Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Matching
Match the memory-related term to its definition.
a
DIMM
b
L1 cache
c
ROM-BIOS
d
SDRAM
e
system memory
f
virtual memory
1
________The main memory in a computer, used as the RAM installed on the motherboard.
2
________The EEPROM chip that contains the low-level start-up instructions for the
hardware.
3
________Static RAM inside the CPU that holds data that may be needed again shortly.
4
________A swap file on the hard drive for data temporarily removed from memory.
5
________A rectangular circuit board containing memory chips.
6
________RAM that operates synchronously with the system clock.
Sum It Up
1
What are the two basic components inside a CPU?
2
What is the difference between static and dynamic memory?
3
What are four ways in which one motherboard may differ from another?
4
Why does a power supply have different colored wires?
Explore More
Benchmarking
Download the free 2014 version of SiSoftware SANDRA, a benchmarking utility, from
www.
sisoftware.net
.
If you have time (at least 30 minutes), run the Overall Score test. If not, run only the Processor
Arithmetic test and the Cache & Memory Latency tests. Examine the results, and compare them
to the results of your classmates who are using different computers.
What is the Aggregated Score for processor arithmetic? This score is represented in GOPS (giga-
operation per second).
What is the rated speed and type of the CPU? In Windows, click the Start button, and then
right-click Computer and choose Properties. Note the processor information that appears on that
screen. Does it match what the utility detected?
What is the memory latency score? Notice the L1, L2, and L3 cache scores are expressed in
“clocks.” This means that those caches, on average, take that many clock cycles to retrieve from
memory.
If time permits, run other benchmarks using this utility; your instructor may assign additional tests
to complete.
