NOOB question.

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ice_snuff

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I know this is a really NOOBIE question but i really need to know

what is the: RAM,
GHZ,
FSB and
Cache

i just need to know what they are and what they are used for
 
Wow this is NOOBIE

RAM: Random Ascess Memory. Stores alot of infomation and programs to be run and the CPU has direct ascess to this.

GHZ: Measure of a wave from trough to trough (or is it trough to crest?). CPU's have a GHZ speed rating. However this does not mean anything as a 2.6GHZ AMD would easily outpeform a 3.0GHZ Pentium

FSB: Frontside Bus. On Intel chips this is mainly how the ram talks to the CPU. It also sets a speed for the CPU and the rest of the components as well as connects alot of them. AMD chips dirrectly connect to the memory though.

Cache: A very small amount of VERY fast ram that is built in on the processor.
 
Hertz means Cycles per second. You got a hertz, thats one cycle per second. You got 1 MHz, thats one million cycles per second. You got 1 GHz, thats one billion cycles per second. Simply put, a processor that is 3 GHz can perform 3 billion calculations per second.
 
Another thing you forgot to ask is "Instructions per cycle". As Dj-chris mentioned, the "GHZ" (clock speed) by itself doesn't mean everything. It also depends on how much "work" you do in each clock cycle. It's like a person going to work. Person 1 might go to work everyday and not do too much work (8 hour shift). Person 2 might go to work every other day and might work for 15 hours straight. So what's the montly productivity?.

It'll be the # of visits x how much work you do in each visit.

Similarly, the "productivity" of a CPU
= the clock speed (cycles per second - GHZ) x instructions per cycle (a # / cycle)
= # of instruction/second
 
Dude, did you not notice the title of the thread? NOOB Question... I barely understood what you said, and I consider myself far from a noob. That was a 1337 answer you gave, a little difficult to understand. I'm just telling ya.
 
Well it depends what your knowledge is. If you are good in economics but not in computers then that explanation will suit you just fine. It's hard to know exactly what to say to teach people something. Everybody responds to different things and some things hit home more than others. Oh well.
 
Meh I see what he's saying but it's easier just saying

"For example, if you do 2 instructions per clock, then it will take less Hz to accomplish the same as a CPU doing 1 instruction"

boom one sentence same principle
 
dale5605 said:
It's hard to know exactly what to say to teach people something. Everybody responds to different things and some things hit home more than others. Oh well.

Couldn't have said it better myself :)..
 
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