People are people. and computers arc computers. but how do we distinÂguish one from another? We describe people in terms of height. build, age. and so on. We describe computers or processors in terms of word length. speed, and the capacity of their associated RAM. For example. a computer might be described as a 32-bit. 50-MHz. 8-MB micro. Let's see what this means
A word is the number of bits that are handled as a unit for a particular computer system. The word length of modern microcomputers is normally 32 bits; that is, the system's bus can transmit 32 bits (four 8-bit bytes) at a time between the processor, RAM, and the system's peripheral devices. Early micros had word lengths of 8 bits Cone byte) and 16 bits (two bytes). Workstations. minis, and mainframes have anywhere from 32-bit to 64-bit word lengths. Supercomputers have 64-bit (eight-byte) words.
This supercomputer supports the E-Systems Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). PACS provides health-care facilities with the capability for image digitization. storage, and display of such information as X-rays. Ultrasound magnetic resonance and other medically related images. It has a machine cycle of less than a nanosecond (a billionth of a second ) a word size of 64 bits , and access to more than 5 gigabytes of RAM.
The tower microcomputer [under table) being used by this retail consultant is based on the intel 80486 chip .it has a processor speed of 66 MHz, a RAM capacity of 32 M/3. and a word length of 32 bits.
Labels: Computer