GCE AQA CS - 04 Computer Architecture

Computing pioneer from Hungary who gave his name to a computer architecture that uses stored programs. Instructions are fetched, decoded and executed one at a time.

• Von Neumann
• Bus
• Architecture
• Central Processing Unit
• Stored program

The phase of the instruction cycle that retrieves an instruction from main memory

• Fetch
• Von Neumann
• Bus
• Architecture
• Central Processing Unit

This phase of the instruction cycle determines what task the CPU must perform

• Decode
• Fetch
• Von Neumann
• Bus
• Architecture

The phase of the instruction cycle where the task is carried out, which could be an arithmetic, shift, logic or memory operation

• Execute
• Decode
• Fetch
• Von Neumann
• Bus

Also known as the instruction cycle, the complete process of retrieving an instruction from store, decoding it and carrying it out

• Fetch-Execute Cycle
• Execute
• Decode
• Fetch
• Von Neumann

A single operation, one of these is executed each time the CPU performs the fetch-execute cycle

• Instruction
• Fetch-Execute Cycle
• Execute
• Decode
• Fetch

Also known as RAM or Primary Storage, this is where data and instructions are stored in the Von Neumann architecture

• Main memory
• Instruction
• Fetch-Execute Cycle
• Execute
• Decode

Computers take input, and produce output. This is what happens in between, which needs a CPU

• Process
• Main memory
• Instruction
• Fetch-Execute Cycle
• Execute

Von Neumann invented this concept, it means keeping the instructions in memory instead of inputting them each time through switches or paper tape

• Stored program
• Process
• Main memory
• Instruction
• Fetch-Execute Cycle

This component repeatedly fetches, decodes and executes instructions. Often abbreviated to CPU

• Central Processing Unit
• Stored program
• Process
• Main memory
• Instruction