09 February 2025, Sunday
CAMBRIDGE COMPUTER SCIENCE SYLLABUS 2210
PAPER 1 SECTION III Chapter 3
HARDWARE
Topic 3.1 Computer Architecture
Sub-Topics
3.1.1 The central processing unit (CPU)
CPU is known as a microprocessor or processor.
CPU is central to all modern systems including tablets and
smartphones.
CPU is installed as an integrated circuit on a single microchip.
CPU is responsible for execution or processing of all instructions and
data in a computer application.
CPU consists of
Arithmetic and Logic unit (ALU)
Control unit (CU)
Registers and system buses
3.1.2 Von Neumann Architecture
Early computers only dealt with input, processing and output.
In 1954 the scientist John Von Neumann developed the concept of
stored program computer.
Features –
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The concept of central processing unit CPU or processor
The CPU was able to access the memory directly.
Computer memories could store programs and data
Stored programs were made up of instructions which could be
executed in sequential order
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Components of the central processing unit –
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) – allows all kinds of mathematical operations,
logical operations like AND, OR, NOT while a program is being run. Computer
can have more than one ALU to carry out specific functions. Multiplication,
division, addition, subtraction, left or right logical shift operations are all
carried out here.
Control Unit (CU) – this reads an instruction from the memory unit.
Address of the location where the instruction is found is stored inside the
program counter register. This instruction is then interpreted using the
Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle.
Control signals are generated along the control bus to tell other
components in the computer what to do.
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Control unit synchronizes data flow and program instructions
throughout the computer.
Control unit uses a system clock to produce timing signals on the
control bus to ensure this vital synchronization takes place -without the
clock the computer would simply crash because it would not have any
idea what to do now and what to do after thirty minutes.
Random access memory holds all data and programs needed to be
accessed by the CPU.
RAM is also called the Immediate Access Store (IAS).
CPU takes data and programs held in backing store example- hard disk
and puts them in RAM temporarily.
Read and write operations are carried out using RAM. This makes the
operation faster than putting it in the backing store.
Any key data needed by an application will be stored temporarily in
RAM to speed up operations.
Registers –
Register is a temporary component in the CPU which can be general or
specific in its use.
Register holds data or instructions as part of the fetch-decode-execute
cycle
Registers refer to high-speed storage areas in the CPU.
Data processed by the CPU are fetched from the registers.
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Types of registers used in computer architecture -
Accumulator: Stores the results of calculations made by ALU. It holds
the intermediate of arithmetic and logical operations. it acts as a
temporary storage location or device.
Program Counter (PC): Keeps track of the memory location of the
next instructions to be dealt with. The PC then passes this next
address to the Memory Address Register (MAR).
Memory Address Register (MAR): It stores the memory locations of
instructions that need to be fetched from memory or stored in
memory.
Memory Data Register (MDR)/Memory Buffer Register (MBR): It
stores instructions fetched from memory or any data that is to be
transferred to, and stored in, memory.
Current Instruction Register (CIR): It stores the most recently
fetched instructions while it is waiting to be coded and executed.
Instruction Buffer Register (IBR): The instruction that is not to be
executed immediately is placed in the instruction buffer register IBR.
Immediate Access Store (IAS): it is a memory that holds all data
and programs needed to be accessed by the control unit. It is similar
to the functioning of RAM.
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