From the Specification
Internal and External Hardware Components of a Computer
- Outline the basic internal components of a computer system. (Although questions about specific machines will not be asked it might be useful to base this section on the machines used at the centre.
- Understand the need for and means of connection between components
- Processor, main memory, address bus, data bus, control bus, I/O controllers and I/O ports, secondary storage, their purpose and how they relate.
- Know that the processor, system bus and main memory are called the CPU (central processing unit), and that components external to the CPU are called peripherals. An example of a peripheral is secondary storage.
Functional Characteristics of a Processor
- Understand the concept of addressable memory.
- Describe the stored program concept whereby machine code instructions stored in main memory are fetched and executed serially by a processor that performs arithmetic and logical operations
Structure and Role of the Processor
- Understand the characteristics of contemporary processors
- Explain the role and operation of a processor and its major components.
- Explain the effect of clock speed, word length and bus width on performance.
Know the following components and be able to describe their function:
- Arithmetic Logic Unit
- Control Unit
- Clock
- General purpose and dedicated registers
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