3.1
CPU & Von Neumann Trainer
The CPU, the Von Neumann architecture, the five registers and the three buses — the foundation of every hardware question.
The Learning Hub/Topic 3
🖥️ Topic 3
Hardware
Nine interactive trainers take you from the CPU and the fetch-decode-execute cycle through to storage and network hardware. Each one teaches the idea, lets you drill it, then tests you — work through them in order or jump to the skill you need.
3.2
Fetch-Decode-Execute Lab
Step through the FDE cycle at register level — fetch, decode and execute — the sequence Cambridge tests every session.
3.3
CPU Performance Trainer
How clock speed, cores and cache affect performance — with the exact wording each factor needs in the exam.
3.4
Embedded Systems Trainer
Embedded vs general-purpose, the microprocessor, and the Internet of Things — and how to explain why a device is embedded.
3.5
Input & Output Devices Trainer
Input, output and sensors — plus the automated system sequence from sensor to actuator that examiners mark step by step.
3.6
Primary Storage Trainer
RAM vs ROM, volatile vs non-volatile, and what each stores — the quick marks the CPU accesses directly.
3.7
Secondary Storage Trainer
Magnetic, optical and solid-state — how each stores data, real examples, and the traps that cost marks every session.
3.8
Virtual Memory & Cloud Storage
How virtual memory extends RAM with paging, plus cloud storage and its advantages and disadvantages.
3.9
Network Hardware Trainer
NIC, MAC address and IP addresses — IPv4 vs IPv6, static vs dynamic, and how a router forwards packets.
📚 Want the written theory too? Read the Topic 3 lessons in the Knowledge Library, then come back to train.