LAB REPORT 1

LAB REPORT:- Hardware

DCSE 1st Semester Lab report with Engr. Amaad Khalil

Lab report concerning the lab work and lab theory discussion on hardware, Software
and PC.

Mian Inshaullah Zia

Class No. 104
Section C, 1st Semester
 Introduction to Computers

Computers
The 21st Century, almost two decades have passed and the modern Era advances both in
technology and education every day. Education is becoming more accessible and advanced
thanks to technology. Healthcare and daily lifestyle is becoming more efficient by the day.
From watches to fridges, everything is becoming ‘Smart’. We've come to the point where
the meaning of ‘smart’ has changed from being tidy and studious to being Efficient, fast,
technologically advanced and a certificate or by product of the ever-so advancing world
around us.

Behind it all, deep down in the infrastructure of things and generalizing the ‘Smart’ norm
is ‘The Computer’. The Computer has taken many different shapes and forms, has
educated us, developed the human race and has become a part of our daily life. Every
place in the world has computers whether the place is in sub-zero temperatures or over 50
degree Celsius, Computers has become an essential of life after the very air we breathe
and the very education we acquire. In this report we’ll be breaking down ‘What is a
Computer’, ‘What’s inside it’ and ‘What does it offer’.

What is a computer?
Before getting deeper into the components and detail of what is a computer we should
know what an Electronic device is?

Electronic devices are components for controlling the flow of electrical currents for the
purpose of information processing and system control. Prominent examples include
transistors and diodes.

With this we can say that a computer is an electronic device that is designed to work
with Information. The computer basically is made up of diodes, Integrated circuits,
transistors etc. and with the help of raw data, queries and commands we’re given
information in the form of many things.

For example; the characters on this report, considering the Letter ‘A’. Upon the pressing
of the button A on the Keyboard; a command or query is given in the form of binary
digits [‘0’ or ‘1’] the computer processes this command and shows us ‘A’ on the screen.
(Also shown in figure1.1)

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Figure 1.1

Quick fact: The term computeris derived from the Latin term ‘computare’, this means to
calculate or programmable machine.

Furthermore, the computer has different components generalized into two main
categories.
I- Hardware

II- Software

Hardware vs. Software

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 Hardware refers to the physical elements Software, commonly known as programs or
of a computer. apps, consists of all the instructions that
Gives the computer additional tell the hardware how to perform a task.
functionality. -All software utilizes at least one hardware
Hardware is limited to specifically device to operate. For example, a video
designed tasks that are, taken game
independently, very simple. - Software implements algorithms
(problem solutions) that allow the
computer to complete much more complex
tasks.

Hardware
Hardware refers to the physical elements of a computer. This is also sometime called the
machinery or the equipment of the computer. Examples of hardware in a computer are
the keyboard, the monitor, the mouse and the central processing unit. However, most of
a computer's hardware cannot be seen; in other words, it is not an external element of the
computer, but rather an internal one, surrounded by the computer's casing (tower). A
computer's hardware is comprised of many different parts, but perhaps the most
important of these is the motherboard. The motherboard is made up of even more parts
that power and control the computer.

In contrast to software, hardware is a physical entity. Hardware and software are

interconnected, without software, the hardware of a computer would have no function.
However, without the creation of hardware to perform tasks directed by software via the
central processing unit, software would be useless.

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Software
Software, commonly known as programs or apps, consists of all the instructions that tell
the hardware how to perform a task. For example, A Program that notes the time and sets
an alarm through the audio output to notify you about the specified time.

Software is capable of performing many tasks, as opposed to hardware which can only
perform mechanical tasks that they are designed for. Software provides the means for
accomplishing many different tasks with the same basic hardware. Practical computer
systems divide software systems into two major classes:

 System software: Helps run the computer hardware and computer system itself.
System software includes operating systems, device drivers, diagnostic tools and
more. System software is almost always pre-installed on your computer.
 Application software: Allows users to accomplish one or more tasks. It includes
word processing, web browsing and almost any other task for which you might
install software. (Some application software is pre-installed on most computer
systems.)

Software is generally created in a high-level programming language, one that is readable

by people. These high-level instructions are converted into "machine language"

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instructions, represented in binary code, before the hardware can "run the code". When
you install software, it is generally already in this machine language, binary, form.

Hardware: in-depth
Hardware is a category or generalization of many components into one singular word.
There’s many hardware components that make a computer what it is and these are the
following hardware components that play a very vital role in making the system of
information processing possible.

The Motherboard: A motherboard is one of the most essential parts of a computer system.
It holds together many of the crucial components of a computer, including the central
processing unit (CPU), memory and connectors for input and output devices. The base of a
motherboard consists of a very firm sheet of non-conductive material, The Motherboard is
made up of different circuits of various elements and plastic that connect other vital
circuits and components of the system. In addition to circuits, a motherboard contains a
number of sockets and slots to connect the other components.

 Parts of a Motherboard a CPU socket - the actual CPU is directly soldered onto the
socket. Since high speed CPUs generate a lot of heat, there are heat sinks and
mounting points for fans right next to the CPU socket.
 A power connector to distribute power to the CPU and other components.

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  Slots for the system's main memory, typically in the form of DRAM chips.
 A chip forms an interface between the CPU, the main memory and other
components. On many types of motherboards, this is referred to as the
Northbridge. This chip also contains a large heat sink.
 A second chip controls the input and output (I/O) functions. It is not connected
directly to the CPU but to the Northbridge. This I/O controller is referred to as the
Southbridge. The Northbridge and Southbridge combined are referred to as
the chipset.
 Several connectors, which provide the physical interface between input and output
devices and the motherboard. The Southbridge handles these connections.
 Slots for one or more hard drives to store files. The most common types of
connections are Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) and Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment (SATA).
 A read-only memory (ROM) chip, which contains the firmware, or startup
instructions for the computer system. This is also called the BIOS.
 A slot for a video or graphics card. There are a number of different types of slots,
including the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Peripheral Component
Interconnect Express (PCIe).
 Additional slots to connect hardware in the form of Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) slots.

The Processor: A processor is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the
basic instructions that drive a computer. The four primary functions of a processor
are fetch, decode, execute and write-back

The basic elements of a processor:

The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which carries out arithmetic and logic operations on
the operands in instructions. 

The floating point unit (FPU), also known as a math coprocessor or numeric coprocessor,
a specialized coprocessor that manipulates numbers more quickly than the basic
microprocessor circuitry can.

Registers, which hold instructions and other data. Registers supply operands to the ALU
and store the results of operations.

L1 and L2 cache memory. Their inclusion in the CPU saves time compared to having to
get data from random access memory (RAM).

Most processors today are multi-core, which means that the IC contains two or
more processors for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption and more
efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks. With rigorous and multithread load

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the CPU dissipates heat over time so they’re usually accompanied by a “System Fan” and
multiple Heat sinks depending on the work load.

The land grid array (LGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging for integrated circuits (ICs)
that is notable for having the pins on the socket (when a socket is used) rather than the
integrated circuit. Every generation of Processors have different LGA sockets respective to
their Motherboards

Memory:

Computer memory is any physical device capable of storing information temporarily or

permanently. For example, Random Access Memory (RAM), is a volatile memory that stores
information on an integrated circuit used by the operating system, software,
and hardware.

Volatile vs. non-volatile memory

Memory can be of either of the two kinds; volatile and non-volatile memory. Volatile

memory is a memory that loses its contents when the computer or hardware device loses
power. Computer RAM is an example of a volatile memory and is why if your computer
freezes or reboots when working on a program, you lose anything that hasn't been
saved. Non-volatile memory, sometimes abbreviated as NVRAM, is a memory that keeps
its contents even if the power is lost. EPROM is an example of a non-volatile memory.

Storage:

Storage devices are one of the core components of any computing device. They store
virtually all the data and applications on a computer, except hardware firmware. They are
available in different form factors depending on the type of underlying device. For
example, a standard computer has multiple storage devices including RAM, cache, and

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hard disk, as well as possibly having optical disk drives and externally connected USB
drives.

There are two different types of storage devices:

 Primary storage devices: Generally smaller in size, these are designed to hold data
temporarily and are internal to the computer. They have the fastest data access
speed, and include RAM and cache memory.
 Secondary storage devices: These usually have large storage capacity, and they
store data permanently. They can be either internal or external to the computer,
and they include the hard disk, optical disk drive and USB storage device.

Types of storage:

Magnetic storage devices: stores magnetic media [Any storage medium that utilizes
magnetic patterns to represent information is considered magnetic media]

Optical storage devices: optical storage, which uses lasers and lights as its method of
reading and writing data.

Online and cloud: Storing data online and in cloud storage is becoming popular as people
need to access their data from more than one device.

Memory vs Storage.
Memory is not disk storage Storage is not memory
 Although both the hard drive and RAM are Whereas memory refers to the location of
memory, it is more appropriate to refer to short-term data, storage is the component
RAM as "memory" or "primary memory" and of your computer that allows you to store
a hard drive as "storage" or "secondary and access data on a long-term basis.
storage." Usually, storage comes in the form of a
The term memory refers to the component solid-state drive or a hard drive. Storage
within your computer that allows you to allows you to access and store your
access data that is stored for a short term. applications, operating system and files for
Our computer performs many operations an indefinite period of time.
by accessing data stored in its short-term While the desk represents the computer's
memory. Some examples of such memory, the filing cabinet represents the
operations include editing a document, storage of your computer. Items that must
loading applications and browsing the be kept yet won't necessarily be accessed
Internet. The speed and performance of soon are stored in the filing cabinet. Due
your system depends on the amount of to the size of the filing cabinet, many
memory that is installed on your things can be stored.
computer. If you have a desk and a filing An important distinction between memory
cabinet, the desk represents the memory and storage is that the former clears when
of your computer. Items you will need to the computer is turned off. On the other

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 use soon are kept in your desk for easy hand, storage remains intact no matter
access. However, not much can be stored how many times you shut off your
in a desk due to its size limitations. computer. Therefore, in the desk and
filing cabinet analogy, any files that are
left on your desk when you leave the
office will be thrown away. Everything in
your filing cabinet will remain.

Conclusion;
The computer is made up of many complex and small parts, does millions of calculations in
seconds.