CPU

Question 1

What is the CPU described as?

Answer 1

• Central Processing Unit
• described as the “brain” of the computer
• a very powerful calculator
• performs tasks from giving it instructions via a code book (machine language)

Question 2

What are registers used for?

Answer 2

Registers are used by the CPU for storing information.

Question 3

What is the clock wire for?

Answer 3

It tells the CPU what to do via a system crystal (metronome). Voltage runs through the clock wire, and every tick of voltage is one set of operations or one cycle.

Question 4

A hertz represents what in the clock cycle?

Answer 4

1 cycle per second (1 set of operations per second).

Question 5

What does one gigahert represent with the clock cycle?

Answer 5

1 billion clock cycles (set of operations) per second.

Question 6

What is overclocking?

Answer 6

Overclocking increases the rate of the CPU clock cycles in order to maximize the amount of tasks it can do.
A drawback of overclocking is that it can overheat the CPU or causes instability.

Question 7

What is clock multiplying?

Answer 7

The CPU takes the system speed (system crystal) and multiplies that number inside itself - to get the CPU speed.

Question 8

Who are the main manufacturers of CPU’s?

Answer 8

1. Intel (Core i7)
2. AMD (Athlon)
3. Qualcomm (Snapdragon 810)

Question 9

What is the purpose of having a multi-core processor?

Answer 9

Each core can act like one CPU, which gives the computer more processing power.

Question 10

What is hyperthreading?

Answer 10

A very powerful pipeline that performs two sets of instructions per second, making it twice as quick than the other parts of the pipeline.

Question 11

A certain CPU has a top speed of 3 gigahertz (GHZ) per second. What does that tell you?

Answer 11

It runs at 3 billion cycles (sets of instructions) per second.

Question 12

What is cache for CPU’s?

Answer 12

A type of storage smaller than RAM, but it’s very handy to access data we use often.
Cache is usually built into every CPU.
RAM can’t keep up with the speed of the CPU and it isn’t fun to keep waiting on the next line of code to come in.

Question 13

What is a pipeline stall?

Answer 13

The whole system is stalled, and the CPU has to get code from RAM, because the easily accessible memory in cache isn’t there.

Question 14

What are the different levels of cache?

Answer 14

1. the least amount of data, runs the fastest when feeding data to the CPU
2. feeds Level 1 cache, a lot more data, and runs slower
3. the biggest size of megabytes, runs the slowest to higher level cache

Question 15

What is a CPU socket?

Answer 15

The mount where the CPU connects to the motherboard.

The shape, pins, form and socket that the CPU sits in. Made by etching away at silicon with caustic chemicals to make the architectures with different family names.

Question 16

What are the two CPU socket types?

Answer 16

1. LGA (Land Grid Array) - pads (land) and a few pins to help guide the CPU in to the motherboard.
2. PGA (Pin Grid Array) - there are more pins sticking out of the CPU.

Question 17

What are the family names of socket designs made by Intel?

Answer 17

1. Nehalem
2. Sandy Bridge
3. Ivy Bridge
4. Haswell
5. Broadwell
6. Skylake
7. Kaby Lake
8. Coffee Lake

Question 18

LGA 1151 and LGA 2066 are what?

Answer 18

Intel’s Land Grid Array architectures for CPU sockets. 1151 has that many pins on it, as well as 2066. They’re aimed at different tiers of processors. 2066 is more expensive because it is aimed at higher end CPU’s and including a few other features. 2066’s motherboards have more RAM slots.

Question 19

AM4 and TR4 are what?

Answer 19

Two of AMD’s CPU socket designs.

Question 20

Thermal paste is used for what?

Answer 20

To put it between the CPU and the fan as a way to pull heat from the CPU.

Question 21

When you’re buying or putting together a computer, what’s important with the CPU and the motherboard?

Answer 21

To make sure you have the right compatibility with CPU, socket architecture, and the motherboard.

Question 22

What are the steps to install a CPU?

Answer 22

1. Make sure you have the right socket and speed CPU for the motherboard.
2. Make sure you’re keeping in line with the orientation notch when installing the CPU.
3. Put thermal paste on the CPU.
4. Install the fan and mount to the motherboard. There should be a very tight pull.
5. Connect the fan to a power source.

Question 23

What are the different types of cooling systems for CPU’s?

Answer 23

1. OEM fans (that come with the CPU)
2. third party fans (some bigger/faster/quieter)
3. liquid cooling (radiator, pump, and cooling block with liquid)

Question 24

What are the benefits of liquid cooling for a CPU?

Answer 24

It’s a quiet cooling method - almost silent. It can also be used for overclocking a CPU because they’re great at pulling off heat.

Question 25

x64/x86 CPU Architecture

Answer 25

The x64/x86 platform uses CISC technology (CISC is an instruction set architecture [ISA]) that is designed to work with either 64 or 32 bits of data at a time. Working with 64 bits is referred to as x64 while working with 32 bits is referred to as x86.

Question 26

Advanced RISK Machine (ARM)

Answer 26

Uses RISC ISA (RISC stands for reduced instruction set computer). ARM is also known as an Acorn RISC machine and is in direct competition with Intel and AMD x64-based CPUs.

Question 27

Single-Core

Answer 27

part of the CPU that reads and executes instructions. As the name implies, a single-core CPU has one core. Most of today’s CPUs have multiple cores.

Question 28

multithreading

Answer 28

occurs when a CPU is able to run multiple threads at once. A thread is the string of instructions that the CPU runs. Hyper-threading technology (HTT) is a form of simultaneous multithreading marketed by Intel.

Question 29

multicore

Answer 29

part of the CPU that reads and executes instructions. Multicore CPUs have more than one core. This allows different threads of instructions to be run simultaneously, with each core running one thread, resulting in faster performance. A dual-core processor will run faster than a single core, but not quite twice as fast. There are also quad-core, eight-core, and other types of multicore processors.

Question 30

virtualization support

Answer 30

Modern CPUs support virtualization in hardware. AMD refers to virtualization support in their products as AMD-V, while Intel refers to virtualization support as Virtualization Technology (VT).

Question 31

What is an expansion card and what are the different kinds?

Answer 31

can be attached to a motherboard through expansion slots. An expansion slot can be used to expand the capabilities of a computer. You must use expansion cards that are compatible with the expansion slots available. Types: - Sound Card - Video card - on-board video cards - add-on cards (with own GPU - Graphics Processing unit) - capture cards (converts video to digital) - NIC - Network Interface Card (for connecting to network)