Blog 5 - Processor Terms

Explain the following terms to your mother (she is not very computer literate)

processor frequency: This determines how fast your computer can process information. This is determined by the number of times it "beats" per second (like a human heart). The higher this number is, the faster your computer will react when you tell it to do something. Examples of this are 800Mhz or 3.2 GHz

word size: This determines how much information (measured in bits) that a computer can process at once. Once again the large the number the faster. Usually this is expressed as 32-bits or 64-bits.

overclocking: This is when someone goes into the settings of the computer and tells it to "beat" faster, creating a higher processor frequency and making the computer run faster. This can be dangerous because it can make the computer overheat if the frequency is too high and damage it.

data path: This is similar to word size. It is the amount of information that can be passed to the processor. The word size is the amount that can be processed and can be smaller than the data path. The data path is also expressed in 32-bits or 64-bits. Basically if your data path is 32-bits and your word count is 64-bits only 32-bits will be passed to the processor at a time. Even if the processor can handle more. This reduces the efficiency of the processor.

SRAM: This is a small amount of memory that runs faster than other types of memory. It can do so because it can hold data as long as it has power. This memory speeds up your computer because when a program begins to run it can guess what will be needed for future steps and store it to the SRAM for faster access.

primary, external and memory cache: A memory cache is a location where a small amount of memory is stored. The primary cache is actually on the processor and can therefore be accessed quickly by the processor. An external cache is located outside of the processor and used as a secondary cache.