Computer Hardware, part 1 - Chapter 5

Control Unit

(CU)

What is the primary function of the Control Unit?

• Carries out the fetch-execute cycle

• Manages memory allocation

• Processes arithmetic operations

• Controls input and output devices

Arithmetic Logic Unit

(ALU)

• Calculations

• Data Storage

• Input/Output Operations

• Memory Management

Immediate Access Store

(IAS)

• Stores programs and data while they are in use

• Stores data permanently

• Processes data in batches

• Caches frequently accessed data

CPU

• Central Processing Unit

• Control Processing Unit

• Central Program Unit

• Computer Processing Unit

Memory Address Register

(MAR)

• Address of current instruction temporarily stored here

• Permanent storage for all instructions

• Cache for frequently accessed data

• Buffer for input/output operations

Memory Data Register

(MDR)

• Temporarily stores data being fetched from the main memory

• Permanently stores data for long-term access

• Processes data before sending it to the CPU

• Manages the input and output operations of the computer

Fetch-execute cycle

• Fetch and instruction

• Execute and store

• Load and process

• Fetch and decode

Processor core

• A core is a single processor.

• A core is a type of memory.

• A core is a type of storage device.

• A core is a graphics processing unit.

Accumulator

• Stores results from calculations before being sent to the printer

• Results from calculations are stored in the accumulator before being stored in the main memory

• Holds data temporarily while the CPU processes it

• Is a type of permanent storage for data

Cache

• Temporarily stores frequently used instructions

• Stores all data permanently

• Increases the speed of the CPU by overclocking

• Manages network traffic efficiently