CPU Components and Buses Quiz

Overview of CPU Components and Buses

• The CPU is responsible for processing input, interacting with main memory, and producing output.
• The control unit coordinates all activities of the processor and directs the flow of data between the CPU and other devices.
• The program counter holds the address of the next instruction in memory to be executed by the processor.
• The memory address register holds the address of the memory location from which data or instruction is to be fetched or written.
• The memory data register is used to temporarily store data read from or written to main memory.
• The current instruction register holds the current instruction being executed and contains an op code and an operand.
• The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs arithmetic and logical operations on data and uses registers to temporarily hold results.
• The accumulator is a general purpose register used to store data or control information.
• The address bus carries memory addresses from the processor to main memory.
• The data bus carries binary ones and zeros between components of the CPU.
• The control bus carries command and control signals to and from every component on the CPU.
• Other important components of the CPU include the decode unit, status register, clock, interrupt register, and cache.