CS 330 Chapter 2

False

A straight comparison of clock speeds on different processors tells the whole story about performance.

Arithmetic

A(n) __________ Mean is a good candidate for comparing the execution time performance of several systems. A. Composite in B. Arithmetic C. Harmonic D. Evaluation

Arithmetic

The __________ Mean used for a time-based variable, such as program execution time, has the important property that it is directly proportional to the total time.

cache

The __________ is a relatively small fast memory interposed between a larger, slower memory and the logic that accesses the larger memory. A. peripheral B. cache C. processor D. arithmetic and logic unit

speed metric

The __________ measures the ability of a computer to complete a single task. A. clock speed B. speed metric C. execute cycle D. cycle time

SPEC CPU2006

The best known of the SPEC benchmark suites is __________ . A. SPEC CPU2006 B. SPECjvm2008 C. SPECsfs2008 D. SPEC SC2013

SPEC

The best-known collection of benchmark suites is defined and maintained by an industry consortium known as __________.

True

The cache holds recently accessed data.

all of the above

The desktop application(s) that require the great power of today's microprocessor-based systems include___________. A. image processing B. speech recognition C. videoconferencing D. all of the above

main memory

The interface between processor and ___________ is the most crucial pathway in the entire computer because it is responsible for carrying a constant flow of program instructions and data between memory chips and the processor. A. main memory B. pipeline C. clock speed D. control unit

True

The raw speed of the microprocessor will not achieve its potential unless it is fed a constant stream of work to do in the form of computer instructions.

geometric

The three common formulas used for calculating a mean are arithmetic, harmonic, and __________

multicore

The use of multiple processors on the same chip is referred to as __________ and provides the potential to increase performance without increasing the clock rate. A. multicore B. GPU C. data channels D. MPC

branch prediction

With __________ the processor looks ahead in the instruction code fetched from memory and predicts which branches, or groups of instructions, are likely to be processed next.

Geometric

With respect to changes in values, the __________ Mean gives equal weight to all of the values in the data set. A. Harmonic B. Arithmetic C. Composite D. Geometric

False

Workstation systems cannot support highly sophisticated engineering and scientific applications.

False

Year by year the cost of computer systems continues to rise.

Base

_________ metric are required for all reported results and have strict guidelines for compilation.

Little's

__________ Law applies to a queuing system.

Pipelining

__________ enables a processor to work simultaneously on multiple instructions by performing a different phase for each of the multiple instructions at the same time.

speculative execution

__________ enables the processor to keep its execution engines as busy as possible by executing instructions that are likely to be needed.

Amdahl's

__________ law deals with the potential speedup of a program using multiple processors compared to a single processor.

Amdahl's

__________ law deals with the potential speedup of a program using multiple processors compared to a single processor. A. Moore's B. Amdahl's C. Little's D. Murphy's

Superscalar execution

___________ is the ability to issue more than one instruction in every processor clock cycle.

Branch prediction

___________ potentially increases the amount of work available for the processor to execute. A. Branch prediction B. Performance balance C. Pipelining D. BIPS

benchmark

A _________ suite is a collection of programs, defined in a high-level language, that together attempt to provide a representative test of a computer in a particular application or system programming area.

GPU

A __________ is a core designed to perform parallel operations on graphics data. A. MIC B. ALU C. GPU D. PGD

True

A common measure of performance for a processor is the rate at which instructions are executed, expressed as millions of instructions per second (MIPS).

throughput

A measurement of how many tasks a computer can accomplish in a certain amount of time is called a(n) __________ . A. real-time system B. application analysis C. cycle speed D. throughput

more rapidly

An increase in clock rate means that individual operations are executed _____. A. the same B. slower C. with very little change D. more rapidly

Hertz

At the most fundamental level, the speed of a processor is dictated by the pulse frequency produced by the clock, measured in cycles per second, or_________.

True

Branch prediction potentially increases the amount of work available for the processor to execute.

True

Cloud service providers use massive high-performance banks of servers to satisfy high-volume, high-transaction- rate applications for a broad spectrum of clients.

True

Designers wrestle with the challenge of balancing processor performance with that of main memory and other computer components.

False

Measures such as MIPS and MFLOPS have proven adequate to evaluating the performance of processors.

superscalar execution

Multiple parallel pipelines are used in __________ . A. speculative execution B. data flow analysis C. superscalar execution D. branch prediction

Harmonic

The _________ Mean is preferred when calculating rates.

Geometric

The __________ Mean gives consistent results regardless of which system is used as a reference.

clock cycle

One increment, or pulse, of a clock is referred to as a __________ . A. clock cycle B. clock rate C. clock speed D. cycle time

True

Operations performed by a processor, such as fetching an instruction, decoding the instruction, performing an arithmetic operation, and so on, are governed by a system clock.

True

Processors are so inexpensive that we now have microprocessors we throw away.

False

Raw speed is far more important than how a processor performs when executing a given application.

False

Superscalar execution is the same principle as seen in an assembly line.

True

The IAS is the prototype of all subsequent general-purpose computers.

GPU

Traditionally found on a plug-in graphics card, a _________ is used to encode and render 2D and 3D graphics as well as process video.