IT 141 - Parts of a System Unit.pdf

IT 141 Parts of a System Unit Prepared by: Naycer Jeremy G. Tulas [email protected] 09129412101 https://www.facebook.com/naycer.tulas Power Supply A power supply unit (PSU) is a hardware...

IT 141 Parts of a System Unit Prepared by: Naycer Jeremy G. Tulas [email protected] 09129412101 https://www.facebook.com/naycer.tulas Power Supply A power supply unit (PSU) is a hardware device that converts AC electricity into DC electricity and then distributes it to the rest of the computer. On a standard desktop computer, the PSU is where the power cord plugs into and usually has an I/O power switch on it. If you open a standard computer case, you would see that the PSU is connected to the rest of the computer by various power cables. These cables supply the motherboard, hard drives, and case electronics with the electricity they need to function. Most PSUs also have extra cables meant for the installation of peripherals with large power demands such as graphics cards. Power Supply Connectors Motherboard connector - connects the power supply to a particular motherboard. ATX motherboards are attached with 20 or 24 pin connectors. CPU connector - used to connect power supplies to motherboards with on board computer processing units (CPUs). These are either 4 ("P4") or 8 pin connectors. Molex connector - the IDE connector that connects to hard drives and CD ROM drives. Most computer power supplies include at least one of these connectors. Floppy connector - 4 pin connector used to supply power to floppy drives, card reader drives, and other similar devices. AUX connector - a 6 pin connector that is a necessary connection for some computer motherboards. SATA connector - connectors for devices using serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) interfaces, such as hard drives.  PCI express connector - used to connect to PCI express video cards, which receive power directly from the power supply rather than from the motherboard. Hard Drives A hard drive is a non-volatile hardware component on a computer that acts as the storage for all digital content. It holds program files, documents, pictures, videos, music, and more. The non-volatile nature of hard drives means they don’t lose data, even if power is lost. Due to this, they help computers store files and other data for a long time – as long as they don’t get damaged or corrupted. Since the first release of hard drives by IBM in 1956, hard drives have evolved from being the size of a refrigerator and having a storage capacity of just 5MB to ones that are pocket- sized and have up to 4 TB of storage capacity. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Hard disk drives are not that new and you will find them installed in older computers. They consist of a moving part that rotates during reading and writing operations, so they usually make noise. These days, you may not see many newer desktop and laptop computers with hard disk drives, but they remain popular because of their storage space. 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB are the lowest you can find out there. There are 500 GB, 1 TB, 2TB, and more than 4 TB hard drives. This enormous storage space is the reason hard disk drives may go nowhere any time soon. There are even external hard disk drives you can use to back up your files. Solid State Drive (SSD) SSD hard drives are one of the latest hard drive technologies at this time. Most newer computers have SSDs instead of HDDs. Unlike the hard drive technologies before SSD drives, they don’t consist of moving parts and they don’t use magnetism for storing data. So, they don't make noise like hard disk drives (HDDs). Instead, they use integrated circuits (ICs) just like third-generation computers. This makes them more durable, faster, and less prone to damage and corruption. SSD hard drives have a notable advantage of transferring data at speed of 550 MB/S and allow faster boot times than the types of hard drives before them. Solid state drives also have enormous sizes, but they are very expensive when compared to hard disk drives. RAM (Random Access Memory) Computer random access memory (RAM) is one of the most important components in determining your system’s performance. RAM gives applications a place to store and access data on a short-term basis. It stores the information your computer is actively using so that it can be accessed quickly. The speed and performance of your system directly correlate to the amount of RAM you have installed. If your system has too little RAM, it can be slow and sluggish. But on the opposite end, you can install too much with little to no added benefit. To prevent users from inserting incompatible memory, modules are physically different for each memory technology generation. These physical differences are standard across the memory industry. One of the reasons for industry-wide standardization in memory is that computer makers need to know the electrical parameters and physical shape of the memory that can be installed in their computers. CPU (Central Processing Unit) CPU is short for Central Processing Unit. It is also known as a processor or microprocessor. It's one of the most important pieces of hardware in any digital computing system – if not the most important. Inside a CPU there are thousands of microscopic transistors, which are tiny switches that control the flow of electricity through the integrated circuits. You'll find the CPU located on a computer's motherboard. In a nutshell, a CPU is responsible for handling the processing of logical and mathematical operations and executing instructions that it is given. It can execute millions of instructions per second – but can carry out only one instruction at a time. It first receives some type of input, typically from an input device (such as a monitor display screen, a keyboard, a mouse, or a microphone) or from an application/system software program (like your web browser or operating system). When it comes to buying a Windows-based laptop or PC, consumers are faced with only two real choices for the maker of the CPU: Intel Corp (INTC) or Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). Both companies were founded over 50 years ago in what has become the Silicon Valley part of California. Heat Sink Electronic devices like computers generate heat when they are in operation. This heat, if not treated properly, could cause the CPU to overheat, leading to malfunction or permanent damage to the device. The same thing is true for advanced smaller electronic devices and gadgets, which are powerful, yet they are not free from heat dissipation issues. Therefore, heat dissipation devices are essential, and one of them is a heat sink. Heat sinks are widely used for cooling parts and components that produce heat while in use. The simple answer to the question, “What is a heat sink?”, is that it gradually transfers heat energy away from a heat source. So, in a sense, heat sinks are closely tied to electronics cooling. The purpose of using a heat sink is to properly remove heat from device components to improve device performance and extend its life. And usually, a heat sink incorporates a fan or other mechanism to reduce the temperature of a hardware component, such as a processor. Motherboard While it goes by many names like mainboard, system board, and sometimes lovingly, mobo, motherboard is the most common term for the printed circuit board that holds all your computer components in one place like a Lego baseplate. In addition to holding them, your motherboard allows your components to communicate and gives them life by routing power from the Power Supply Unit (PSU). Some motherboards also add value with onboard audio, video, WiFi, LAN, and other features. Your motherboard’s primary function is to support all the components that form your computer. If you’re comparing it to the human body, the motherboard is like the backbone, nervous system, and circulatory system all-in-one. It physically supports different components like a backbone, acts as a control center like a nervous system, and moves voltage like a circulatory system. It’s called a motherboard because it’s the main circuit board. Much like the term “mothership," the word motherboard signifies its essential nature. A motherboard has sockets for components like processors, memory sticks, and expansion cards. Other devices like hard drives connect to a motherboard but usually fit in the computer case. Only compatible components will fit on a motherboard. For example, an Intel processor won't fit on a motherboard designed for AMD CPUs. Motherboards typically come in different form factors (sizes). The current industry standard is the ATX (Advanced Technology Extended). Video Card A video card is a PC component that is used to enhance the quality of images showed on a display. It is attached to the motherboard and controls and calculates an image's appearance on the screen. The video card is an intermediate device that accelerates the video throughput. Videos cards are also known as graphics cards, video adapters, display cards, graphic adapters and graphic accelerators. In the early stages of computer graphics, video cards were not very sophisticated. They simply forwarded output data coming from processor to the display. This worked because the output was generally in text format. Consequently, color and complex graphics were not available on early operating systems. Today, video cards are much more like co-processors. This means that video cards add some processing power rather than simply forwarding a simple signal onto the display. Video cards can make extra calculations on their end to check the quality of the output and then tailor this to take full advantage of the abilities of the display. Cables In the computer system, there are several different parts which are connected to the system. These parts can be directly plugged into the computer system computer motherboard, or there can be a requirement of some cable to connect computer parts to the system. These parts can be digital cameras, hard drives, mice or other devices. There are different types of cables in the market, like HDMI cable, VGA cable, DVI cable, Ethernet cable, 3.5 mm audio cable, USB cable, and computer power cord cable. HDMI cable HDMI (High definition Media Interface) is a type of computer cable used to transmit high definition video and audio signals. Using the HDMI cables, the audio and video signal can be easily transmitted without compromising the quality of images and can send crystal clear images using this cable. The HDMI cables are used to connect cable boxes, TVs, DVD players, media streamers and other electronic devices. All types of Av devices can be connected to one standard cable, which is an HDMI cable. Also, one HDMI cable is capable of transmitting both audio and video signals at the same time. VGA cable VGA (Video Graphics Array) cable is another type of computer cable which is used for sending video signals and is used to link the monitor and the CPU of a computer. The VGA cable can also be used in HD televisions. All the information displayed on the monitor is coming from the VGA cable. There is a total of 15 pins in the plugin the cable, which have three rows containing 5 pins each. And the cable is easily fitted in the monitor and the other end is fixed in the CPU of a computer system. DVI cable DVI (Digital Video Interface) cables are used to connect the LCD monitor and the video card. Using this cable, the user can see high image quality without having any disturbance. The DVI cable is mostly used in CRT monitors, which have a VGA connection. This cable transmits the digital and analog signals to the computer system. The DVI cable is capable enough of digital connections and analog connections. The DVI cable can be easily distinguished, whether it is analog or digital, by looking if there is any flat pin present on the cable. If the flat pin has four pins around, then it is a DVI analog, and there is only a flat pin, then it is DVI digital. Ethernet Cable The Ethernet cable is a type of computer network cable which is used for a wired network. The Ethernet cable is used to connect the switches, monitors, PCs to the LAN (Local Area Network). The length and durability of the Ethernet cable describe the quality of the connection. If the cable is too long and is not durable, it will contain a poor quality of the signal. And due to this factor, there are different types of Ethernet cables present in the market. The Ethernet cables are plugged into the Ethernet port present on the motherboard. The Ethernet cable looks like a phone cable but contains more wires than phone cables. There are eight wires in the Ethernet cable, and they can be available in different colors in the market. 3.5mm Audio Cable The 3.5mm audio cables are a type of computer cables that are used in computer audio applications. This cable can be used for connecting a mini-stereo audio device, PC sound card or any portable CD player to any multimedia speaker. This cable can also be used to connect earphones and headphones to the system. The green port is for headphones and computer speakers. Blue port is for DVD player, MP3 player and pink port is used for connecting microphones. SATA Cables SATA, the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment abbreviation, is one computer bus interface that connects your computer host to other storage devices like hard disk drives, optical drives, and SATA hard drives. It is the most popular storage interface today and is used for most consumer-grade hard drives. SATA was developed and introduced by Intel in 2003, and it has become the standard for connecting an HDD to a desktop or laptop computer since that time. There are various types of SATA cables out there, but they can be divided into two main kinds: SATA data cable and SATA power cable (see power supply connectors). As the name suggests, the data cable is used to transfer data. The connector of this cable has 7-pins. You need to connect one end to the PC’s SATA interface and the other end to the hard drive. The cable usually adopts a flat line to ensure fast transferring speed. USB cables The USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable is a standard cable used to connect universal devices or personal computers. It is mainly used for short-distance digital communication. The digital data can be transferred using a USB cable. Nowadays, the USB cable is used to charge devices like smartphones, Bluetooth speakers, trimmers and many more. The USB cables can be used to connect two devices directly. The USB cable is connected to the USB port present in the computer system. The mouse and keyboard are also connected to a USB port as they have USB cables. As the device is connected through the USB cable, the unplugging of the USB cable when a device is running can cause damage to a device, so whenever there is a need of removing the USB cable, first it should be ejected safely and then it should be removed from the system. USB 2.0 vs 3.0 Speed -- USB 2.0 offers a transfer rate of about 480 Mbps, whereas USB 3.0 offers a transfer rate of about 4,800 Mbps which is equal to about 5 GB. This super-fast transfer speed of USB 3.0 can be especially useful when backing up or transferring large amounts of data, such as an external hard drive. (It should be noted that these are the maximum speeds reflecting 'perfect' conditions, actual speeds will be lower.) Connector Wires -- USB 2.0 has four connector wires, whereas USB 3.0 has nine, which increases speed and bandwidth. Power Output and Efficiency -- USB 3.0 brings more power and operates at improved power efficiency than its older counterpart. Backward Compatibility -- USB 3.0 ports are also totally backward compatible, which means they will work with other USB versions, including 2.0. This means that when you plug a USB 2.0 drive into a 3.0 port, it will work. However, if you plug a USB 3.0 drive into a USB 2.0 port, it will be limited to the max speed of USB 2.0.  Interior Color -- To tell the difference between these two technologies with a quick glance, look for a black or blue block inside the port. The black interior indicates USB 2.0, while the blue one indicates 3.0. ------ END ------ Prepared by: Naycer Jeremy G. Tulas [email protected] 09129412101 https://www.facebook.com/naycer.tulas