Hardware Basics

1
Hardware Basics

• Professor Pepper

2
Major Objectives

• Microprocessor
• RAM
• ROM BIOS
• Motherboard
• Storage (CD, DVD, Hard Drive, Floppy, Zip, Jump,
  Tape)
• Expansion slots and ports
• Monitor

3
Computer Desktop Shopping

• Dell website
• Comp USA
• Buy.com

4
Microprocessor theory

• Clock time (x mhz, x ghz)
• Word size (x bit)
• Cache (l1 in chip l2 close l3 less close)
• Instruction set (categoriesCISC, RISC
  architectures IA64,IA-32)
• Hyper-threading
• Many processors inside one processor
• Many separate processors on one board
• Manufacturer
• See moodles useful sites hardware for updates

5
Microprocessors on the market

• Intel
• i-3, i-5, i-7
• Intel Core2 Duo Extreme Quad
• Pentium dual-core Pentium 1- 4
• Pentium M laptop
• Celeron budget
• AMD
• Athlon II X4
• Phenom Turion Opteron current
• Athlon X64 old premier
• Duron, Sempron old budget
• Transmeta
• Crusoe tablet
• Motorola
• Power PC MAC ? no longer used in mac since OS
  10.7

6
Microprocessor high needs

• 3-D animated computer games
• Desktop publishing
• Video editing
• Upgrading later is usually not cost-effective

7
RAM

• Random Access Memory
• Lose it when computer off
• Like your heads short term memory
• Main measurement is size (Gb, Mb)
• More than cache, much less than hard drive
• Speed (Mhz)
• Has a type RDRAM SDRAM DDRRAM
• Expandable limits

8
ROM BIOS CMOS

• ROM BIOS
• Read only memory to start up your system
• No relation to CD-ROM
• CMOS
• Basic hardware path settings
• Programmable
• Very low battery needed
• Neither usually effect your purchase

9
Motherboard

• Traffic cop
• Everything connects to it
• Hard disk to RAM to CPU via bus
• Motherboard chipset moves data faster
• 800 MHZ bus last year to

10
Storage Introduction

• CD, DVD, Hard Drive, Floppy, Zip, Tape, flash
  drive
• Media holds the data
• Device - writes and reads the data
• Need drive bays
• Need expansion slots
• Measures
• Versatility of drive
• Durability
• Speed
• Capacity

11
Devices
Device Size Comments
Floppy 1.4 MB Easily damaged
Zip 750 MB Special drives
CD 680 MB
DVD 8.5 GB 4.7 single layer
Blu-Ray 50GB 100GB in prototype
HD-DVD 30GB 45 GB prototype
Hard disk 80 GB Not very portable quick access possible crash
Tape 200 GB Slow to read quick to write sequential
12
Hard disk - Magnetic

• Notebook Space
• Controller
• Serial ATA
• Ultra ATA 2 x EIDE (UDMA data transfer)
• EIDE - old
• SCSI fast, but expensive
• Memory
• Sudden Death backup
• Speed (RPM) vs Access Time (MS)
• GOOD MOVIE or Hard Disk to RAM

13
CD / DVD - Optical

• Access speed 2x, 24x or kb/sec
• CD-ROM (read only) just read
• CD-R(ecordable) write once read by all
• CD-RW (read /write) write a lot read by few
• Same for DVD, but it has /- formats
• DVD-RAM video editing
• Blu-Ray (Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Thomson, Hitachi,
  Matsushita, Pioneer and Philips, Mistubishi and
  LG Electronics supported by Warner Bros.)
• HD-DVD (AOD) (Toshiba and NEC supported by
  Paramount and Universal )
• Blue Violet Rays insteadof Red
• LINK TO INFO ON HD-DVD

14
Solid State Storage
USB Flash Card Key chain 32 512 mb
Compact Flash Card Camera 8 mb 1 gb
Multi-media cards Digital camera 32-256 mb
Secure Digital card Mp3 player 32-16 mb
Smart Media (no controller needed, but not durable) 32-128 mb
15
Pointing Devices

• Track pad
• Track ball
• Mouse
• Pointing stick (the red knob on a laptop)

16
Expansion Slots

• ISA old / modems
• PCI graphics, sound, video, modem, NIC
• ACP graphics
• PCMCIA laptop
• Type I memory
• Type II modem, sound, nic
• Type III hard drive or two of the other

17
Expansion Ports

• Device plug
• Often on expansion card (in expansion slot)
• Types
• Serial mouse or modem
• Parallel printer external drive
• USB lots
• SCSI disk drive cd rom scanner tape backup
• IEEE (firewire) video camera DVD player
• VGA - monitor

18
Monitors

• Graphics card to give a boost
• CRT (large, all angles, smaller screen, cheaper)
  / LCD (small, full screen) / Plasma (expensive)
• Resolution dp (dot pitch smaller is better)
• Viewable image size
• Color depth or bit depth (true color is 24)
• Graphics card

19
Terminology

• www.webopedia.com
• www.hyperdictionary.com
• Many others

20
Diagram
21
Computer Desktop Shopping

• Dell website
• Comp USA
• Buy.com
• PC purchase exercise
• Textbook purchase exercise