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Introduction To Computing Lecture 2 Computer Systems

This lecture introduces different types of computers classified by their capabilities and intended applications. It discusses personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs, notebooks, desktops used for personal computing. It also covers minicomputers for medium-sized businesses, mainframes for large businesses, and supercomputers which are the most powerful for solving extremely complex problems using the fastest available technology. The document provides an example of the Earth Simulator as the most powerful supercomputer in 2003 capable of 41 trillion calculations per second.

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Shoaib Akhtar
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27 views

Introduction To Computing Lecture 2 Computer Systems

This lecture introduces different types of computers classified by their capabilities and intended applications. It discusses personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs, notebooks, desktops used for personal computing. It also covers minicomputers for medium-sized businesses, mainframes for large businesses, and supercomputers which are the most powerful for solving extremely complex problems using the fastest available technology. The document provides an example of the Earth Simulator as the most powerful supercomputer in 2003 capable of 41 trillion calculations per second.

Uploaded by

Shoaib Akhtar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Computing:

Lecture 2

Computer Systems
Overview

 This Lecture covers:


 To learn to classify computers
according to their capability and
targeted applications.
 To find out about the essential building
blocks that make up a modern
computer.

2
Computer Types According to Capability &
Size

 Personal digital assistant (PDA) –


small hand-held computer for personal
tasks like appointment scheduling and
address book maintenance.

 Tablet PC – pen-based computer with


the functionality of a notebook or
desktop.
3
Computer Types According to Capability &
Size

 Notebook computer – small,


portable, fully functional, battery-
powered computer.

 Desktop computer – most popular


type of personal computer.

4
PDA, Tablet PC, Notebook, Desktop

5
Minicomputers, Mainframes, and
Supercomputers

 Minicomputer (mid-range computer)


– meets needs of several people
simultaneously in a small or medium-
sized business.
 Mainframe computer – meets needs
of hundreds of people in a large
business.
 Supercomputer – fastest, most
powerful, and most expensive type of
computer. 6
Minicomputers, Mainframes, and
Supercomputers

7
Supercomputers
 It is designed to perform calculations as fast as the current
technology allows.
 Used to solve extremely complex and large-scale problems:
weather prediction, simulation of atomic explosions; aircraft
design; movie animation, etc.
 The Champion: NEC’s Earth Simulator
 Most powerful computer as of June 2003.
 Capable of 41 trillion calculations/sec (TFLOPS).
 246,000 times faster than Cray 1 (1976).
 3,300 times faster than Deep Blue (1997).
 Designed for complex simulations required for climate modeling.
 Powered by 5120 microprocessors; 65x50 m.
 10 TB of memory; 13 MVA power consumption.

8
www.top500.org

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