What Is Inside a Computer

Motherboard - Mother of all the boards - Found at the bottom of a desktop case or the side of a tower case - Largest circuit boards - Has smaller circuits on it - The sound card contains special circuits for operating the computer's sound. - The video card handles graphics that are displayed on the monitor. - The network card allows computers to talk to each other. NIC-Network Interface Card - Plugs into RJ-45 port or DSL connection. - The CPU controls information and tells other parts what to do. - The type of CPU - how fast that computer can operate. - generates lots of heat, so there is usually a small fan nearby to cool it down. - Basic Input Output System - BIOS wakes up the computer - Random Access Memory - remembers but forgets all once computer is closed - Read Only Memory - holds information that is built into it. - Ports - where you plug in hardware. - Disk drives read information off of storage disks. - hard drive is a set of rigid storage disks that is hidden inside the computer Storage- Primary memory has information that tells your computer how to be a computer. - Secondary memory holds the information that you store in the computer. - Hard drives spin at 3600 or more rpm - CD-ROM is short for Compact Disk - Read Only Memory - CD-RW allows you to write information to the disk as well as read from it. - DVD (Digital Video Disk) All about CPU - Chip - Thin and small silicon piece - May be an inch a side maximum - Able to hold tens of millions of transistors - Microprocessor - Can perform mathematical calculations - Move data from one memory place to another - Make decisions and follow instructions - Control unit acts like the brain of the CPU - . It controls the instructions that are being provided and the way they are being carried out. - small storage location for the CPU to hold data such as instructions, addresses, values - General processing cycle 1. FETCH : get an instruction from memory 2. DECODE : figure out what it does 3. EXECUTE : do the operation eg. read from memory - Companies - Intel - AMD - Clock Speed: Measured in Hz, determines the number of operations per second. - - - - Sections of instructions - Opcode - This instruction code specifies which operation to be performed - Operand - this is a value that the instruction uses or manipulates. - Instruction format - Fixed Length format - In this format each instruction is coded in binary format with a fixed number of bits. Fixed value from either of these 16bit/32bit/64bit etc. - - Variable Length Format - In this format the instruction can vary in number of bits depending upon type of operation. The instructions can be of any format 8bit/16bit/32bit etc. Subroutine - Some parts of a program need to be used multiple times, so they are written as subroutines or subprograms. The main program calls these subroutines when needed. - Bus - communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers - Multipoint - Point-to-point’ - BIOS is on the ROM chip on the motherboard. - Graphic cards are connected to the motherboard on PCIe. - Sound cards - processes sound data - CD Drives - Opticals - because they reflect laser light - ROM - Non volatile - ROM activates when you turn on your computer - Static RAM, DRAM 1) What does RAM stand for? Random access memory 2) RAM is measured in Megabytes or Gigabytes. How many Megabytes are in one Gigabyte? 1000 Megabytes in one Gigabyte. 3) The most common form of RAM is: DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory 4) What electronic devices are used to store data in Dynamic RAM? A storage or memory cell which holds a capacitor and a transistor 5) How often does a memory controller automatically refresh memory in dynamic RAM? A memory controller automatically refreshes memory every 64 ms at temperatures less than 85 °C and 32 ms at temperatures higher than 85 °C. 6) On what substance are memory cells etched? Silicon 7) What sets static RAM apart from dynamic RAM? Static RAM is a memory which is usually written once and then it will hold the value that it has for potentially always. However, Dynamic RAM after a while forgets what was stored in it. 8) Memory chips are normally available as part of what type of card? Secure Digital (SD) Cards 11) How do the heads read and write data on the surface of the platter? The read/write heads create and detect changes in the magnetic charge to read data and alter the magnetic charge to write data. 12) If the speed of a hard disk is described as 7200 rpm, what does that mean? The hard disk makes 7200 rotations per minute. 13) Which part of the hard drive moves the heads over the surface of the platters? The Actuator Arm 14) The hard drive must be formatted before it can be used. What happens during the formatting procedure? During the formatting procedure, the hard drive is prepared for use by creating a file system, organizing the platter into sectors and tracks, and marking bad sectors so they are not used. 1. Data Bus: Transfers actual data between the CPU, memory, and peripherals within the system. 2. Control Bus: Sends control signals (e.g., read, write) from the CPU to other components to manage data flow and operations. 3. Address Bus: Carries memory addresses that the CPU uses to access specific locations in RAM or I/O devices. 4. Other Buses on Motherboard: Includes buses like PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) for connecting hardware components such as network cards and GPUs. 5. External Buses: Connect external devices (e.g., USB, Thunderbolt) to the system, facilitating data transfer between the system and peripherals. - The ROM operating system is also known as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) - The BIOS is responsible for waking up the computer when you turn it on to remind it of all the parts it has and what they do. - L1 Cache - The first and smallest level of cache memory, located directly on the CPU chip. L2 Cache - A larger but slightly slower cache compared to L1. It's still located close to the CPU (sometimes on the chip or nearby), and it serves as a backup for L1 Cache -