1. The technique of executing instructions in parallel is called ________.
2. Which unit in the IA-32 instruction cycle receives machine instructions from the BIU and inserts them into the instruction queue?
code prefetch unit
3. Which unit in the IA-32 instruction cycle performs page protection checks?
4. Which component of an operating system is responsible for switching control between tasks
5. Identify three types of segments that would be referenced by segment registers.
code, data, stack
6. If you were to multiply 1.5 by 2.6, which part of the CPU would you use?
floating point unit
7. Name two RISC-like features incorporated by Intel into the IA-32 family.
pipelining, superscalar
8. In the Flat segmentation model, which table holds the addresses of segments?
global descriptor table (GDT)
9. List at least five types of ports found on a typical PC motherboard
parallel, serial, USB, video, keyboard, joystick, mouse
10. Which support processor synchronizes the CPU and the rest of the computer?
11. Which support processor transfers data to the printer?
8255 programmable parallel port
12. Why are serial ports typically slower than parallel ports?
serial transfers 1 bit at a time, parrallel transfers multiple bits simultaneously
13. Which two 32-bit registers are known as extended index registers?
14. What is the name of the lowest 8 bits of the EDX register?
15. How much memory can be addressed in Real-address mode?
1 MB
16. How much memory can be addressed in Protected mode?
4 GB
17. What special feature makes VRAM better-suited to use with a video adapter than DRAM?
VRAM is dual-ported
18. Which of the following linear addresses matches the segment-offset address 08F0:0200?
19. Which type of I/O device uses the 16550 UART chip?
serial port
20. If you wanted to turn a device on and off using computer software, which type of port interface would be best?
21. What is the name of the bus architecture commonly used with Pentium processors?
22. Segment-offset addressing is used in which processor mode(s)?
Virtual-8086, Real-address
23. How is Virtual-8086 mode similar to Real-address mode?
simulates 8086-based computer running in Real-address mode
24. High-speed memory that reduces the frequency of access by the CPU to conventional memory is called
cache memory
25. Why are device drivers needed, given that BIOS programs can do the same task?
device drivers allow for the introduction of new devices
26. An interpreter program inside the CPU is written in a language called a(n) _______.
27. If you wanted to find out whether an integer contained an even number of 1 bits, which status flag would be useful?
28. In regard to multitasking, a task's state consists of which three elements?
register contents, task variables, program counter
29. Within the CPU, all calculations and logic operations take place inside the ___________ .
30. The three types of buses connected to the CPU are:
data, address, control
31. If a clock oscillates 10 billion times per second, what is the duration of a single clock cycle?
1.0 x 10-10 seconds
32. During which phase of the instruction execution cycle is the program counter incremented?
33. The control unit (CU) coordinates the sequencing of steps involved in executing machine instructions.
34. The ALU performs only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations.
35. Data travels along a bus one bit at a time.
36. The most basic unit of time for machine instructions is called the machine cycle.
37. The upper half of the EAX register is called AX.
38. The lower half of the EBX register is called BX.
39. The Overflow flag is based on signed arithmetic.
40. The Zero flag is clear when the result of an arithmetic operation is zero.
41. Registers in the floating-point unit are 80 bits long.
42. Microprograms are interpreted and executed by machine instructions.
43. In Real-address mode, only one program can run at a time.
44. In Virtual-8086 mode, only a single virtual machine can run at one time.
45. In the multi-segment model (Protected mode), each program is given its own local descriptor table.
46. Segment limit and base address are both fields within a segment descriptor.
47. In Protected mode, the total memory used by all running programs can never be larger than the computer's physical memory.
48. The four parts of a CPU are:
clock, registers, control unit, arithmetic logic unit
49. What is the name of the time delay in a CPU caused by differences between the speed of the CPU, the system bus, and memory circuits?
wait state
50. List the three primary steps of the instruction execution cycle, in sequential order:
fetch, decode, execute
51. Which stage in the IA-32 instruction cycle is responsible for translating logical addresses to linear addresses and performing protection checks?
segment unit
52. What are the six stages, or units involved in executing a single IA-32 instruction?
bus interface, code prefetch, instruction decode, execution, segment, paging
53. Which flag is set when an unsigned value is too large to fit into a destination operand?
54. In a 4-stage non-pipelined processor, how many clock cycles are required to execute 3 instructions? (Assume that each stage executes in a single clock cycle.)
55. In a 4-stage single-pipelined processor, how many clock cycles are required to execute 3 instructions? (Assume that each stage executes in a single clock cycle.)
56. In a 6-stage dual-pipelined processor, how many clock cycles are required to execute 5 instructions? (Assume that stage 4 requires two clock cycles, and that stage 4 has two pipelines
57. Which of the following correctly describes the sequence of reading from memory during a single clock cycle?
Address placed on bus; Read line set low; Operand placed on data bus by memory controller; Read line set high, indicating that data bus contains the requested data.
58. Which register is known as a loop counter?
59. Which mode is the native state of the Intel processor?
Protected mode
60. Real-address mode combines which two values to form addresses?
segment, offset
61. When the CPU tries to execute part of a program that has been swapped out to disk, it executes a
page fault
62. What is the term used for executing horizontal and vertical retrace on a CRT video monitor?
raster scanning
63. Which type of RAM is typically used for cache memory?
static RAM
64. Which of the following describe(s) RISC processors?
short, simple instructions, executed quickly
instructions are executed directly by hardware
65. Which of the following is(are) advantages of USB ports over parallel ports?
query devices to get name and type of device
permits a hub to be connected
can suspend power to devices
66. Which type of output is the most general and portable to different computer systems?
. using C++ stream output statements
67. Which type of output will execute the most quickly?
writing directly to video memory