UNIT2

Computer Architecture
STARTER

Name these different types of computers. Then match the

possible users below to each type. Justify your choice.

Fig 1

1 Marketing research person collecting data from the general

2
3
4
5
6
7

public
large company processing payroll data
travelling salesperson giving marketing presentations
large scientific organisation processing work on nuclear research
businessperson keeping track of appointments while travelling
graphic designer
secretary doing general office work

What do these abbreviations mean? Use the Glossary if

necessary.
1
2
3
4

CD-ROM
RDRAM
MB
GHz

5
6
7

AGP
SDRAM
SVGA

Now study the text below to find this information:

READING

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

What is the memory size of this PC?

Which input devices are supplied?
What size is the monitor?
How fast is the processor?
What is the capacity of the hard drive?
Which operating system does it use?
What multimedia features does the computer have?

HOW TO READ A COMPUTER AD.

Fig 2
Dell computer

Intel Pentium IV 1.7GHz Processor

Mini Tower Chassis
256MB Rambus RDRAM
60GB Hard Drive
Embedded Intel 3D Direct AGP video
with 64MB SDRAM
64-voice wavetable sound
48 X CD-ROM Drive
19" (1 7.9" VIS) Colour SVGA monitor
Microsoft Windows XP
1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
Microsoft Intellimouse
105-key keyboard

The main processing chip that

operates at a clock speed of
1.7 thousand million cycles
per second.
A small size of tall and narrow
style of case containing the
computer system.
256 megabytes of Rambus
dynamic type of main
memory chips that constitute
the computer RAM.
A hard drive internal storage
device with a capacity of
approx. 60 thousand million
bytes.

A video controller for

controlling the monitor screen
that is built on to the
computer motherboard. It can
process 3D images using the
AGP type of video bus
interface. It also contains
approx. 64 million bytes of
synchronous dynamic random
access memory that is used as
video memory.
A soundcard that has 64
voices and generates sounds
using the wavetable system.

A CD-ROM storage device

that operates at 48 times the
speed of the original CD-ROM
devices.
A colour monitor for
displaying output on a screen
at resolutions determined by
the SVGA standard. The
diagonal measurement of the
whole screen is 19 inches but
the diagonal measurement of
the actual viewable area of the
screen is only 1 7.9 inches.
The operating system that is
used to control the system.

12

UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

LANGUAGE WORK
We can describe the function of an item in a
number of ways. Study these examples.

3 ROM is used for holding instructions which

are needed to start up the computer.

Using the Present simple

Emphasising the function

1 ROM holds instructions which are needed to

start up the computer.

4 The function of ROM is to hold instructions

which are needed to start up the
computer.

Used to-infinitive. Used for + -ing form

2 ROM is used to hold instructions which are
needed to start up the computer.

Match each item in Column A with its function in Column B.

Then describe its function in two ways.
A Item

B Function

RAM

controls the cursor

processor

inputs data through keys like a typewriter

mouse
clock

displays the output from a computer on a

screen

3.5" floppy drive

reads DVD-ROMs

monitor

reads and writes to removable magnetic

disks

keyboard
DVD-ROM drive
cache
ROM

holds instructions which are needed to

start up the computer
holds data read or written to it by the
processor
provides extremely fast access for
sections of a program and its data
controls the timing of signals in the
computer
controls all the operations in a computer

UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

13

With the help of the Glossary if necessary, describe the

functions of these items.
1
2
3
4
5

scanner
printer
ATM
PDA
hard disk drive

6 supercomputer
7 mainframe computer
8 barcodes
9 swipe cards
10 memory

Prepositions of place

LANGUAGE WORK

Study these examples of prepositions of place.

Bus
interface
unit
ROM

RAM

ALU

I/O

Disks
Video, etc.

Timing
& Control

1 Data moves between the CPU and

RAM.
2 Data flows from ROM to the CPU.
3 A program is read from disk into
memory.
4 Data is transferred along the data
bus.
5 The address number is put onto
the address bus.

Fig 3
Computer buses

6 The hard disk drive is inside a sealed case.

7 Heads move across the disk.
8 Tracks are divided into sectors.

Fig 4
Hard disk

Complete each sentence using the correct preposition.

1 The CPU is a large chip

2 Data always flows
3 The CPU can be divided
4
5
6
7
8

the computer.
the CPU
the address bus.
three parts.
Data flows
the CPU and memory.
Peripherals are devices
the computer but linked

it.
The signal moves
the VDU screen
one side
the other.
The CPU puts the address
the address bus.
The CPU can fetch data
memory
the data bus.

14 UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Study these 'System upgrades and options' for the computer

described in Task 3. Which upgrades and/or options would improve
these aspects of this computer?
1
2
3
4

capacity
speed
protection from damage due to power failure
network connections

Upgrades and options

3Com 10/100 Ethernet controller
CD-RW Drive
Extra memory module
APC 1400 Smart-UPS
3 Year Next-Business-Day On-site Service

SPEAKING

Work in pairs, A and B. Find out as much as you can about

your partner's computer and complete this table.
Student A your computer details are on page 184.
Student B your computer details are on page 190.
Feature
processor type
processor speed
bus speed
memory (RAM)
memory type
hard disk capacity
hard disk type
monitor size
monitor resolution
CD-ROM drive speed

UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

WRITING

15

Put these instructions for opening a computer in the correct

sequence.
a
b
c
d
e

Release the two catches underneath and lift up to remove panel.

Shut down your computer by choosing Shut Down from the
Apple menu or the Special menu.
If there are security screws on the vertical plate on the back of
the computer, remove them with a Philips screwdriver.
Unplug all the cables except the power cord from your computer.
Pulling gently, slide the tray out.

Match these figures to the instructions.

Fig 5
Opening a computer

ii

iii

iv

Add these sequence words to your instructions: first, then,

next, after that, finally.

16

UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

5 When does a write-back cache write its

contents back to main memory?
6 When is data marked as 'dirty' in a writeback cache?
7 What determines what data is replaced in a
disk cache?

1 What is one of the main causes of a PC not

running at its highest potential speed?
2 What word in the text is used instead of
'buffer'?
3 What device looks after cache coherency?
4 What is the main alternative to 'writethrough cache'?

CACHE MEMORY

10

15

20

Most PCs are held back not by the speed of their

main processor, but by the time it takes to move
data in and out of memory. One of the most
important techniques for getting around this
bottleneck is the memory cache.

25

The idea is to use a small number of very fast

memory chips as a buffer or cache between main
memory and the processor. Whenever the
processor needs to read data it looks in this cache
area first. If it finds the data in the cache then this
counts as a 'cache hit' and the processor need not
go through the more laborious process of reading
data from the main memory. Only if the data is
not in the cache does it need to access main
memory, but in the process it copies whatever it
finds into the cache so that it is there ready for
the next time it is needed. The whole process is
controlled by a group of logic circuits called the
cache controller.

30

One of the cache controller's main jobs is to look

after 'cache coherency' which means ensuring that
any changes written to main memory are reflected
within the cache and vice versa. There are several
techniques for achieving this, the most obvious
Processor

Cache

Controller

Main
Memory

35

40

45

being for the processor to write directly to both

the cache and main memory at the same time.
This is known as a 'write-through' cache and is the
safest solution, but also the slowest.
The main alternative is the 'write-back' cache
which allows the processor to write changes only
to the cache and not to main memory. Cache
entries that have changed are flagged as 'dirty',
telling the cache controller to write their contents
back to main memory before using the space to
cache new data. A write-back cache speeds up the
write process, but does require a more intelligent
cache controller.
Most cache controllers move a 'line' of data rather
than just a single item each time they need to
transfer data between main memory and the
cache. This tends to improve the chance of a
cache hit as most programs spend their time
stepping through instructions stored sequentially
in memory, rather than jumping about from one
area to another. The amount of data transferred
each time is known as the 'line size'.

Processor

Processor

Cache

Cache
Controller

Main
Memory

If there is a cache hit then the processor only needs to access

the cache. If there is a miss then it needs to both fetch data
from main memory and update the cache, which takes longer.
With a standard write-through cache, data has to be written

Cache

Controller

Main
Memory

Processor

Cache

Controller

Main
Memory

both to main memory and to the cache. With a write-back

cache the processor needs only write to the cache, leaving the
cache controller to write data back to main memory later on.

[Adapted from Cache Memory, PC Plus, February 1994, Future Publishing Ltd.]

UNIT 2 Computer Architecture

17

How a Disk Cache Works

5

10

15

Disk caching works in essentially the same way

whether you have a cache on your disk
controller or you are using a software-based
solution. The CPU requests specific data from
the cache. In some cases, the information will
already be there and the request can be met
without accessing the hard disk.
If the requested information isn't in the cache,
the data is read from the disk along with a large
chunk of adjacent information. The cache then
makes room for the new data by replacing old.
Depending on the algorithm that is being
applied, this may be the information that has
been in the cache the longest, or the
information that is the least recently used. The
CPU's request can then be met, and the cache
already has the adjacent data loaded in
anticipation of that information being
requested next.

1 Match the terms in Table A with the

statements in Table B.
Table A
Cache hit
Cache controller
Cache coherency
d

Write-through cache

Write-back cache

Line size

Table B
The process of writing changes only to the
cache and not to main memory unless the
space is used to cache new data

Cache supplies
CPU with
requested data

1
CPU requests
new data

Cache
(before)

Cache
(after)

4
Cache replaces
old data with
new data

Re-read the texts to find the answers to

these questions.

ii The amount of data transferred to the

cache at any one time
iii The process of writing directly to both the
cache and main memory at the same time

iv The processor is successful in finding the

data in the cache
v

Ensuring that any changes written to main

memory are reflected within the cache
and vice versa

vi The logic circuits used to control the

cache process
2
Data is not
found in cache
Cache request:
data from
hard disk

3
Cache reads data
from multiple
sectors on disk,
including data
adjacent to that
requested

[Adapted from 'How a Disk Cache Works', PC Magazine,

September 1990]

2 Mark the following as True or False:

a Cache memory is faster than RAM.
b The processor looks for data in the main
memory first.
c Write-through cache is faster than write-back
cache.
d Write-back cache requires a more intelligent
cache controller.
e Most programs use instructions that are
stored in sequence in memory.
f Most cache controllers transfer one item of
data at a time.
g Hardware and software disk caches work in
much the same way.