU)
CPU ( Central processing unit)
– ALU
– CU
 Overview of computer system
ALU ( Arithmetic and logic unit)
• Perform arithmetic and logical calculations as all computer data is
stored as numbers.
• Ex : searching of a word with ASCII code.
• An instruction other than moving data involving arithmetic and logical
operation is passed by the CU to ALU.
• Consisting of high speed memory locations called registers, used for
holding data.
CU ( Control unit)
• Tells rest of the computer system to carry out a programs instruction.
• All computer resources are managed and controlled through signals
( between memory and ALU, between CPU and I/O devices) by CU.
• Instruction set containing all basic operations to be carried out by CU.
• Each instruction set is expressed in microcode.
 Overview of computer system
Registers :
High speed memory units, hold various information
such as data, instructions, addresses, and intermediate
results of calculations
FACTORS AFFECTING PROCESSOR SPEED
• Main factor : architecture and design
• Registers : The number and size (word length)of each
register.
• Memory :
 The amount of memory as it determines how many programs
can be executed at one time and how much data is readily
available to a program.
 Swapping ( swap-in and swap-out)
 Overview of computer system
• Clock speed :
 System clock  emits regularly spaced electrical pulses
per second known as clock cycles.
 One cycle is the time to perform single basic operation.
 Several clock cycles are required to fetch, decode and
execute a single program instruction.
 Clock speed is measured in MHz, where mega means
million and hertz is the cycles per second.
• Bus :
Two types
 Internal or system bus
 External or expansion bus
 Different architectures :
 Overview of computer system
o ISA ( Industry Standard Architecture)
o PCI ( Peripheral Component Interconnect)
o AGP ( Accelerated Graphics Port )
o USB (Universal Serial bus) – eliminate the need of expansion slots.
 Types of bus :
o Address bus
o Data bus
o Control bus
• Cache memory :
 A part of main memory (SRAM )
 May be built into the architecture of
microprocessors. Ex : Intel 80486 microprocessor,
contain 8KB memory cache.
 Overview of computer system
Instruction set
 Upward compatibility
 CISC
 RISC
Machine cycle
 For executing instruction CPU takes a series of steps
called the machine cycle .
 A machine cycle consists of two sub cycles
 Fetch cycle
 Execution cycle
 steps are : Fetching, Decoding, Executing, Storing.
 CPU performance is measured in MIPS.
 Overview of computer system

Computer memory
• An array of boxes, each of which hold a single byte of information.
• When a program is loaded, it is loaded and run from memory.
• There are two types of memory:
 RAM ( Random-access memory) – main memory
ROM ( Read-only memory) – hold instructions for
starting of memory
Random Access memory (RAM) :
• Can be accessed randomly.
• Also referred as read and write memory.
• Volatile in nature.
• Two types
Dynamic RAM ( DRAM)
Static RAM (SRAM
 Overview of computer system
 Dynamic RAM ( DRAM) : - Memory is continuously refreshed, else
will lost data.
 Static RAM (SRAM) :-
- Does not require to be refreshed and is faster and more
reliable than DRAM.
- Used as memory cache.
Read only memory (ROM)
• Data is prerecorded, once data has been written, it can not be
removed and can only be read.
• Retains its data even when the computer is turned off. (nonvolatile)
• Two functionalities : 1) Permanence ( can store even if power is off )
2) Security ( data can not be modified )
 Overview of computer system
Types of ROM
• PROM
 Data written only once, it remains forever.
 Unlike ROM it is manufactured as a blank memory. ROM is
programmed at the during the manufacturing process.
• EPROM
 The contents can be changed unlike the PROM. In PROM
the contents can not be erased.
 Ultraviolet light can erase the contents.
• EEPROM
 Data are erased when exposed to electrical charge.
 Similar to flash memory where the data are written and
erased in blocks unlike one byte at a time.
 Overview of computer system
• Flash Memory
 Can be erased and programmed in blocks instead of one
byte at a time.
 Many modern PC’s have BIOS stored on a flash memory so
that it can easily be updated if necessary.
Secondary storage devices
• Magnetic tape
• Magnetic disk
• Optical disk