A computer is powered by many microchips, all operating in sync. These microchips handle pretty much everything that the computer does. But not all microchips do the same thing. Each is dedicated to a particular task, though in some cases, that task is quite broad. Depending on the task, a computer might have one microchip performing a task or an extensive array of them. … [Read more...] about What Is a Logic Chip?
Posts About Hardware
What Is a Bus in Computing?
In computing, a bus is another name for a data highway. This communication system sends data between different senders and receivers within a computer or between computers on a network. The term bus can be used to describe all types of transfer mediums, from hardware data transports to software and communication protocols. As long as they transfer data, they can be called a … [Read more...] about What Is a Bus in Computing?
What Are Composite Memory Modules?
There are many terms to get your head around when dealing with computer memory. One of the least well-documented is the term “Composite Memory Module.” There are two big reasons for the lack of documentation on the subject. The first is that the terminology has been irrelevant since the mid-1990s. The second reason is that Apple almost exclusively used the term. … [Read more...] about What Are Composite Memory Modules?
What Is a Memory Cartridge?
Modern computers tend to store all the data they need on their internal storage devices. These can be SSDs or HDDs. In some cases, external or removable media will be used, such as an external HDD, external SSD, USB thumb drive, or CD/DVD. Even video game consoles now prefer internal storage rather than optical disks. … [Read more...] about What Is a Memory Cartridge?
What Is Shadow Memory?
In computing, the term memory is somewhat loosely defined. Most of the time, it will refer to RAM. In some cases, however, storage devices may be referred to as memory devices. In a technical sense, this isn’t even wrong. Storage devices are a form of non-volatile memory. To maintain clarity, however, they are typically distinctly referred to as storage rather than memory. Any … [Read more...] about What Is Shadow Memory?
What Is Shared Memory?
Modern computers have a lot of memory. Each CPU has its cache, and each running program gets assigned its portion of system RAM. There are many different ways this memory can be used and assigned. Shared memory is a concept that affects both CPU caches and the use of system RAM in different ways. … [Read more...] about What Is Shared Memory?
What is Tag Memory?
Computers are really fast at doing things. One of the things you may not know, however, is that computers try really hard to hide how slow memory is from you and themselves. The CPU in a computer operates at a clock speed approaching 6 billion ticks per second. On each clock cycle, the processor can complete multiple instructions on each of its processing cores. Keeping those … [Read more...] about What is Tag Memory?
What Is Traffic?
Network traffic – or any computer traffic – is the amount of data sent across a connection. That means that whatever data is sent across, for example, an internet connection or from a hard drive to a CPU, is the amount of traffic on that particular connection. … [Read more...] about What Is Traffic?
What Is a Microprocessor?
A microprocessor is a computer processor that consists of only one integrated circuit (sometimes, a minimal number of them clustered together). The single-unit microprocessor has all the logic, control, and arithmetic elements needed to function as a standard PC CPU. An integrated circuit can perform programmed instructions. … [Read more...] about What Is a Microprocessor?
What is Local Memory?
Data access is a critical part of CPU design. CPUs operate at extremely high speeds, processing multiple instructions each clock cycle and so need access to a lot of data. The vast majority of that data is stored on the storage media. Storage devices, however, are impossibly slow compared to a CPU. Storage devices are also significantly better at sequential reads than they are … [Read more...] about What is Local Memory?