Exercise 2

1.       List in steps a brief history of the development of the processor. When did multi-processing come to existence?

With the introduction of Intel’s i7 Sandybridge processor, it is clear that users will never be satisfied with existing technology, always demanding more and more. Multiprocessing is a mode of operation in which two or more processors (microprocessors) process two or more portions of the same program simultaneously. One of the first machines to use multiprocessing was the Cray X-MP, introduced in 1982, which linked two Cray-1 computers in parallel to triple their individual performance.

2.       A motherboard is often encoded with the secret messages of hidden art. Give a few examples of these.

The Amiga motherboards were thought to contain a mysterious message when it was launched, a secret code to Amiga disciples. It was later discovered that they were song titles. In the A500, the song was “Rock Lobster”. In the A600, it was “Junebug”, and “Channel Z” in the A1200.

3.       Explain how the bus speed affects the performance of the computer.

A bus speed is the amount of data (MHz) that can be transported in the computer simultaneously. The more data a bus can handle at one time, the faster it allows information to travel. The faster the bus speed, the faster the computer will operate. However, this is only true to a certain extent. A fast bus speed cannot make up for a slow processor or chipset.