O P O L C O M M U N IT Y C O L L E G E

Salva Street, Población Opol, Misamis Oriental

FUNCTIONALITIES OF A
COMPUTER
IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE COMPUTER
COMPONENT

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Competencies

❑ Describe the six basic types of system units

❑ Discuss how a computer can represent
numbers and encode characters
electronically
❑ Describe each of the major system unit
components
❑ Discuss microprocessors, including
microprocessor chips and specialty
processors
❑ Discuss memory including RAM, ROM, and
flash memory

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Competencies

❑ Discuss expansion slots and cards

❑ Describe five principal types of expansion
buses
❑ Compare standard, specialized, and legacy
ports
❑ Discuss power supply for desktop and
notebook computers

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

The System Unit

The following diagram shows an example of System Unit Functions:

Process
Input Output

Storage

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

The System Unit

❑ A case that contains the electronic components

of the computer used to process data.
❑ n

❑ The case of the system unit, or chassis, is made

of metal or plastic and protects the electrical
components inside.
n

❑ The trend is towards a smaller form factor, or

size and shape, of desktop computers.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Variety of Shapes and Sizes System Unit

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 System Unit Types

Desktop System Units:

n

1. contain the system’s

electronic components
2. selected secondary storage
devices
3. Input and output devices
such as a (mouse and
monitor), are located
outside he system

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 System Unit Types

Media Center System Units

n

1. use powerful desktop

system hardware with
specialized
2. graphics cards for interfacing
3. televisions and other home
entertainment devices.
4. special operating system

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 System Unit Types

Notebook System Units

n

1. units contain the electronic

components,
2. selected secondary storage
devices,
3. input devices (keyboard and
pointing device).
4. Located outside the system
unit.
5. the monitor is attached by
hinges.
IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)
 System Unit Types

Handheld Computer System

Units
n

1. Has electronic components

2. Secondary storage
3. input and output devices.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

The System Unit

It is important to know the electronic components

of the system unit in the event it needs to be open.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

The Motherboard

❑Also called the system board, is the main circuit

board of the system unit.
❑Many electronic components attach to the
motherboard and others are built into it.
❑Slots for adapter
cards, the
processor, and
memory.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Processor

❑Also called the central processing unit (CPU),

interprets and carries out the basic instructions that
operate a computer.
❑Impacts overall computing power and manages
most of the computer’s operations.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Processor

PROCESSOR
Control Arithmetic
Unit Logic unit

INSTRUCTIONS

DATA

INFORMATION

INPUT OUTPUT
DATA MEMORY INFORMATION
DEVICES DEVICES

INSTRUCTIONS

DATA

INFORMATION

STORAGE
DEVICES
IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)
Machine Cycle

❑For every instruction, a processor repeats a set of

basic operations, which comprise a machine cycle

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Machine Cycle

❑Fetching:
Process of obtaining a program instruction or data item
from memory.
❑Decoding:
Process of translating the instruction into signals the
computer can execute.
❑Executing:
Process of carrying out the commands.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Comparison of Personal Computer
Processors

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Processor Cooling

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Processor Cooling

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Storage Memory

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Storage Memory

▪ Random Access Memory (RAM)

▪ Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

▪ Solid State Drive (SSH)
▪ M.2 SSD
▪ Read-Only Memory (ROM)

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM)

❑Random-access, commonly known as RAM or simply

memory, provides space for your computer to read and write
data to be accessed by the CPU (central processing unit).
When people refer to a computer's memory, they usually
mean its RAM.
❑RAM is volatile, so data stored in RAM stays there only as long
as the computer is running. As soon as the computer is
switched off, the data stored in RAM disappears.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF RAM:

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF RAM:

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 ROM (READ-ONLY MEMORY)

▪ Data stored in ROM is nonvolatile - it is not lost when your computer is

turned off.
▪ Data stored in ROM is either unchangeable or requires a special operation
to change.
▪ Every computer motherboard includes a ROM chip that handles BIOS
functionality.
▪ The computer uses the information stored
on the BIOS ROM chip when powering on
to determine what hardware is connected
to the system, if the connected hardware
is working

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 HARD DISK DRIVE (HDD)

▪ Apart from storing data, it can also be used as a boot drive to run the
operating system from it.
▪ An operating system is a software program
that makes a computer useable like Microsoft
Windows and other Application Software.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 SSD: Solid State Drive

▪ An SSD is also a type of storage device, but it doesn’t have any moving
parts. It consists of a bank of flash memory that can hold a reasonable
amount of data.
▪ SSD is a high-performance drive.
▪ It’s fast and cannot be as easily damaged by dropping it or taking a few
knocks.
▪ SSDs are available as 2.5-inch laptop encapsulated
drives as well as an M.2 SDD as the most commonly
used kinds on the market.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Expansion Slots and Adapter Cards

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Expansion Slots and Adapter Cards

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Removable Flash Memory

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Ports and Connectors

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Ports and Connectors

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 Ports

❑Socket for connecting external devices

❑Ports can connect directly to the system board or they
can connect to cards that are inserted into slots on the
system board

Three Types:
– Standard Ports
– Legacy Ports
– Specialized Ports

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

 Standard Ports
Common Ports:
n

VGA (Video Graphics Adapter ) and DVI ( Digital Video Interface ):

Ports provide connections to analog and digital monitors
N

USB ports(Universal serial bus):

Used to connect several devices (keyboards, printers, storage device)
N

Ethernet ports
high-speed networking port

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Legacy Ports

In the past, additional ports were common on

microcomputer systems to connect specific types of
devices. These older ports, known as legacy ports.

• Serial ports
• Parallel ports
• Keyboard and mouse ports
• Infrared data association (IrDA)
• Game ports

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Specialized Ports

Three specialized ports:

n

❑ Musical Instrument digital interface (MIDI)

❑ Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF)
❑ High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)

Expansion Binary Unit System (BUS)

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Expansion Bus

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Power Supply

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O P O L C O M M U N IT Y C O L L E G E
Salva Street, Población Opol, Misamis Oriental

THANK YOU!

It 101- introduction to computing

Open-Ended Questions

❑Describe the basic types of system units.

❑What are the differences and similarities

between the two types of memory RAM?

❑Identify and describe the three types of

Ports.

IT 302 – Platform Technologies 1 (Tangible Technologies)