CPU Performance

What are the four key CPU performance factors required for your OCR exam?

• Cores
• Clock Speed
• Cache
• Pipelining
• Secondary Storage

What is a core in the context of a CPU?

• The number of instructions that can be executed per second

• A single processing unit within the CPU, with its own CU, ALU, and registers

• Temporary storage of data/instructions
• Processes arranged where the output of one is the input of the next

How has technology improved in terms of cores?

• They got much larger

• They got much smaller

• There has been no significant change

It's possible to have a CPU that contains more than 1 core

• True

• False

A quad-core processor will double the processing speed compared to a dual-core processor

• True
• False

What is clock speed in the context of CPU performance?

• The number of instructions processed per second
• The size of the CPU clock
• The processing power
• The frequency of data transfer

How many instructions can the CPU carry out within each tick/pulse of the clock?

• One
• Two
• Three
• Four

Doubling the clock speed may not necessarily double the processing power of a CPU

• True
• False

Why does a faster clock speed generate more heat?

• Due to poorly designed components

• Due to increased power required

• Due to smaller size
• Due to larger cache size

What is overclocking in the context of CPU performance?

• Increasing the clock speed beyond the intended rate
• Increasing the number of cores beyond specifications
• Reducing the power consumption
• Adjusting the RAM speed