A Level Computer Science OCR Practice Exam

What is the main goal of pipelining in CPU architecture?

1. To increase power consumption during tasks

2. To simplify instruction sets

3. To make machine code as efficient as possible

4. To maximize memory usage

The correct answer is: To make machine code as efficient as possible

The primary goal of pipelining in CPU architecture is to enhance the efficiency of instruction execution, leading to increased overall performance. In a pipelined architecture, multiple instruction stages such as fetching, decoding, executing, memory access, and writing back are overlapped. This allows the CPU to process multiple instructions simultaneously, effectively increasing the throughput of the system. By breaking down the instruction execution into distinct stages, pipelining reduces the idle time of the CPU’s functional units. Each stage can work on a different instruction at the same time, allowing for a continuous flow of instruction execution and minimizing delays. This results in better utilization of the CPU’s capabilities and dramatically boosts the instruction execution speed, making machine code processing not just faster, but also more efficient overall. The other options, while relevant to CPU operation, do not accurately capture the essence of pipelining’s objectives. Pipelining does not primarily aim to increase power consumption or maximize memory usage, nor does it directly involve simplifying instruction sets. Instead, it is fundamentally about optimizing the workflow of executing instructions to achieve higher performance.