Exam Frequency Analysis
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 7% of your exam marks.
stable
Low
Stable7%
The fetch-decode-execute cycle and von Neumann architecture are tested almost every year.
Almost every general-purpose computer in use today is built around the Von Neumann architecture, proposed by mathematician John von Neumann in the 1940s. Two design ideas define it:
- Stored-program concept. Both data and instructions are held together in the same memory. The CPU does not need separate memories for code and data.
- Sequential fetch-decode-execute. The CPU runs one instruction at a time, fetching each from memory in order.
The four building blocks of a Von Neumann CPU:
- The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
- The Control Unit (CU)
- A set of registers
- A set of buses connecting everything
