Chapter 2

The System Unit, Processing, and Memory

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Learning Objectives
• Understand how data and programs are represented to a computer and be
able to identify a few of the coding systems used to accomplish this.
• Explain the functions of the hardware components commonly found inside the
system unit, such as the CPU, GPU, memory, buses, and expansion cards.
• Describe how peripheral devices or other hardware can be added to a
computer.
• Understand how a computer’s CPU and memory components process
program instructions and data.
• Name and evaluate several strategies that can be used today for speeding
up the operations of a computer.
• List some processing technologies that may be used in future computers.

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Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Overview

• This chapter covers:

• How computers represent data and program instructions
• How the central processing unit (C P U) and memory are arranged with
other components inside the system unit
• How a C P U performs processing tasks
• Several strategies are used today to create faster and better computers
today and in the future

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Data and Program Representation

• Digital data representation is the FIGURE 2-1: Ways of representing 0 and 1.

process of representing data in Computers recognize only two states—off and on
—usually represented by 0 and 1.
digital form so it can be
understood by a computer
• Coding systems are used to
represent data and programs in a
manner understood by the
computer
• Digital computers can only
understand two states, off and on
(0 and 1)

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Digital Data Representation

• A bit is the smallest unit of data that a FIGURE 2-2: Bits and bytes. Document
binary computer can recognize (a single size, storage capacity, and memory
capacity are all measured in bytes.
1 or 0)
• A byte is equivalent to 8 bits
• Byte terminology used to express the size
of documents and other files, programs,
etc.
• Prefixes are often used to express larger
quantities of bytes: kilobyte (KB),
megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB),
terabyte (TB), petabyte (PB), exabyte
(EB), zettabyte (ZB ), yottabyte (YB)

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Representing Numerical Data: The Binary
Numbering System
• The binary numbering system uses only two symbols (1 and 0) to
represent all possible numbers
• The numbering system computers use
• The decimal numbering system uses 10 symbols (0-9)
• The numbering system people use
• In both systems, the position of the digits determines the power to which the
base number (such as 10 or 2) is raised

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Example of the Decimal and Binary Numbering
Systems

FIGURE 2-3:
Examples of using
the decimal and
binary numbering
systems.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
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Coding Systems for Text-Based Data: ASCII and
E BCDI C
• ASCII (American Standard Code FIGURE 2-4: Some extended ASCII
for Information Interchange) is code examples.
the coding system traditionally used CHARACTER
0
ASCI I
00110000
with personal computers 1 00110001
2 00110010
• Most commonly uses 8 bits 3 00110011

• EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded 4 00110100

5 00110101
Decimal Interchange Code) A 01000001

• Developed by IBM, primarily for B 01000010

C 01000011
mainframes D 01000100
E 01000101
F 01000110
+ 00101011
! 00100001
# 00100011

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Coding Systems for Text-Based Data: Unicode

• Unicode FIGURE 2-5: Unicode. Many characters,

such as these, can be represented by
• Newer code consisting of 8 to 32 Unicode but not by ASCII or EBCDIC.
bits per character
• Universal coding standard designed
to represent text-based data written
in any ancient or modern language,
as well as thousands of other
symbols and signs
• Replacing ASCII as the primary
text-coding system

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Coding Systems for Other Types of Data: Graphics
Data
• Graphics data (still images such as photos or drawings) consist of bitmapped
images made up of a grid of small dots called pixels
• Monochrome graphic can only be one of two colors
• Requires just one bit for color storage
• Images with more than two colors
• Can use 4, 8, or 24 bits to store the color data for each pixel
• The number of bits per pixel depends on the type of image
• JPEG images taken by most digital cameras today use 24-bit true color images;
large images can typically be compressed
• Common image formats include TIF, BMP, GIF, and PNG

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Representing Graphics Data

FIGURE 2-6: Representing

graphics data. With bitmapped
images, the color of each pixel is
represented by bits; the more bits
used, the better the image
quality.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture

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Coding Systems for Other Types of Data: Audio
and Video Data
• Audio data must be in digital form in order to be stored on or processed by a
computer
• Often compressed when sent over the Internet
• MP3 files are 10 times smaller than their uncompressed digital versions
• Compressed files download more quickly and take up less storage space
• Video data is displayed using a collection of frames, each frame contains a
still image
• Amount of data can be substantial, but can be compressed

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Representing Software Programs: Machine
Language
• Machine language is a binary-based language for representing computer
programs the computer can execute directly
• Early programs were written in machine language
• Today’s computers allow programs to be written in a programming language,
which is then translated by the computer into machine language in order to be
understood by the computer

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Quick Quiz 1

1. Another way to say “one trillion bytes” is _____.

a. one gigabyte
b. one terabyte
c. one megabyte
2. True or False: MP3 files are stored using 0s and 1s.
3. The _____________ numbering system is used by computers to perform
mathematical computations.

Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) binary

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
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Inside the System Unit

• The system unit is the main case of a computer or mobile device

• Houses the processing hardware for a computer
• Also contains other components, such as storage devices, the power supply,
cooling hardware, one or more processors, several types of memory, and
interfaces to peripheral devices
• Interconnected through sets of wires called buses on the motherboard

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 Inside a Desktop System Unit

FIGURE 2-7: Inside

a desktop system
unit.

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Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Inside a Tablet System Unit

FIGURE 2-8: Inside a

tablet system unit.

Source: NVIDIA Corporation

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Motherboard

• The motherboard is a circuit board consisting of computer chips, also called

integrated circuits (ICs)
• ICs contain interconnected components (such as transistors) to perform
particular functions
• All devices connect via a wired or wireless connection to the motherboard
• External devices connect by plugging into a port
• The port is either built directly into the motherboard or created via an expansion card
• Wireless external devices use either a transceiver or wireless networking
technology

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The Power Supply and Drive Bays

• The power supply connects to the motherboard to deliver electricity

• Portable computers use a rechargeable battery pack
• Built-in batteries more difficult and expensive to replace, resulting in electronic waste
(e-waste)
• Drive bays are rectangular metal racks inside the system unit that house
storage devices
• Hard drive, CD/DVD drive, flash memory card reader
• Storage devices also connect to the motherboard

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Processors and the CPU

• A processor consists of circuitry and components packaged together and

connected directly to the motherboard
• The CPU (central processing unit) does the vast majority of processing
for a computer
• Called a microprocessor when talking about personal computers
• Typically designed for a specific type of computer
• Desktops, servers, and some notebook PCs use Intel or Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) processors
• Portable computers and mobile devices often use Intel or AMD mobile processors
or an ARM processor instead

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CPU Cores

• Multi-core CPUs contain the processing components (cores) of multiple

independent processors in a single CPU
• Dual-core CPUs contain two cores
• Quad-core CPUs contains four cores
• Multi-core processors allow computers to work on more than one task at a
time
• They also typically use slower cores than single-core CPUS so have fewer heat
problems

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Examples of CPUs
FIGURE 2-9: C P U examples.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
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The GPU

• The GPU (graphics processing unit) FIGURE 2-10: The GPU

takes care of the processing needed to
display images (including still images,
animations) on the screen
• Can be located on the motherboard, on a
video graphics board, or in the CPU
package
• Mobile processors often integrate other
capabilities into the processor package
(system-on-a-chip (SoC))
Source: NVIDIA Corporation

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
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Technology and You

Modular Phones
• Currently in development
• Individuals create custom phones
• Start with basic modules
• Give the user flexibility to add, upgrade,
or replace modules whenever
• Google’s Project Ara

Source: Google ATAP

Google’s modular smartphone prototype.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Processing Speed

• Processing speed can be measured by the CPU’s clock speed

• Rated in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz)
• Higher CPU clock speed = more instructions processed per second
• Alternate measure of processing speed is the number of instructions a C PU can
process per second
• Megaflops (millions), gigaflops (billions), teraflops (trillions)
• Benchmark tests can be used to evaluate overall processing speed

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Word Size and Cache Memory

• A computer word is the amount of data that a C PU can manipulate at one

time
• In the past, CPUs used 32-bit words (referred to as 32-bit processors); today,
most CPUs are 64-bit processors
• Cache memory is a special group of very fast circuitry usually built into the C
PU (internal cache memory)
• More cache memory typically means faster processing
• Cache memory level numbers indicate the order in which the various levels of
cache are accessed by the CPU
• Level 1 is fastest, then Level 2, then Level 3

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Bus Width, Bus Speed, and Bandwidth

• A bus is an electronic path over which data can travel

• Found inside the CPU and on the motherboard
• Bus width is the number of wires in the bus over which data can travel
• A wider bus allows more data to be transferred at one time
• Bus width and bus speed together determine the bus’s bandwidth (the
amount of data that can be transferred via the bus in a given time period)
• The amount of data actual transferred under real-life conditions is called
throughput

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 Example of Bus Width

FIGURE 2-11: Bus width.

A wider bus can transfer
more data at one time than
a narrower bus.

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Memory
• Memory refers to chip-based storage, or locations that a computer uses to
store data on a temporary basis
• Volatile memory (content is erased when the device is shut off)
• Non-volatile memory (content is retained when the device is shut off)
• Random access memory (RAM) is the computer’s main memory or system
memory
• Stores essential parts of operating system, programs, and data the computer is
currently using
• Consists of electronic circuits etched onto chips
• Mobile devices typically use embedded memory chips
• Servers and personal computers use circuit boards called memory modules plugged
into the motherboard

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Inserting RAM Memory Modules
FIGURE 2-12: Inserting RAM Memory Modules.

DESKTOP RAM Source: Kingston Technology Corporation

NOTEBOOK RAM

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Characteristics of RAM
• Volatile
• Measured in bytes (amount dependent on CPU and operating system)
• Most personal computers use SDRAM
• Double-Data Rate (DDR) RAM sends data twice as often as ordinary SDRA
M or prior versions of RAM
• DDR2, DDR3, DDR4
• Dual-channel memory architecture has two paths that go to and from
memory; tri-channel (three paths) and quad-channel (four paths) memory
architecture used for higher performance

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Memory Addressing

• Each location in memory has an

address
• Usually stored in one or more
consecutive addresses, depending on
its size
• Computer system sets up and
maintains directory tables to facilitate
retrieval of the data

FIGURE 2-13: Memory addressing.

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Registers and ROM

• Registers are high-speed memory locations built into the CPU

• Used to store data and intermediary results during processing
• Fastest type of memory
• ROM (read-only memory) consists of non-volatile chips located on the
motherboard into which data or programs have been permanently stored
• Retrieved by the computer when needed
• Being replaced with flash memory

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Flash Memory

• Flash memory consists of nonvolatile memory chips that can be used for
storage
• Have begun to replace ROM for storing system information (BIOS)
• Stores firmware for personal computers and other devices
• Built into many types of devices (tablets, smartphones, and digital cameras) for
user storage
• Built into some storage devices (solid-state hard drives, USB flash drives, etc.)

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Fans, Heat Sinks, and Other Cooling Components

• Fans are used on most personal computers to help cool the CPU and
system unit
• Heat is an ongoing problem for CPU and computer manufacturers
• Can damage components
• Cooler chips run faster
• Heat sinks are small components typically made out of aluminum with fins
that help to dissipate heat
• Some portable computers and virtually all mobile devices don’t include a
fan; instead thermal transfer materials are used to spread out the heat
generated

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Other Types of Cooling Systems

• Liquid cooling systems

• Cool the computer with liquid-filled tubes
• Immersion cooling
• Hardware is actually submerged into units filled with a liquid cooling solution
• Notebook cooling stand
• Cools the underside of a notebook computer
• Other cooling methods, such as ion pump cooling systems, are under
development

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 Examples of Computer Cooling Methods
FIGURE 2-14: Computer cooling methods.

Source: Belkin International, Inc.

DESKTOP COMPUTERS SERVERS
NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS
Can use fans, heat sinks, and Often use liquid cooling systems;
liquid cooling systems to cool an immersion cooling system is Often have at least one internal fan;
the inside of the computer. shown here. notebook cooling stands can be used to
cool the underside of the computer.

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Expansion Slots and Expansion Cards

• An expansion slot is a location on the motherboard into which expansion

cards are inserted
• An expansion card is a circuit board inserted into an expansion slot
• Used to add additional functionality or to attach a peripheral device
• Smaller devices may integrate capabilities directly into the device
• USB adapters can be used with portable computers and some mobile
devices

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Examples of Expansion Cards and Adapters

FIGURE 2-15: Expansion cards and adapters. Source: TRENDnet; Intel Corporation
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Buses

• A bus is an electronic path within a computer over which data travels

• Located within the CPU and etched onto the motherboard
• An expansion bus connects the CPU to peripheral (typically input and
output) devices
• The memory bus connects the CPU directly to RAM
• The frontside bus (FSB) connects the CPU to the chipset that connects the
CPU to the rest of the bus architecture

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Examples of Buses
and Expansion Slots

FIGURE 2-16: Buses and

expansion slots. Buses transport
data from one component to
another.

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PCI, PCIe, and USB

• The PCI bus used to be the most common type of expansion bus
• Today, PCI Express (PCIe) buses are more common
• PCIe ×16 is a 16-bit bus and is used to connect monitors to a computer
• PCIe ×1 is a 1-bit bus and is used to connect other peripherals
• PCIe buses are extremely fast
• A universal serial bus (USB) connects USB devices to a computer
• 127 different devices can connect via a single USB port
• Extremely versatile

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 Ports and Connectors
• A port is a connector on the exterior of a computer’s system unit to which a
device may be attached
• Typical desktop computer ports HDMI to connect a monitor (VGA and Digital
Video Interface (DVI) are older standards)
• Network ports connect a device to a wired network
• USB ports connect USB devices; can be USB-C
• Others include IrDA and Bluetooth ports, flash memory card slots, audio ports, e S
ATA ports, and Thunderbolt ports (Apple)
• Most computers support the Plug and Play standard
• USB and Thunderbolt devices are hot-swappable

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Examples of Typical Ports and Connectors
FIGURE 2-17: Typical ports. FIGURE 2-18: Typical connectors.

Source: Belkin
International, Inc.

Source: Hewlett-Packard Development

Company, L.P.

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USB Hubs
• USB hubs connect multiple devices to a single USB port

FIGURE 2-19: USB hubs. This USB hub is

used to connect multiple USB-A and USB-C
devices to a single USB-C port..

Source: Nonda

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How It Works
USB-C
• Both ends of a USB-C cable are the
same
• Traditional USB cables have two different
connectors:
• USB-A and USB-B
• Very fast
• Can charge and power portable
computers
• Many types of adapters and multiport
adapter cables available Source: Belkin International, Inc.
USB-C ports are oval shaped; cables
are reversible and interchangeable.
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Ports and Connectors: Tablets and Smartphones

• Tablets have ports similar to desktop computers, but often not as many
• Connecting a tablet to a tablet dock can provide additional connectivity options
• Smartphones have more limited expansion capabilities
• Usually have a USB port
• Some have a flash memory card slot
• Some have a Subscriber Identify Module (SIM) slot to hold a SIM card

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Examples of Typical Ports for Tablets and Tablet
Docks
FIGURE 2-20: Typical ports for tablets and tablet docks.

Source: Microsoft Corporation Source: Toshiba

TABLET TABLET DOCK
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Quick Quiz 2

1. Which type of memory is erased when the power goes out?

a. ROM
b. RAM
c. flash memory
2. True or False: The CPU can also be called the motherboard.
3. An electronic path within a computer over which data travels is called a(n)
_____________.

Answers:
1) b; 2) False; 3) bus

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
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How the CPU Works

• The CPU (central processing unit) consists of a variety of circuitry and

components packaged together
• The transistor is the key element of the microprocessor
• Made of semi-conductor material that controls the flow of electrons inside a chip
• Today’s CPU s contain hundreds of millions of transistors; the number doubles about
every 18 months (Moore’s Law)
• Electronic impulses move from one part of the CPU to another to process data
• The architecture and components included in a CPU (referred to as
microarchitecture) vary from processor to processor

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Inside the Industry

Moore’s Law
• In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that the
number of transistors per square inch on
chips had doubled every two years and
that trend would continue
• Moore’s Law is still relevant today for
processors as well as other computer
components

Source: Intel Corporation

George Moore (1970)
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CPU Core Components (1 of 2)

• The arithmetic/logic unit (ALU) performs arithmetic involving integers and

logical operations
• The floating point unit (FPU) performs decimal arithmetic
• The control unit coordinates and controls activities within a CPU core
• The prefetch unit attempts to retrieve data and instructions before they are
needed for processing in order to avoid delays

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
CPU Core Components (2 of 2)

• The decode unit translates instructions from the prefetch unit so that they
are understood by the control unit, ALU, and FPU
• The registers and internal cache memory store data and instructions needed
by the CPU
• The bus interface unit allows the core to communicate with other CPU
components

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Inside a CPU Core

FIGURE 2-21: Inside a

CPU core.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The System Clock

• The system clock is a timing mechanism within the computer system that
synchronizes the computer’s operations
• Located on the motherboard
• Sends out a signal on a regular basis to all computer components
• Each signal is a cycle
• Number of cycles per second is measured in hertz (Hz)
• One megahertz = one million ticks of the system clock

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Clock Speed

• Computers can run at a multiple or fraction of the system clock speed

• Many PC system clocks run at 200 MHz; all devices run at a fraction or multiplier
of the clock speed
• A CPU clock speed of 2 GHz means the CPU clock “ticks” 10 times during each
system clock tick
• During each CPU clock tick, one or more pieces of microcode are processed
• A CPU with a higher clock speed processes more instructions per second than
the same CPU with a lower CPU clock speed

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Machine Cycle
FIGURE 2-22: A machine cycle. A
machine cycle is typically accomplished
in four steps.
• A machine cycle occurs whenever
the CPU processes a single piece
of microcode
• It consists of four operations:
• Fetch
• Decode
• Execute
• Store

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Making Computers Faster and Better Now and in
the Future (1 of 2) FIGURE 2-24: Windows Disk
Cleanup. Can help free up room
• Improving the Performance of Your System on your hard drive.
Today
• Add more memory
• Perform system maintenance
• Uninstall programs properly
• Remove unnecessary programs from the Startup
list
• Place unneeded large files on external storage
• Delete temporary files
• Error-check your hard drive
• Scan for viruses and spyware
• Clean out the dust
Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Making Computers Faster and Better Now and in
the Future (2 of 2)
• Buy a larger or second hard drive
• Can be internal or external
• Move files from your primary drive to make it faster
• Upgrade your Internet connection
• Various types of connections and speeds are available
• Upgrade your video graphics card
• PCs with integrated graphics can typically have a graphics card added
• Graphics cards can be upgraded if needed
• Some notebooks switch to integrated graphics when using battery power to extend
battery life

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Strategies for Making Faster and Better
Computers: Pipelining
• Pipelining allows multiple instructions to be processed at one time
• A new instruction begins as soon as the previous instruction completes a stage of
the machine cycle

FIGURE 2-25: Pipelining. Pipelining

streamlines the machine cycle by
executing different stages of multiple
instructions at the same time so that the
different parts of the CPU are idle less
often.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Multiprocessing and Parallel Processing

• Using more than one processor or processor core is common today

• Multiprocessing: Each processor or core typically works on a different job to
process these jobs faster than with a single processor
• Parallel processing: Multiple processors or cores work together to process a
single job as fast as possible
• Multithreading: the ability of a CPU (or software) to execute multiple streams of
instructions (called threads) within a single program at the same time

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Improved Architecture and Materials (1 of 2)

• Improved architecture
• Smaller components, faster memory, faster bus speeds, increasing number of C
PU cores, integrated GPUs, support for virtualization, and increased 3D
graphics processing
• Improved materials
• Traditionally, CPUs used aluminum circuitry on silicon chips
• Alternate materials include copper chips, and high-k, germanium and other III-V
materials
• Graphene consists of flat sheets are carbon one atom tall
• Lightest and strongest known material
• Graphene chips are faster than silicon chips and require less power

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Improved Architecture and Materials (2 of 2)

• Improved materials (continued) FIGURE 2-26: Flexible smartphone.

• Flexible electronic components
• Can be bent without damaging circuitry
• Thinner, lighter, generate less heat, and
consume less power than conventional
processors
• Needed for flexible devices, wearable
clothing, etc.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Trend

Smart Clothing
• Is the next trend in wearable
technology
• Contains flexible circuitry and sensors,
wireless connectivity, and a battery
• Can monitor your physical activity
• Transmits 3D information about your
activities
• Syncs data to your smartphone
• Smart fabric is under development Source: Google ATAP
Smart fabric.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
3D Chips FIGURE 2-27: Tri-Gate transistor. In this 3D
transistor, the electrical current (represented by
the yellow dots) flows on three sides of a
vertical fin.
• 3D chips pack a number of
components layered onto small
chips
• Cuts down on the surface area
required
• Especially important with
notebook computers and mobile
devices
• Memory cells are stacked on top
of one another in layers
• For CPUs, the transistors are
layered
Source: Intel Corporation
Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Nanotechnology

• Nanotechnology is the science of creating tiny computers and components

less than 100 nanometers in size
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tiny, hollow tubes of graphene
• Great potential for many applications
• Used in TVs, solar cells, light bulbs, consumer products like surfboards, and
computing products like memory
• Carbon nanotube fibers conduct heat and electricity like a metal wire
• Nanofilters that can remove contaminants from water sources
• Nanosensors that can detect cancer-causing toxins or cancer drugs inside single
living cells

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Examples of Nanotechnology
FIGURE 2-28: Wafer containing CNT FIGURE 2-29: Carbon nanotube fibers. This light
transistors. bulb is powered and held in place by two carbon
nanotube fibers.

Source: Norbert von der Source: Jeff Fitlow/

Groeben/Stanford University Rice University

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Terascale/Exascale Computing

• High-performance computing (HPC)

• Terascale computing is the ability of a computer to process one trillion floating
point operations per second (teraflops)
• Research is focusing on creating multi-core processors with tens to hundreds of
cores used in conjunction with multithreaded hardware and software to achieve
teraflop performance
• The next development is expected to be exascale computing that can process
data at exaflop (1,000 petaflops) speeds

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Quantum Computing
FIGURE 2-30: Quantum computers. This
vial of liquid contains a 7-qubit computer.
• Quantum computing applies the
principles of quantum physics and
quantum mechanics to computers
• Utilizes atoms or nuclei working
together as quantum bits (qubits)
• Qubits function simultaneously as the
computer’s processor and memory
and can represent more than two
states
• Used for specialized applications,
such as encryption and code breaking

Source: IBM Research, Almaden Research Center.

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Optical Computing and Silicon Photonics

• Optical computers use light to perform digital computations

• Can be smaller and faster than electronic computers
• Opto-electronic computers use both optical and electronic components
• Silicon photonics uses light for data transfers within and among silicon chips
• Expected to be used to transfer very large quantities of data at very high speeds
between chips in servers, mainframes, and supercomputers

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Quick Quiz 3

1. Optical computers use which of the following to transmit and process data?
a. liquid
b. Light
c. silicon
2. True or False: If your computer is running slowly, adding more memory
might speed it up.
3. A quantum bit is known as a(n) __________________.

Answers:
1) b; 2) True; 3) qubit

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Summary

• Data and Program Representation

• Inside the System Unit
• How the CPU Works
• Making Computers Faster and Better Now and in the Future

Deborah Morley/Charles S. Parker, Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 16 th Edition. © 2017 Cengage. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.