Motherboard
Buses
CPU
Communication
Pot Luck
100
Provides the speed signals for the CPU and the rest of the system.
What is system crystal
100
The primary data highway of all computers.
What is External Data Bus
100
A single charge to the clock wire of a CPU.
What is clock cycle
100
Preferred for computers for precision and economy. An electronic circuit that can detect the difference between two states (on-off, 0-1)?
What is Binary
100
Provides the speed signals for the CPU and the rest of the system.
What is instruction set
200
A socket for the CPUs that enable insertion of chip without the need to apply pressure.
What is ZIF Socket
200
The wires leading from the CPU to the memory controller chip (usually the Northbridge) that enable the CPU to address RAM.
What is Address bus
200
The speed at which a CPU execute instructions, measured in MHz or GHz. In modern CPUs, the internal speed is generally a multiple of the external speed.
What is Clock Speed
200
A unit of eight bits, the fundamental data unit of personal computers. Storing the equivalent of one character, also the basic unit of measurement for computer storage.
What is byte
200
A special area of RAM that stores the data most frequently accessed from the hard drive. Cache memory optimized the use of your systems.
What is cache
300
The “brain” of the computer. The microprocessor that handles the primary calculations for the computer.
What is CPU
300
Name for the wires that connect the CPU to the main RAM. Generally running at speeds of 66-133 MHz . Distinct from the expansion bus and the backside bus, though it shares wires with the former
What is Frontside bus
300
A CPU that has two execution units ⎯ two sets of Pipelines ⎯ but the two sets of pipelines share caches (how they share caches differs between Intel and AMD) and RAM.
What is Dual Core
300
A single binary digit. Any device that can be in an on or off state.
What is bit
300
A storage area inside the CPU used by the onboard logic to perform calculations. CPUs have many registers to perform different functions.
What is registers
400
The chip that handles memory request from the CPU. Although once a special chip, it has been integrated into the chipset on all PCs today.
What is memory controller chip (MCC)
400
The speed at which the CPU and the rest of the PC operates; set by the system crystal.
What is system bus speed
400
A CPU that takes the incoming clock signal and multiplies it inside the SPU to let he internal circuitry of the CPU run faster.
What is Clock Multiplying CPU
400
To save important data in a secondary location as a safety against loss of the primary data.
What is back up
400
A special type of pipeline stall
What is wait state
500
The memory used to store data in most personal computers. Stores each bit in a “Cell” composed of a transistor and a capacitor. Because the capacitor in the cell can only hold a charge for a few milliseconds, must be continually refreshed, or rewritten, to retain its data.
What is DRAM
500
Used to connect the CPU to CPU cache memory, usually L2.
What is backside bus
500
A processing methodology where multiple calculations take place simultaneously by being broken into series of steps. Often used in CPUs and video processors.
What is Pipeline
500
The binary instruction code that is understood by the CPU.
What is Machine Language
500
Most common form of grid array, distinguished by their square shape with many —usually hundreds—of tiny pins
What is PGA
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