Technical Implementation(Hardware)

Question 1

What is the function of backing storage devices?

Answer 1

Allow data and programs to be stored permanently outside the CPU

Question 2

State some factors that may influence system performance of a computer system

Answer 2

Number of cores
Data bus width
Use of cache memory
Number of Internal Registers

Question 3

Describe ROM memory and what it stores

Answer 3

ROM(Read Only Memory) is permanent, non volatile memory that stores programs such as the bootstrap loader

Question 4

What is the bootstrap loader?

Answer 4

The first thing loaded into memory when the computer switches on, it loads up the operating system

Question 5

What are some advantages of having cache memory?

Answer 5

It means faster access to programs etc and it decreases the number of trips to slower main memory

Question 6

Lily is a maths tutor. She wants a device that will help her keep track of when she is next teaching and would like to be able to keep in contact with her students to inform them of new resources while she is on the go. What device would you recommend and why?

Answer 6

Smartphone

<ul>
<li> Enables communication</li>
<li>Has calendar features</li>
<li>Highly Portable</li>
</ul>

Question 7

Describe a current trend in storage devices

Answer 7

<strong>Cloud</strong> storage has become more popular, as users want to be able to access their data on the go and from a variety of devices. They also want flexibility in the amount of storage they have
Solid state devices are increasing in popularity due to demand for portable and robust storage devices

Question 8

Give an example of a 
<ol>
<li>Magnetic Storage Device</li>
<li>Optical Storage Device</li>
<li>Solid State Storage Device</li>
</ol>

Answer 8

Magnetic - Hard disk drive, Magnetic Tape
Optical - CD,DVD(R,RW,ROM),Bluray
Solid State- USB Flash Drive

Question 9

Describe the address bus and state it’s function

Answer 9

The address bus is a unidirectional bus which tells the memory which location is to be read from/written to

Question 10

Name the common control lines

Answer 10

Write
Read
Clock
Interrupt
NMI(non maskable interrupt)
Reset

Question 11

State the steps in the fetch execute cycle

Answer 11

<ol>
<li>Address of Instruction is fetched and placed into MAR(Memory Address Register</li>
<li>Read line is activated</li>
<li>Instruction is located at address by address bus</li>
<li>Instruction is sent along the data bus</li>
<li>Instruction transferred to Instruction Register, where it is decoded and executed</li>
</ol>

Question 12

What is an interface?

Answer 12

An interface is the combination of the software and hardware that allows CPU and peripherals to communicate

Question 13

State some functions of an interface

Answer 13

Data Conversion (Analogue - Digital, Serial-Parallel etc)
Buffering
Handling Status Signals

Question 14

State three things that can be stored in the register

Answer 14

<strong>D</strong>ata
<strong>I</strong>nstructions
<strong>A</strong>ddresses

Question 15

Describe the difference between an emulator and a virtual machine

Answer 15

Emulator - software/hardware that allows one computer system to <em>behave</em> like another
Virtual Machine - emulation of a <em>complete</em> computer system

Question 16

Compare DRAM and SRAM in terms of size, speed and location

Answer 16

DRAM - slower, main memory, smaller

SRAM - faster,cache, larger

Question 17

What is buffering?

Answer 17

A buffer is a temporary area of memory allocated to store data while it is being transferred from the CPU to peripherals. The CPU sends data fast to the buffer and from there the buffer passes the data to the peripherals, freeing up the CPU to do other tasks.

Question 18

What is the definition of memory address?

Answer 18

An address is a unique binary number that identifies a memory location

Question 19

Is serial or parallel transmission used in the CPU?

Answer 19

Parallel

Question 20

Would you be able to compare the Pentium G4620 and the Core i7-7700K by looking at both of their clock speeds?

Answer 20

No, if processors are to be compared using clock speed they must be the same processor type. Also clock speed is a relatively bad way of measuring processor power.

Question 21

What is the function of the control lines?

Answer 21

Decode and execute instructions

Question 22

Describe the RESET control line

Answer 22

Clears all internal registers, returning to initial state

Starts loading data from a pre defined place

Question 23

Describe the INTERRUPT control line

Answer 23

Saves all the contents of the registers into stack and deals with the device that made the interrupt before coming back and loading the stack back into registers

Question 24

State some uses of virtual machines

Answer 24

Ideal for testing software on different systems

Allows researchers to do security research

Question 25

List the computer memory types in order of speed starting with the fastest

Answer 25

Registers
Cache
Main memory
Backing storage

Question 26

Define a peripheral

Answer 26

A peripheral is a hardware device which can be attached to the computer

Question 27

Under what circumstances is spooling preferable to buffering?

Answer 27

<ul>
<li>When large amounts of data are being sent</li>
<li>When a peripheral is shared over a network</li>
</ul>

Question 28

What is a limitation of spooling?

Answer 28

It is limited by the capacity of the hard drive

Question 29

What are the three types of backing storage devices?

Answer 29

Magnetic
Optical
Solid State

Question 30

Describe the differences between a hard disk drive and magnetic tape and describe which one you would choose if you were trying to cheaply store some data

Answer 30

Hard disk drive - Magnetic, Random Access
Magnetic Tape - Magnetic, Serial Access
Choice : Magnetic, due to slower access speed so cheaper per megabyte

Question 31

If a client was looking to transfer data over a long distance would you recommend serial or parallel data transfer?

Answer 31

Serial

Question 32

<img></img>

Answer 32

Test

Question 33

Describe how the interface is involved in handling status signals

Answer 33

Devices send state signals during data transfer to indicate how ready they are, and an interface is involved in these communications between peripheral and CPU

Question 34

Describe a current trend in backing storage devices

Answer 34

Solid State Devices becoming more common(typical capacity of 128GB+)
Hard disk drive capacities are increasing (2Tb) and access times are getting quicker

Question 35

What is the function of a graphics interface card?

Answer 35

Allow the computer to control graphics on the monitor

Question 36

Describe some components of a sound interface card

Answer 36

Digital Signal Processor
Digital to Analogue Converter
Memory for storing data
MIDI interface

Question 37

What is the word size of a processor?

Answer 37

Data bus width, maximum capacity of each memory location

Question 38

What is the typical storage figure for a CDROM?

Answer 38

650MB

Question 39

What is the typical storage figure for a DVDROM?

Answer 39

4.7GB

Question 40

What (roughly) is the range of bluetooth?

Answer 40

10m w/o amplification