Module 03: The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

You want your server to be able to access at least 128 GB of RAM. What specification must the system have for this requirement to be met?

64-bit address bu

If your address bus is 16-bits wide, approximately how much memory can your computer address?

64K bytes

How many bytes can a computer with a 64-bit data bus transfer at one time?

8

You will be using a mobile device that is based on RISC architecture for a new project. Which of the following CPU families is most likely running in the device?

ARM

Which part of the CPU is responsible for receiving and decoding an instruction and giving it to another CPU component for execution?

CU

A RISC CPU performs more complex instructions and uses a uniform number of clock cycles for each instruction T/F

False

A bus is the part of a CPU that performs computational and logic work. T/F

False

The address bus almost always runs faster than the external clock speed of the CPU T/F

False

An analysis of a running system shows that the system is frequently being interrupted to execute program code related to interrupts. How does the CPU know when it must execute this code?

IRQ information is carried by the control bus.

While troubleshooting a computer hardware problem, you find that the processor is not being informed when a device has data ready to be read or written. What is the likely problem?

IRQs

You are reading the specifications of a computer that supports quad-core CPUs. The computer supports up to a maximum of 16 cores. What must be true about this computer?

It is a multiprocessor computer.

If you are designing a CPU on which you want memory that can be accessed at the internal clock speed of the CPU, which type of memory are you concerned with?

L1 cache

Which type of cache is found as part of more advanced CPUs, is shared among the CPU cores and typically comes in sizes of 8 and 16 MB?

Level 3

You are discussing a CPU that will be used on a new project. Your colleague comments that the CPU he has in mind does not use microcode. What type of CPU is being discussed?

RISC

What was the primary difference between the 8088 processor and the 8086 processor?

The 8086 processor had a 16-bit data bus compared to the 8-bit bus of the 8088

You have just installed a single quad-core processor onto a new computer motherboard and installed Windows 10. When Windows 10 boots, you run Task Manager and it reports 8 logical processors. If the CPU is a quad-core processor, why is Task Manager reporting 8 logical processors?

The CPU is a hyper-threading processor.

Which of the following is NOT considered part of a computer's system architecture?

The kernel

Which of the following is true about single-processor computers?

They have one physical CPU chip

ARM processors are RISC processors that are commonly used in mobile devices and embedded systems T/F

True

What is the silicon wafer called that the CPU circuitry is manufactured on?

a die

You have just finished writing a program that uses instructions such as load R1, X and stor R1, Z. What must be used to create opcodes from those instructions?

assembler

When a CPU is executing a program and the current instruction needs four bytes of data, where does the CPU first look for the needed data?

cache

Which hardware component predicts what data will be needed and makes that data available to the CPU's internal memory?

cache controller

You are interested in seeing the assembly language instructions created when you write C++ code on your Windows 10 computer. What do you need to install on your computer to see the assembly language created by C++ code?

compiler

You are troubleshooting a computer that is in the design phase. The problem you see is that the CPU is not receiving information about the status of resources and devices connected to the computer. The CPU is also not receiving IRQs. What component of the computer do you suspect could be the problem?

control bus

Which of the following is best described as a technology that enables a single processor core to appear as two logical processors to the OS and allows multiple parts of a single process to run simultaneously?

hyper-threading

Which of the following is true about RISC CPU hardware?

it is less complicated and can perform pipelining more effectively than CISC hardware

Which of the following can be described as the description of a CPU's internal circuitry, the technology used to create the chip, and its supported instruction set?

microarchitecture

A CPU that has two or more components that read and execute instructions is referred to as which of the following?

multiprocessor CPU

If two parts of the same process can be executed simultaneously by the CPU, what feature is being used?

multithreading

What are the numeric values created by an assembler that represent CPU machine instructions?

opcodes

In which part of a computer does CPU scheduling occur?

operating system

On most computers, what type of code is usually found where the reset vector points to?

operating system boot code

Which feature of RISC CPUs allows the processor to operate on one instruction at the same time it is fetching one or more subsequent instructions?

pipelining

A CPU has just been powered on and it stores an address into one of its registers. Where did the CPU store the address?

program counter

You are troubleshooting an embedded system and are debugging a process that is running on the system. You have a logic analyzer that can show you the contents of all the CPU registers and program memory. You need to determine the location of the next instruction the CPU will execute. Where should you look?

program counter

What address does a CPU read when power is first applied?

reset vector

If you are concerned about how many bytes per second your computer can transfer from main memory to the CPU, what part of the computer should you investigate to determine this figure?

the data bus and external clock speed

A software developer needs to design an application in which multiple parts of the application can be scheduled and executed simultaneously. What is each part of an application that can be independently scheduled called?

thread

What is a name given to the process of a CPU switching between applications very quickly?

time slicing