SECOND QUARTER

LESSON 4

Perform Mensuration and Calculation

Definition of Terms
Bit- a fundamental unit of information having just two possible values, as either of the binary digits 0 or 1.
Byte- a unit of digital information in computing and telecommunications that most commonly consists of eight bits.
Booting – starting (a computer) by loading an operating system from a disk.
Electronic storage -a device for recording (storing) information (data).
Firewire - Apple Computer's version of a standard, IEEE 1394, High Performance Serial Bus, for connecting devices to your personal
computer.
Hot-swappable - the connection and disconnection of peripherals or other components without interrupting system operation.
Interface - the point of interaction or communication between a computer and any other entity, such as a printer or human operator.
Laser - a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of
photons.
Magnetic platter - a thin, high precision disk that is coated on both sides with a high precision magnetic material and which is used in a hard
disk drive (HDD) to store data.
Memory module - a narrow printed circuit board that holds memory chips.
Magnetic storage media - any storage medium in which different patterns of magnetization are used to represent stored bits or bytes of
information
Operating system - a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software.
Optical storage media - any storage in which data is written and read with a laser for archival or backup purposes.
SDRAM- is a generic name for various kinds of DRAM that are synchronized with the clock speed that the microprocessor is optimized for.
This tends to increase the number of instructions that the processor can perform in a given time.
DRAM- a type of memory that is typically used for data on program code that a computer processor needs to function. A common type of
RAM used in PC, workstations and servers.

Acronyms
HDD – hard disk drive SRDRAM- Synchronous dynamic Random Access Memory

IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics DRAM- Dynamic Random Access Memory

ROM – Read Only Memory

RAM- Random Access Memory

LEARNING OUTCOME 1
Select components to be measured
PRETEST
Direction. Match items on Column A with Column B. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
___ 1. Chips that are located on the motherboard. A. Registers

___ 2. A magnetic storage device that is installed inside the computer. B. Flash drive or Thumb drive

___ 3. Early drive controller interface that connects computers and hard disk drives C. Read-only memory
which an interface that uses a 40-pin connector.

___ 4. Temporary storage for data and programs that are being accessed by the CPU. D. IDE

___ 5. A storage device that uses lasers to read data on the optical media. E. Floppy drive

___ 6. A storage device that uses removable 3.5inch disks. F. Random access memory

___ 7. Soldered the memory chips on a special circuit board. G. Optical drive

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 ___ 8. A removable storage device that connects to a USB port. H. DDR

___ 9. Memory cells built right into the CPU that contain specific data needed I. Hard drive
particularly the Arithmetic and Logic Unit.

___ 10. Technology that doubles the maximum bandwidth of SDRAM. J. Memory module

MEMORY
Memory is technically any form of electronic storage, it is used most often to identify fast, temporary forms of storage. If your computer's
CPU had to constantly access the hard drive to retrieve every piece of data it needs, it would operate very slowly. When the information is
kept in memory, the CPU can access it much more quickly. Most forms of memory are intended to store data temporarily.

The CPU accesses memory according to a distinct hierarchy. Whether it comes from permanent storage (the hard drive) or input (the
keyboard), most data goes in random access memory (RAM) first. The CPU then stores pieces of data it will need to access, often in a cache,
and maintains certain special instructions in the register.

READ-ONLY MEMORY (ROM) chips are located in the motherboard. ROM chips contain instructions that can be directly accessed by
the CPU. Basic instructions for booting the computer and loading the operating system are stored in ROM. ROM chips retain their contents
even when the computer is powered down. The contents cannot be erased or changed by normal means.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM) is the temporary storage for data and programs that are being accessed by the CPU. RAM is
volatile memory, which means that the contents are erased when the computer is powered off. The more RAM in a computer, the more
capacity the computer has to hold and process large programs and files, as well as enhance system performance.

Early computers had RAM installed in the motherboard as individual chips. The individual memory chips, called dual inline package (DIP)
chips, was difficult to install and often became loose on the motherboard. To solve this problem, designers soldered the memory chips on a
special circuit board called a memory module.

Here are some types of memory modules:

Dual Inline Package (DIP) Single Inline Memory Module (SIMM)

An electronic component package with a rectangular housing and A type of memory module containing RAM that is used in
two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins. It may be through- computers from the 1980s to the late 1990s. It differs from a
mouted to a printed circuit board or inserted in a socket. DIMM. The contacts on a SIMM are redundant on both sides of the
module. It has 30-pin and 72-pin configurations.

Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) RAMBus Inline Memory Module (RIMM)
The most predominant form of memory module today. It comprises Developed by kingstone technology corp. that takes up less space
a series of DRAM integrated circuits. It is mounted on a printed inside the computer and has different pin characteristics. It has 184
circuit board and designed for use in PC, workstations and servers. pin connector.
It has separate electrical contacts on each side of the module.
Standard DIMM have a 64-bit data path. It holds SDRAM.

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 Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module (SODIMM)
A type of computer memory built using integrated circuits. They are smaller alternative to a DIMM, being roughly half the
size of regular DIMMs. They are often used in systems that have limited space, which include laptops, notebooks, small
personal computers and other networking devices (routers).

NOTE: The speed of memory has a direct impact on how much data a processor can process because faster memory
improves the performance of the processor. As processor speed increasmemory speed must also increase. For example,
single-channel memory is capable of transferring data at 64 bits. Dual-channel memory increases speed by using a second
channel of memory, creating a data transfer rate of 128 bits.

Double Data Rate (DDR) technology doubles the maximum bandwidth of SDRAM.
DDR2 offers faster performance while using less energy.
DDR3 operates at even higher speeds than DDR2; however, none of these DDR technologies are backward- or
forwardcompatible.

Even with a wide and fast bus, it still takes longer for data to get from the memory card to the CPU than it takes for the CPU to
actually process the data.

Caches are designed to alleviate this bottleneck by making the data used most often by the CPU instantly available. It stores the
data locally in order to speed up subsequent retrievals. It also reserved areas of memory in every computer that is used to speed
up instructions, execution, data retrievals and data updating.

Registers it is one of a small set of data holding places that are part of the computer processor. It is also a memory cells built
right into the CPU that contain specific data needed by the CPU, particularly the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU). An
integral part of the CPU itself, they are controlled directly by the compiler that sends information for the CPU to process.

STORAGE DRIVES

Storage drives read or write information on magnetic or optical storage media. The drive can be used to store data permanently
or to retrieve information from a media disk. Storage drives can be installed inside the computer case, such as a hard drive. For
portability, some storage drives can connect to the computer using a USB port, a FireWire port, or an SCSI port. These portable
storage drives are sometimes referred to as removable drives and can be used on multiple computers. Here are some common
types of storage drives: Floppy drive, Hard drive, Optical drive and Flash drive.

Floppy Drive

A floppy drive, or floppy disk drive, is a storage device that

uses removable 3.5-inch floppy disks. These magnetic floppy
disks can store 720 KB or 1.44 MB of data. In a computer, the
floppy drive is usually configured as the A: drive. The floppy
drive
can be used to boot the computer if it contains a bootable floppy
disk. A 5.25-inch floppy drive is older technology and is seldom
used.

Hard Drive

A hard drive, or hard disk drive, is a magnetic storage device that is installed inside the
computer. The hard drive is used as permanent storage for data. In a Windows
computer, the hard drive is usually configured as the C: drive and contains the
operating system and applications. The hard drive is often configured as the first drive
in the boot sequence. The storage capacity of a hard drive is measured in billions of
bytes, or
gigabytes (GB). The speed of a hard drive is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).
Multiple hard drives can be added to increase storage capacity.

Traditional hard drives are magnetic. Magnetic hard drives have drive motors designed to
spin magnetic platters and the drive heads. In contrast, the newer solid state drives (SSDs)
do not have moving parts. Because there are no drive motors and moving parts, the SSD uses far less energy than the magnetic
hard drive. Non-volatile flash memory chips manage all storage on an SSD, which results in faster access to data, higher
reliability, and reduced power usage. SSDs have the same form factor as magnetic hard drives and use ATA or SATA interfaces.
SSDs can be installed as a replacement for magnetic drives.

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Optical Drive

An optical drive is a storage device that uses lasers to read data on the optical
media. There are three types of optical drives: Compact Disc (CD), Digital
Versatile Disc (DVD) and Blu-ray Disc (BD).
CD, DVD, and BD media can be pre-recorded (read-only), recordable (write once), or
rewritable (read and write multiple times).

External Flash Drive

An external flash drive, also known as a thumb drive, is a removable storage device that connects to
a USB port. An external flash drive uses the same type of non-volatile memory chips as solid state
drives and does not require power to maintain the data. These drives can be accessed by the
operating system in the same way that other types of drives are accessed.

Types of Drive Interfaces

Hard drives and optical drives are manufactured with different interfaces that are used to connect the drive to the computer. To
install a storage drive in a computer, the connection interface on the drive must be the same as the controller on the motherboard.
Here are some common drive interfaces:

• IDE – Integrated Drive Electronics, also called Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is an early drive controller
interface that connects computers and hard disk drives. An IDE interface uses a 40-pin connector.
• SATA – Serial ATA refers to the serial version of the ATA drive controller interface. A SATA interface uses a 7-pin
data connector.
• SCSI – Small Computer System Interface is a drive controller interface that can connect up to 15 drives. SCSI can
connect both internal and external drives. An SCSI interface uses a 50-pin, 68-pin, or 80-pin connector.

IDE SATA SCSI

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