Question Constellation Sign up for free AQA · GCSE · Computer Science · Higher
CPU performance improvement methods
Explain three ways to improve the performance of a CPU.
Write your answer first. You can study the marking guidance whenever you need it.
Study the marking See what earns credit and compare it with a full-mark answer.
Marking points
- 1 Increasing clock speed is one credited way.
- 2 Increasing processor cores is one credited way.
- 3 Increasing cache size is one credited way.
- 4 Changing cache type is one credited way.
- 5 A wider data bus or word size is an accepted alternative.
Full-mark answer
Increase the clock speed so more cycles occur each second; increase the number of processor cores so more instructions can be processed in parallel; and increase the cache size so more frequently used data and instructions can be accessed quickly.
Why this answer loses marks
Add more main memory and a faster storage drive.
These are not distinct changes to the CPU factors credited here; choose recognised processor improvements.