IT EESSENTIALS

Physical electronic components that make up a computer system.

Includes the operating system and programs

The mathmatical relationship between current, resistance, and voltage, in which voltage is equal to the current multiplied by the resistance.

Interprets and prcesses software instructions and data. Located on the motherboard, the CPU is a chip contained on a single integrated circuit called the microprocessor. The CPU contains two basic components, a control unit and an Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU).

a data storage area that provides high-speed access for the system.

An architecture that uses a relatively small set of instructions. RISC chips are designed to execute these instructions very rapidly.

An architecture that uses a broad set of instructions, with several choices for almost every operation. The result is that a programmer can execute precisely the command needed, resulting in fewer instructions per operation.

The CPU has multiple pieces of code being executed simultaneously on each pipeline.

One core inside a single CPU chip that handles all the processing capability. A motherboard manufacturer may provide sockets for more than a single processor, providing the ability to build a powerful multiprocessor computer.

Two cores inside a single CPU chip. The core can be used together to increase speed, or they can be used in two locations at the same time.

Memory that permanently stores prerecorded configuration settings and data on a chip that can only be read. This type of memory retains its contents when power is not being supplied to the chip.