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Questions and Answers
What is the distinction between computer organization and computer architecture?
computer organisation refers to the operational units and interconnections of a system while computer architecture refers to attributes of a system that is only visible to the programmer
What are the fundamental functions of the computer?
data processing, data storage, data movement, control
What are the major structural components of CPU
control unit, registers, ALU, internal bus
What are the structural components of a computer?
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Explain Moore’s law.
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Explain what latency in DRAM memory is.
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If 60 percent of a program can be parallelizable, what is the speed up that can be achieved with a 20 core CPU? Compare the result with a 4 core CPU. For this specific program, is it worth using a 20 core CPU?
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Study Notes
Computer Organization and Architecture
- Computer organization focuses on the way system components are organized and how tasks are allocated among them.
- Computer architecture, on the other hand, deals with the design and structure of the computer's internal components.
Fundamental Functions of a Computer
- Input: receiving data and instructions from the user
- Processing: executing instructions and performing calculations
- Storage: holding data and program instructions
- Output: providing results to the user
CPU Structural Components
- Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): performs mathematical and logical operations
- Control Unit: retrieves and decodes instructions, generates control signals
- Registers: small amount of fast memory built into the CPU
Structural Components of a Computer
- Central Processing Unit (CPU)
- Memory (Main and Cache)
- Input/Output (I/O) devices
- Storage devices
Moore's Law
- Defines the trend of transistor density on a microchip doubling approximately every two years, leading to exponential improvements in computing power and reductions in cost.
Latency in DRAM Memory
- Refers to the delay between the time the CPU requests data from memory and the time it is available for processing.
Parallelizable Program Speedup
- If 60% of a program can be parallelized, the theoretical maximum speedup is 2.5 times (1 / (1 - 0.6)) with infinite cores.
- With a 20 core CPU, the speedup is approximately 1.82 times (1 / (1 - 0.6 * (1 - 1/20))) compared to a single core CPU.
- With a 4 core CPU, the speedup is approximately 1.5 times (1 / (1 - 0.6 * (1 - 1/4))).
- It is worth using a 20 core CPU for this program, as it achieves a significant speedup compared to a 4 core CPU.
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