Summary: Computer Hardware

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• 1 Computer hardware

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• What is a Processor?

  a processor is 'the brains' of the computer. it executes instructions, processes and receives data/instructions from the main memory.

• What are I/O controllers?

  Input/output controllers. used to allow interface between a hardware device external to the motherboard and processor itself.

• What are system buses?

  A set of parallel wires connecting two or more independent components of a computer system in order to pass signals between them.

• What is an Address Bus/what does it do?

  An address bus carries addresses from the processor to main memory or other I/O devices.
  - It is uni-directional, so it only goes in one direction
  - The processor generates the address
  - Data is returned on the data bus

• What is a Data Bus/what does it do?

  A data bus carries data from the main memory to the processor (or from other secondary storage devices to processor).
  - It is bi-directional, so it goes two ways
  - Data can be read/written

• What is a Control Bus/what does it do?

  Control signals are sent down the control bus, e.g. memory read, memory write etc. It instructs which way the data will be travelling to/from the memory.

• What is a peripheral?

  Any device that is not directly connected to the CPU. E.g. monitors, keyboard. 

• What is an I/O port/what does it do?

  It allows communication from a I/O device and motherboard. E.g. USB port.

• What is an I/O device?

  A device such as monitors or keyboards that transfers data to or from a computer/peripheral device.

• What is secondary storage/give examples?

  Used for long-term storage.
  - Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
  - Solid State Drive (SSD)
  - Flash memory
  - DVD-R
  - Blu-ray