1.2 Computer Organisation and Architecture

• The stored program concept and the von Neumann architecture
• The functional elements: input, memory, CPU, output and storage
• Buses, ports and interfaces
• The fetch-decode-execute cycle
• Instruction sets: RISC and CISC
• Number systems: binary, octal and hexadecimal
• Converting between number systems

• describe the functional organisation and architecture of a von Neumann computer
• analyse the relationships among the functional elements of a von Neumann computer
• create a model of a computer architecture depicting the structural elements of a von Neumann computer
• use binary, octal and hexadecimal number systems to represent data in a von Neumann digital computer
• appreciate the importance of computer architecture in computing

“What is the role of computer architecture in the performance of computers?”

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1. The von Neumann architecture and its functional elements
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The stored program concept, the five functional units, the three buses, and the fetch-decode-execute cycle that ties them together.
2. How the elements communicate, and instruction sets: RISC and CISC
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Ports, interfaces and controllers; cache and the von Neumann bottleneck; the two instruction set philosophies; and what actually determines performance.
3. Number systems: binary, octal and hexadecimal
   40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
   Why computers use binary, what octal and hexadecimal are for, and how to convert between all four systems.
4. Architecture and performance
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Why the von Neumann design, buses, cache, cores and instruction set decide how a computer feels, and how to show that with a model.