Computer class
This is the primary purpose of a computer case besides keeping parts together.
What is protecting the internal components from dust, damage, and electrical interference? (Or: To provide airflow/cooling).
This is the primary modern unit of measurement used to calculate CPU clock speed, representing billions of cycles per second.
Gigahertz (GHz)
This is the main purpose of processor cooling.
removing heat from the CPU to prevent overheating and thermal damage
These are the four sequential steps that make up a single machine cycle inside a processor.
Fetch, Decode, Execute, and Store
This is the fundamental purpose of a register inside the CPU.
provide temporary, ultra-fast storage for data and instructions immediately needed by the processor
This specific, standard size or shape factor of a computer case dictates what kind of motherboard will fit inside it.
Micro-ATX
This tiny electrical component vibrates at a highly precise frequency to generate the system clock's timing pulses.
quartz crystal
This is the paste applied between the CPU surface and the heatsink to eliminate microscopic air gaps and improve heat transfer.
thermal paste
During this specific first step of the machine cycle, the control unit retrieves an instruction from the system memory.
fetching
his specific register keeps track of the memory address of the next instruction waiting to be fetched and executed.
Program Counter (PC)
This type of massive computer case is preferred by enthusiasts and servers because it offers maximum space for multiple drives and liquid cooling loops.
full tower
This term describes the practice of forcing a processor to run at a higher clock speed than its manufacturer intended.
overclocking
This block of metal with many thin fins sits directly on top of the CPU to passively draw heat away by increasing surface area.
heatsink
This is the component of the CPU that actually performs the arithmetic and logical calculations during the "Execute" phase.
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
This register temporarily holds the results of the arithmetic and logic operations just performed by the ALU.
Accumulator (AC)
These pre-installed metal or plastic pins on the inside of the case prevent the motherboard from touching the bare metal chassis and short-circuiting
standoff
The system clock controls this parameter, which dictates the maximum number of operations a CPU can perform in one second.
clock rate (or clock speed)
This cooling method uses a pump, radiator, and tubes filled with fluid instead of relying purely on heavy metal heatsinks and air fans.
liquid cooling
This processing technique allows a CPU to work on multiple machine cycles at the exact same time by overlapping the execution phases.
pipelining
This specific register holds the binary instruction that is currently being decoded and executed by the CPU
Instruction Register (IR)
This specialized computer case format is designed to be flat so it can be stacked horizontally into metal cages inside industrial data centers.
rackmount case
This term describes a situation where the processor must sit idle for one or more clock cycles because it is waiting for slower RAM to deliver data.
wait state
This feature automatically kicks in to drastically slow down a CPU's clock speed if its cooling system fails and temperatures hit dangerous levels.
thermal throttling
This component translates the fetched, binary instruction into commands the hardware can actually understand during the "Decode" phase.
Control Unit
These are the two registers that act as direct interfaces to system RAM—one holds the memory address being accessed, and the other holds the actual data being read or written.
he Memory Address Register (MAR) and Memory Data Register (MDR)