Computer Parts and Components PDF

COMPUTER PARTS and Components Plotter Hardware & Software Hardware All of the electronic and mechanical equipment in a computer is called the hardware. Examples include: Motherboard Hard disk RAM Power supply Processor Case Moni...

COMPUTER PARTS and Components Plotter Hardware & Software Hardware All of the electronic and mechanical equipment in a computer is called the hardware. Examples include: Motherboard Hard disk RAM Power supply Processor Case Monitor Keyboard Mouse Hardware & Software Software The term software is used to describe computer programs that perform a task or tasks on a computer system. Software can be grouped as follows: System software - Operating System etc. Utility programs - Antivirus etc. Applications Software - Word, SolidWorks etc. PC Components Computer system - collection of electronic and mechanical devices operating as a unit. The main parts are: 1. System unit 2. Monitor 3. Keyboard 4. Mouse 5. Speakers 2 1 5 3 4 System Unit The system unit is the main container for system devices. It protects the delicate electronic and mechanical devices from damage. Typical system unit devices include: Motherboard CPU (Processor) Memory Disk drives Ports - USB etc. Power supply Expansion cards - sound card, network card, graphics card etc. Peripherals Peripherals are devices that connect to the system unit using cables or wireless technologies. Typical peripherals include: Monitor Keyboard Printer Scanner Speakers Plotter  System Devices Printers Output devices - produce a hardcopy ( permanent and readable) of computer data. The can print onto paper, transparency, photographic paper, card etc. There are two main technologies involved: Inkjet (Bubble-jet) Laser Laser  System Devices Printers are available as A4, A3 and even A2, but if larger drawings and images are required, a plotter is more suitable. Plotters use inkjet technology and are available in A3, A2, A1 and A0. They take up much less space than an equivalent inkjet or laser, but are more expensive. Plotter System Devices Processor An integrated circuit (IC) supplied on a single silicon chip. It’s function is to control all the computers functions. The main processor manufacturers are: AMD - Athlon and Turion (mobile) Intel - Pentium and Centrino (mobile) System Devices Processor speed - measured in megahertz (MHz) or Gigahertz (GHz) - the speed of the system clock (clock speed) within the processor and it controls how fast instructions are executed: 1 MHz - 1 million clock ticks every second 1 GHz - 1 billion clock ticks every second Latest trend - multi-core processors can have two, three or four processor cores on a single chip. System Devices Random Access Memory (RAM) Primary storage - main computer memory. Data, programs currently in use are held in RAM Volatile - contents of memory are lost if the computer is turned off Module - memory IC’s on a circuit board IC’s Memory Module  System Devices Motherboard Mainboard or system board - the main circuit board for the computer system. All device in the computer system will either be part of the motherboard or connected to it. Memory Sockets Processor Socket Chipset PCI Slots Ports Graphics Slot System Devices Power Supply A computer power supply has a number of functions: Converts Alternating current (AC) Direct current (DC) Transforms mains voltage (240 Volts) to the voltages required by the computer. The main voltages are: 12 volts for the disk drives as they have motors 3.3 and 5 volts for the circuit boards in the computer System Devices Ports Computer ports are interfaces between peripheral devices and the computer. They are mainly found at the back of the computer but are often also built into the front of the computer chassis for easy access. Ports at the rear of the computer Ports at the front of the computer  System Devices 3 1 Graphics card 4 2 5 Graphics card handles it’s own processing 1 Processor and fan making it almost independent of the processor. 2 Board connector AGP or PCI-Express Graphics card has it’s own memory. This makes 3 Memory it much faster. Most new cards use DDR3 memory. 4 DVI connector Digital output is supplied through this port. 5 VGA connector Analogue output is provided through this port.  System Devices Graphic card - screen images are made up of dots called pixels (picture elements). The graphics card must process each of these pixels to create the image. The resolution of a screen is the number of pixels being displayed. Typical resolutions include: 800 x 600 - 480,000 pixels 1024 x 768 - 786,432 pixels 1280 x 1024: - 1,310,720 pixels 1600 x 1200: - 1,920,000 pixels  System Devices External hard disk drives can be IDE or SATA and can be mains powered or host powered. Host powered drives receive their power from the USB port. Mains Host Powered Powered Hard disk drives are also now found in video recorders, digital music players, digital camcorders, digital cameras and mobile phones. 2½ inch Notebook Drive Microdrive 1 inch Microdrive System Devices Card readers Replaces floppy drives in new computers. They can read media cards from most digital cameras: Microdrive: Smartmedia: SD memory card: Memory stick/Duo/Pro: xD picture card: Card reader drive System Devices Monitors A computer monitor displays images generated by the graphics card. Monitors are almost exclusively LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors are rare and are now as expensive as LCD monitors. 19 inch Widescreen LCD System Devices Most common arrangement is called QWERTY after the first six keys. Other arrangements are available including Dvorak, ABCDEF, AZERTY etc. QWERTY Dvorak System Devices Keyboards are available wired or wireless: Wired - These are either PS/2 or USB. Wireless - The keyboard uses batteries. Wireless keyboard Rubber keyboard - useful for use with notebook computers. Leaves users less prone to RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) System Devices Mouse Input device - uses point and click technology There are two main types: Ball mouse - uses a ball to roll across the surface and move rollers attached to sensors inside the mouse - reflecting the ball movement as cursor movement. Optical mouse - camera takes thousands of images per second and sends them for digital processing. The red LED lights up the surface for the camera. Ball mouse Optical mouse  System Devices Computer Specification Intel Core Duo Processor - 2.66MHz 64-Bit CPU, 128 KB L1 cache, 4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB Windows Vista Business 4GB DDR2 Memory - 667MHz 500GB SATA HDD 10,000rpm 256MB DDR2 NVIDIA PCI-Express Graphics 19" Widescreen LCD - 0.22mm Dot Pitch, Res -1490 x 900 7:1 Surround Sound Inc. Woofer PCI-E Mainboard - nForce SLI, Micro ATX 6 x USB2 Ports - 2 Front 2 x 1394 Ports - 1 Front Broadcom GB LAN Network Connection Multi Card Reader 18X SATA Dual Format Dual Layer DVDRW Drive 550W Power Supply Logitech Wireless Internet Keyboard and Wireless Optical Mouse