Assignment 1: Computer Architecture
Joseph Henry
Strayer University
CIS 106
Prof. Shaun Gray
November 03, 2013
Assignment 1: Computer Architecture Von Neumann architecture is named after the late John Von Neumann, who was part of a team that created the EDVAC in 1944. This machine was the follow up to the ENIAC, simply because the ENIAC could not modify the program’s contents and could only hold 20 10-digit numbers at a time, needing to be programmed manually (Anderson, Ferro, & Hilton, 2011, p. 11) The concept of Von Neumann architecture is that of a stored program computer, where both binary instructions and data are stored on the main memory. Basically, a program is loaded into memory, and that program could modify itself and be written to perform other functions. Binary instructions are fetched at the same time that data operations occur since they share the same bus. From the computer’s memory, instructions are processed in order and executed by the central processing unit (CPU). The focal point is the CPU, which contains an arithmetic login unit (ALU), control unit (CU), and registers (small storage areas). The ALU performs mathematical functions, especially addition. The CU controls the data traffic in and out of the CPU. The registers are small high-speed units that store instructions and data for the CPU. The CPU accepts input and provides output to external devices. A crystal clock, known as the System Clock times each step in the fetch-execute cycle that Von Neumann uses. The faster the clock became, the faster the computing speed became. Once the clock’s maximum potential speed of around 100 MHz was realized, the architecture of the system bus had to be revamped, and several smaller, specialized buses were created to only connect with the CPU and memory. Using Von Neumann architecture is important because this technology allows the transfer