PC Hardware —

Tutorial 4

  1. What is the language of the computer?

  2. Binary code is the language of the computer.

  3. What is an external data bus?

  4. The external data bus is the primary bus for handling the flow of data. All devices that process data are connected to the external data bus.

  5. Describe an integrated circuit (IC).

  6. An integrated circuit is an electronic device consisting of many miniature transistors and other circuit elements (resistors and capacitors, for instance).

  7. Define a clock cycle.

  8. The timing for all activities within a computer is set by the computer's clock (but not the one that keeps time). Each pulse of voltage produced by the clock is called a "clock cycle."

  9. What are the advantages of a Pentium processor over a 486?

  10. Many improvements were made to the Pentium chip that made it superior to the 486, including:

    • Faster speeds.
    • A 32-bit address bus and 32-bit registers.
    • A 64-bit data path to improve the speed of data transfers.
    • A dual pipeline, 32-bit data bus that allows the chip to process two separate lines of code simultaneously.
    • A write-back cache of at least 8-KB for data and an 8-B write-through cache.
    • Branch prediction-the program cache attempts to anticipate branching within the code.
  11. What is the difference between "SX" and "DX" in a 386 chip?

  12. The 80386DX was a true 32-bit processor with a 32-bit external data bus, 32-bit registers, and a 32-bit address bus (enabling 4 GB of memory to be accessed). The 80386SX was similar to the DX except that it had a 16-bit external data bus and a 24-bit address bus (it could address only 16 MB of memory).

  13. Which computers use the Motorola 68040 chip?

  14. Some Apple Macintoshes use the Motorola 68040 chip.

  15. Define microprocessor.

  16. A microprocessor is an integrated circuit that contains a complete CPU on a single chip.

  17. In computer code language _________ means on and _________ means off.

  18. In computer code language the number 1 means on and the number 0 means off.

  19. Define clock speed.

  20. Clock speed, a main selling point for today's PC computer, is the system clock rate, measured in megahertz (MHz). One MHz equals one million cycles per second. Clock speed is the number of times per second that a computer can process an instruction.

  21. What is the function of the address bus?

  22. The CPU accesses memory through an additional bus called the address bus. The number of conductors in the address bus determines the maximum amount of memory that can be used by the CPU.

  23. Microprocessor chips (CPUs) are manufactured in a variety of sizes and shapes. Name as many different kinds as possible.

  24. Examples of chip packages are DIPP, PGA, PLCC, and PQFP.

  25. Name the basic types of CPU sockets.

  26. The LIF (low-insertion-force) and ZIF (zero-insertion-force) sockets are the two basic CPU sockets. The Pentium II and later Intel processors use Slot 1 sockets.

  27. If a customer brought you an old Pentium 60-based computer and asked you to install a new processor, what would your advice be?

  28. Consider upgrading the CPU and motherboard to a newer CPU and matching motherboard.