PROMPT INFOTECH

A+ (BASICS OF COMPUTER HARDWARE)

SYLLABUS:
● CHAPTER-1:IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
MOTHERBOARD
● CHAPTER-2:IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
PROCESSOR
● CHAPTER-3:IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
STORAGE DEVICES
● CHAPTER-4: IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
MEMORY DEVICES
● CHAPTER-5: IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF VIDEO
TECHNOLOGIES
● CHAPTER-6: IDENTIFYING PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF OTHER
COMPONENTS
● CHAPTER-7: VIRTUALIZATION AND MONITORING

CHAPTER-1 MOTHERBOARD:
TOPICS:
1. TYPES OF MOTHERBOARD
2. CHIPSET
3. PROCESSOR SLOT
4. EXPANSION SLOT
5. MEMORY SLOT
6. POWER CONNECTOR
7. ON BOARD DISK DRIVE CONNECTOR
8. KEYBOARD CONNECTOR
9. BIOS
10. CMOS
11. JUMPERS
12. KEY TERM-FIRMWARE
1.TYPES OF MOTHERBOARD
MOTHERBOARD ARE CLASSIFIED INTO TWO. THEY ARE
1.BASED ON COMPONENT PLACEMENT
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF MOTHERBOARD BASED ON COMPONENT PLACEMENT
1.INTEGRATED MOTHERBOARD
A board that has multiple integrated components or built up in the motherboard itself is called an
integrated motherboard. These components may be a sound card, CPU and also video cards. It
has several PCI expansion slots. Most of the laptops are fully integrated motherboards because
they have smaller forms and it’s disadvantage is, it produces more heat, troubleshooting is tough
and the size is also very small.

2.NON-INTEGRATED MOTHERBOARD
The non-integrated motherboard is big in size and they are used in desktops and also produces
less heat. Troubleshooting is easy to do because you can remove the motherboard from the cpu
and analyse the issues on the components. It requires more wires to be connected and it is also
non portable.

2.FORM FACTOR
BASED ON FORM FACTOR, MOTHERBOARD ARE OF TWO TYPES
1.ATX
Advanced technology extended motherboards are 80% all desktops,laptops which are inbuilt as
perpendicular 90 degrees.
2.BTX
Balance technology extended motherboards are used in server rooms because server speed is
high and heat produced is also high-both are maintained equally in BTX and it is not
perpendicular.

2.CHIPSET:
It checks with all the components functionality with input and output process.It has two
assistants called south bridge and north bridge.
North bridge is responsible for all the high speed components to work (RAM)
South bridge is responsible for all the slow speed components to work (USB)
CHIPSET EVOLUTION:
Electronic component > circuit board > integrated circuit > chipset
TYPES OF CHIPSET:
IHA – Intel Hub Architecture – It has only one chip
SIS- Silicon Integrated System – one chip
Intel – 2 chipsets
3.PROCESSOR SLOT:
Two types of processor are:
LGA- Land grid array. It is an old type of processor and its speed is slow. LGA is a flat type
processor. "Land grid array" (LGA) consists of a socket with pins that you place the processor
on.
PGA- Pin grid array. It is a new type of processor and its speed is high. PGA is a pin type
processor. PGA ("pin grid array"), on the other hand, places the pins on the processor, which you
then insert into a socket with appropriately placed holes.
4.EXPANSION SLOT:
An expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard that is used to insert an expansion card (or
circuit board), which provides additional features to a computer such as video, sound, advanced
graphics, Ethernet or memory. It is used to upgrade your system.
TYPES:
PCI-Peripheral Component Interconnect
AGP-Accelerated Graphics Port
PCIe-PCIexpress is a combination of PCI + AGP slots.
5.MEMORY SLOT:
A memory slot or RAM slot is what allows computer memory (RAM) chips/sticks to be inserted
into the computer. Depending on the motherboard, there will usually be 2 to 4 memory slots
(sometimes more on high-end motherboards) and are what determine the type of RAM used with
the computer.
TYPES:
SIMM-SINGLE INLINE MEMORY MODULE (OLD-DESKTOP)
DIMM-DUAL INLINE MEMORY MODULE-DESKTOP
SODIMM-SMALL OUTLINE DUAL MEMORY MODULE -LAPTOPS
MICRO DIMM- MOBILES
6.POWER CONNECTOR:
Power connectors are devices that allow an electrical current to pass through it for the exclusive
purpose of providing power to a device. SMPS (switch mode power supply) is a device used in
desktops that converts Actual current into Direct current and then feeds it to other hardware
components.
Eg: Mobile charger.
TYPES OF SMPS:
● Non isolated – buck , boost , buck-boost
An isolated power supply is typically achieved by the use of a transformer.
● Isolated- flyback , forward
A non-isolated power supply is generally using a type of chip conversion.

TYPES OF SMPS CERTIFICATION:

● 80 Plus Titanium
● 80 Plus Platinum
● 80 Plus Gold
● 80 Plus Silver
● 80 Plus Bronze
● 80 Plus
7.ON BOARD DISK DRIVE CONNECTOR:
Hard disk drives are accessed over one of a number of bus types, including Parallel ATA (P-ATA,
also called IDE or EIDE), Serial ATA (SATA)
IDE- Integrated Drive Electronics
EIDE-Enhanced Integrated Drive Electronics
PATA- Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment. It is an old connector with 40 pins in it and
the speed is also slow.
SATA-Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. Its new connector consists of 7 pins in it and
the speed is also high.
8.KEYBOARD CONNECTORS:
The PS/2 port is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC
compatible computer system.
AT- Advanced technology port is a 5 pin mini-DIN connector.
9.BIOS:
BIOS (basic input/output system) is the program a computer's microprocessor uses to start the
computer system after it is powered on. It also manages data flow between the computer's
operating system (OS) and attached devices, such as the hard disk, video adapter, keyboard,
mouse and printer.
Turn on system > bios key > blue screen (BIOS Screen)
You can set priority based on your preference to boot your operating system by using the boot
device priority option that you want to boot first from HDD or CD or USB.
10.CMOS:
A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) is the semiconductor technology used in
most of today's integrated circuits (ICs), also known as chips or microchips. It is responsible for
date and time to work properly. If the CMOS battery fails, date and time moves
backwards,password gets lost, or the internet will not get connected.
11.JUMPERS:
Jumpers are used for hardware configuration.This decides which harddisk OS should be the
master OS. Jumper is a wire that is connected to harddisk and motherboard for booting purposes.

12.FIRMWARE:
It is a software. Any important software is called a firmware.
Eg: VLC media player, windows OS
CHAPTER-2: PROCESSOR
TOPICS:
● PROCESSOR EVOLUTION
● PRINTING INSTRUCTION
● CHARACTERISTICS
FUNCTION OF PROCESSOR:
Converting the input (data) into machine language (0’s and 1’s)
PROCESSOR EVOLUTION:
⮚ Transistors (transfer resistance) and semiconductors – It switches electronic signals and
electrical power.It takes any electric current at one end and produces much bigger electric
current at another end.
⮚ Dual Inline Package (DIP)- Two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins. It is an
integrated circuit package with two rows of pins. PDIP (Plastic Dual Inline Package) is a
DIP package with a molded plastic body.
⮚ Single Edge Contact Cartridge (SECC) – This is where a processor with north and south
bridge was introduced with an LGA type of processor with it.
⮚ Single Edge Process Package – It is same as SECC but with a protective covering.
⮚ PGA was introduced after SEPP.
⮚ Staggered Pin Grid Array (SPGA) – It is a kind of check board pattern with more pins
arranged and it produces high heat .
PRINTING INSTRUCTION:
It is presented in the backside of the processor consisting of 4-5 lines of instructions.
2.2 / 288/ 256 / 1
Processor speed / Cache memory / FSB / voltage
FSB-Front Side Bus . It is a speed based on the multiple tasks you work on at a time.
Least speed will be your computer speed.
CHARACTERISTICS:
MULTITHREADING- Ability of the processor to perform multiple tasks at a time
OVERCLOCKING- Process of increasing processor speed manually, increasing the clock rate in
bios.
What is clock speed?
The clock speed measures the number of cycles your CPU executes per second, measured in
GHz (gigahertz).
A “cycle” is technically a pulse synchronized by an internal oscillator, but for our purposes,
they’re a basic unit that helps understand a cpu's speed.
How do you adjust your CPU clock speed?
The term “overclocking” refers to speeding up the CPU clock for more processing power.
Overclocking can yield improved fps, even for high-end cpus.
Why does clock speed matter?
CPU clock speed is a good indicator of your processor’s performance. Though applications like
video editing and streaming are known to rely on multi-core performance, many new video
games still benchmark best on cpu’ s with the highest clock speed.
CHAPTER-3: STORAGE DEVICES
TOPICS:
● HARD DISK
● FLOPPY DISK
● ZIP DRIVE
● TAPE DRIVE
● FLASH DRIVE
● CD/DVD
● ADV STORAGE DEVICE
HARD DISK:
A computer hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile data storage device. Non-volatile refers to
storage devices that maintain stored data when turned off. All computers need a storage device,
and HDDs are just one example of a type of storage device.To recover data from the hard disk,
you can use software like 7 data recovery, Ease us. It also has connections for power
supply,jumpers and ide (sata/pata)
HDD spinning speed (old) -3200 to 7400 rpm, (new)-5400 to 15000 rpm
Hard disk parts:
It has a platter, spindle, actuator, actuator arm and head.
FLOPPY DISK:
A floppy disk is a small magnetic disk that was used in the past for storing computer data and
programs. Floppy disks were used especially with personal computers.Floppy is used for moving
data between computers. It’s speed is very slow and the size is also small. The most common
size of floppy disks is 3 1⁄2 inches. It has a jacket of hard plastic with a metal shutter protecting
the read-write slot. Floppy disks typically hold 1.44 megabytes.
ZIP DRIVE:
The Zip drive is a removable floppy disk storage system that was introduced by Iomega in late
1994. Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally
launched with capacities of 100 MB, then 250 MB, and finally 750 MB. The Zip Drive is a disk
storage system capable of holding digital information.
TAPE DRIVE:
A tape drive is a device that stores computer data on magnetic tape, especially for backup and
archiving purposes. Like an ordinary tape recorder, a tape drive records data on a loop of flexible
celluloid like material that can be read and also erased.
1 HDD-6000-ITB-1month
12TD-20,00 Per year. It is cheaper than HDD.
FLASH DRIVE:
A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive in the US, or a memory stick is a data storage
device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable,
rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc.
Versions - 1.0, 2.0 (old), 3.0, 3.1 (new)
SD CARD- Secure Digital
CLASS: 2 4 6 8 10- According to the class higher, Data transfer rate is also higher.
CD/DVD:
The term CD is an acronym for Compact Disk. The term DVD is an acronym for Digital
Versatile Disk. Layer of Recording. It has its metal layer or recording layer closer to the provided
disk's top. In this, the metal layer or recording layer rather stays close to the middle section of the
disk.
CD-R – CD-Recordable
CD-RW-CD-Rewritable
TYPES OF CD:
1. Single Sided Single Layered
2. Single Sided Double Layered
3. Double Sided Double Layered
BLU-RAY:
Blu-ray discs can hold more information than other optical media, because of the blue lasers that
the disc drives use. A single Blu-ray disc can hold up to 25GB of data. Dual-layer Blu-ray discs
will be able to store 50GB of data — equivalent to four hours of HD content.
HD-DVD:
HD-DVD technology uses a blue laser to read the opposite side of the pits and reflect the laser's
light to a sensor. The player reads data from the sensor as digital signals. HD-DVD disks are able
to store more data than a conventional DVD because of the following features: Lasers with a
shorter wavelength.
CHAPTER-4
MEMORY DEVICES
● RAM & ITS TYPES
● SPEED IN RAM
● PHYSICAL ORIENTATION
● ROM & ITS TYPES
RAM :
Ram is a common computing that stands for random access memory. Sometimes referred to PC
memory or just memory. In essence, RAM is your computer or laptop’s short-term memory. It’s
where the data is stored that your computer processor needs to run your applications and open
your files.
Static RAM

● It is also called as asynchronous RAM

● Non volatile
● ZBT
● SRAM
● In static RAM, the data will always be permanent.
● Because it will not obey the processor and there is no refresh signal going to static ram
from processor
● Its speed depends on itself

Dynamic RAM
● Synchronous DRAM
○ DDR1
○ DDR2
○ DDR3
○ DDR4
○ DRD

● In dynamic RAM, the data is lost

● Because it always obeys the processor. SO whenever the signal from processor to
Dynamic RAM stops, there is a data loss.
● The speed depends on the processor.

SDRAM - Single Data Rate RAM / Synchronous DRAM

DDR - Double Data Rate RAM
DRD - Direct Rambus Dynamic
ZBT - Zero Bus Turnaround (remove all the dead bus cycles from the static RAM)
DRD - Direct Rambus Dynamic
● This was introduced by “Rambus Inc”
● Speed is high, heat generated is also high
● It was mostly used in playstation, bio medical, home theaters
● But not used now.

SPEED IN RAM:

RAM FORMULA:
Data Rate * No of Bits Transferred * Clock Rate = Speed in MBPS

Type

SDRAM 1 * 8*100 = 800 mbps

DDR1 2 * 8*100 =1600 mbps
DDR2 4 * 8*100 =3200 mbps
DDR3 8 * 8*100 =6400 mbps
DDR4 16 * 8*100 =12800 mbps

PHYSICAL ORIENTATION OF RAM

DDR1,DDR2,DDR3,DDR4 is identified by the cut called “notch”

ROM :
ROM, which stands for read only memory, is a memory device or storage medium that
stores information permanently. It is also the primary memory unit of a computer along
with the random access memory (RAM). It is called read only memory as we can only
read the programs and data stored on it but cannot write on it. It is restricted to reading
words that are permanently stored within the unit.

PROM
● Programmable Read Only Memory
● Audio / Video CD

EPROM
● Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
● Empty CD
EEPROM
● Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
● Using computer’s high voltage to erase the data

FLASH EEPROM
● Pen drives.
● USB DRIVES 2.0, 3.0
CHAPTER-5: VIDEO TECHNOLOGIES
TOPICS:
● KEY TERMS
● TECHNOLOGIES
● DISPLAY DEVICES
KEYTERMS:
1.PIXEL:
The pixel -- a word invented from a picture element -- is the basic unit of programmable color on
a computer display or in a computer image. Think of it as a logical -- rather than a physical --
unit. Pixels are the smallest unit in a digital display.
2.DOT PITCH:
The term "dot pitch" refers to the distance between like-colored phosphors on a video monitor.
The smaller the dot pitch, the finer the image can be.
3.RESOLUTION:
Image resolution describes the image's level of detail – higher resolution means more image
detail. In digital imaging, the resolution is often measured as a pixel count. A pixel (short for
picture element) is a single point or a tiny square in a graphic image stored in an ordered
rectangular grid.
4.REFRESH RATE:
Every video you record, the motion is captured as pictures and every single pic is called a frame.
The distance between frames is called the refresh rate.
TECHNOLOGIES EVOLUTION:
MONOCHROME - Black/White. IBM introduced this. “Text as graphics”. Connector - DB-9D
Sub-connector.
COLOR GRAPHICS ARRAY (CGA) - 4 colors were introduced. Graphics was introduced.
ENHANCED (EGA) - 16 colors were introduced. Graphics were enhanced.
VIDEO GRAPHICS ARRAY - 256 colors were introduced. First cache memory was introduced
(256kb). Connector - DB-15D Sub-connector.
Super VGA - VESA (Video Electronics Standard Association) - announced that all IBM
products will be standardized.
DIGITAL VIDEO INTERFACE (DVI) - high quality video. Successor of VGA. Types - DVIA,
DVID, DVII.
HIGH DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE (HDMI) - used for higher transmission rate.
SEPARATE VIDEO (SVIDEO) - old, split video into color and b/w.
COMPOSITE VIDEO - old,combine every color into a composite color.
DISPLAY DEVICES:
1. CRT
2. LCD
3. LED
CRT:
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which
emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen.
Advantages of CRT :
● Less expensive than other display technology
● Fast response time
● It can operate at any resolution, geometry and also for aspect ratio without the
need for resizing the image
● Highest pixel resolutions generally available
● They produce more colors
● CRT also suitable for use even in dim or dark light
● Produce a very dark black and grayscale and are the reference standard for all
professional calibrations
● Easily increases the monitor's brightness by reflecting the light
Disadvantages of CRT:
● Big back and take up space on a desk
● Not suitable for very brightly environment because less bright than LCD
● They are large, heavy and bulky
● Consume a lot of electricity and also produce a lot of heat
● Geometrical error at edges
● Flickering at 50-80 Hz
LCD:
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated
optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with
polarizers.
Advantages of LCD :
● Slim profile
● No radiation emission from the screen.Lighter in weight with respect to screen size
 ● Energy efficient because of lower power consumption
● Brightness range is too much wider produce very bright images due to high peak
intensity
● Produce lower electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields
● Excellent contrast
● Number of pixels per square inch is typically higher than any other technology or system
● It has not affected by an increase or decrease in air pressure

Disadvantages of LCD :
● Slightly more expensive than CRT.High refresh rate
● Like the backlight ages, it can change colors slightly
● The aspect ratio and resolution are fixed
● Restricted viewing angles
● Slow response times
LED:
A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor device, which can emit light when an electric
current passes through it.
Advantages of LED:
● LEDs produce more light per watt
● High reliability
● Less temperature dependent
● LED will achieve full brightness in few microseconds
● LED does not contain mercury, unlike compact fluorescent lamps
● Environmental friendly
● Quick turn ON and OFF
● Not affected by cold temperature
Disadvantages of LED :
● Refraction of light at semiconductor/air interface
● Low coupling efficiency-usually low optical power coupled into the fiber
(W)
● Large chromatic dispersion
● Incoherent light source
● Spontaneous emission and non-linear output characteristics
● Little effective in a wide area
CHAPTER-6
OTHER COMPONENTS
TOPICS:
● ADAPTOR CARDS
● PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS
● COOLING SYSTEM
ADAPTOR CARDS:
An adapter card (also known as an expansion card) is simply a circuit board you install into a
computer to increase the capabilities of that computer. We have network adaptor cards, sound
adaptor cards and video adaptor cards.

PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS:
USB:

USB-A. This is the standard connector, found on one end of almost every USB cable. ...

USB-B. This is an older connector that's not used nearly as often nowadays. ...

Mini-USB. As the name suggests, this is a smaller connection type that's good for mobile
devices.

Micro-USB.

PARALLEL PORT:
A connector for a device that sends or receives several bits of data simultaneously by using more
than one wire.
Unidirectional Parallel Port - there is only communication from computer to printer.
Bidirectional Parallel Port - there is communication between both the computer and printer.
SERIAL PORT:
A connector by which a device that sends data one bit at a time may be connected to a computer.
Standard Serial Port - can connect two similar devices
Null Modem Serial Port - can connect two dissimilar devices
LAN PORT:
A LAN port, also known as a network port or network connection, is a socket used to connect
computers, servers, video game consoles, and other devices to the internet.
Ethernet Port / Internet Port/ Wan / NIC (Network Interface Card)
Function of NIC : convert parallel signal into serial signal
Computer sends the parallel signal to the NIC card. It converts to a serial signal and then sends it
to the server.
Parallel signal - for shorter distance communication
Serial signal - for longer distance communication
COOLING SYSTEM:
FAN:
A computer fan is any fan inside, or attached to, a computer case used for active cooling. Fans
are used to draw cooler air into the case from the outside, expel warm air from inside and move
air across a heatsink to cool a particular component.
HEAT SINK:
It is designed to absorb the heat coming from your CPU then disperse the heat away from its
components. The dissipation of heat is possible because a heat sink has fins, which gives more
surface area during a heat transfer. A heat sink needs to make strong contact with the source of
heat in order to maximize cooling.
THERMAL PASTE:
Thermal Paste - A silvery-gray substance that you apply to a processor before installing a
cooling solution. It allows for an efficient transfer of heat from the IHS of the processor to the
base plate or water block of the CPU cooler that is designed to dissipate that heat.
LIQUID COOLING:
Liquid cooling is the reduction of heat in electronic and mechanical devices through exploiting
the properties of liquids. Liquid cooling is a firmly established cooling method in many current
technologies. Automobiles, mainframes and the systems of computer enthusiasts have used water
cooling for many years. The methods and coolants can differ between and within these
categories.
PHASE CHANGE COOLING:
Phase-change cooling involves harnessing a cooling fluid's natural latent heat of vaporization, or
the point at which it transitions from a liquid phase into a gaseous phase and is used in server
rooms, big data centres.
CHAPTER-7
VIRTUALIZATION AND MONITORING:
TOPICS:
● VIRTUALIZATION
● TYPES OF VIRTUALIZATION
● MONITORING
WHAT IS VIRTUALIZATION:
CPU virtualization is one of the cloud-computing technologies that requires a single CPU to
work, which acts as multiple machines working together. CPU virtualization emphasizes running
programs and instructions through a virtual machine, giving the feeling of working on a physical
workstation. All the operations are handled by an emulator that controls software to run
according to it.
TYPES OF VIRTUALIZATION:
Software-based virtualization - This Virtualization is software-based where with the help of it,
application code gets executed on the processor and the privileged code gets translated first, and
that translated code gets executed directly on the processor. This translation is purely known as
Binary Translation (BT). The code that gets translated is very large in size and also slow at the
same time on execution. The guest programs that are based on privileged coding run very
smoothly and fast. The code programs or the applications that are based on privileged code
components that are significant such as system calls, run at a slower rate in the virtual
environment.
Hardware-assisted virtualization - There is hardware that gets assistance to support CPU
Virtualization from certain processors. Here, the guest user uses a different version of code and
mode of execution known as a guest mode. The guest code mainly runs on guest mode. The best
part in hardware-assisted CPU Virtualization is that there is no requirement for translation while
using it for hardware assistance. For this , the system calls run faster than expected. Workloads
that require the updation of page tables get a chance of exiting from guest mode to root mode
that eventually slows down the program’s performance and efficiency.
Virtualization and processor-specific behavior - Despite having specific software behavior of the
CPU model, the virtual machine still helps in detecting the processor model on which the system
runs. The processor model is different based on the CPU and the wide variety of features it
offers, whereas the applications that produce the output generally utilize such features.
Performance implications of virtualization - CPU Virtualization adds the amount of overhead
based on the workloads and virtualization used. Any application depends mainly on the CPU
power waiting for the instructions to get executed first. Such applications require the use of CPU
Virtualization that gets the command or executions that are needed to be executed first. This
overhead takes the overall processing time and results in an overall degradation in performance
and CPU virtualisation execution.

MONITORING
Temperature monitoring

The most important temperature to measure in your computer is the processor, or CPU. Core
temp is a simple, lightweight app that runs in your system tray and monitors the temperature of
your CPU without cluttering it up with other stuff.

What temperature should a CPU run at?

Your CPU should not go above 70 degrees.

Fan speed
CPU fan speed based on processor and depending on the fan size of your CPU cooler
CPU fan rpm ranges:
140mm fans: ~400 – 1200 rpm
120mm fans: ~500 – 1500 rpm
92mm fans: ~600 – 2000 rpm
80mm fans: ~800 – 2500 rpm

Voltage
There are three primary types of dc voltage.
12 volts is required to feed the main board and any new-gen graphics cards.
5 volts is necessary for the chassis and CPU fan or USB ports. 3.3 volts is used to power the
CPU