This week’s topics
How components work together: the fetch-execute cycle, buses, clock speed and pipelining
- How different components interact to improve system performance
- The benefits and impact of parallel processing on computing performance
What you will be able to do
- 1.3 Explain how different components interact to improve system performance.
- 1.4 Evaluate the benefits and impact of parallel processing on computing performance.
Activity
Start with this week’s 4 videos, then: Seminar, guided reading and a short written task: explain how different components interact to improve system performance.
Study materials
Videos
- The fetch-execute (FE) cycle · Oak National Academy, Key Stage 4 (GCSE level) · for registered students
- Fetch decode execute cycle · YouTube · Computer Science Tutorials · 7 min · for registered students
- 1. OCR A Level (H046-H446) SLR1 - 1.1 ALU, CU, registers and buses · YouTube · Craig'n'Dave · 13 min · for registered students
- The Central Processing Unit (CPU): Crash Course Computer Science #7 · YouTube · CrashCourse · 12 min · for registered students
Further resources
- Workplace Software and Skills, 1.2: How Computers Work · PDF · OpenStax Workplace Software and Skills (2023), 1.2: hardware, software and how a computer processes data, pp. 28–29 · for registered students
- Introduction to Computer Science, 5.6: Processor Architectures · PDF · OpenStax Introduction to Computer Science (2024), 5.6: processor design, multicore processors and performance (a step up), pp. 226–229 · for registered students
- Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective, 1.5–1.6: Caches and storage hierarchy · PDF · Bryant & O'Hallaron, CS:APP 2e manuscript sample, 1.5–1.6: why caches matter and how storage devices form a hierarchy, pp. 9–11 · for registered students
Materials marked “for registered students” open in the student portal, which is set up as soon as you receive final acceptance.
