Chapter 6

The System Unit

6-1 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Competencies (1 of 2)
• Describe the six basic types of system units
• Discuss how a computer uses binary codes to
represent data in electronic form
• Describe each of the major system unit
components
• Discuss microprocessors, including specialty
processors
• Describe the different types of memory

6-2 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Competencies (2 of 2)
• Discuss expansion slots and boards
• Describe five principal types of expansion buses
• Discuss four standard ports and four specialized
ports
• Discuss power
supply for desktop
and notebook
computers

6-3 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Introduction
Speed, capacity, and flexibility determine the
power of microcomputers.
Knowledge of a computer’s power allows you to
make good buying decisions and to determine if
your current system will run new applications.
Competent end users need to understand the
basic principles of how microcomputers are put
together. These principles will be covered in this
chapter.

6-4 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 System Unit

6-5 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 System Unit Types
• Desktop System Units

• Media Center System Units

• Notebook System Units

• Tablet PC System Units

• Handheld Computer
System Units
6-6 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Electronic Data and Instructions
• Data and instructions are represented
electronically
• Two-state system or Binary System
– Off/on electrical states
– Characters represented by 0s (off) and 1s (on)
– Bits
– Bytes

6-7 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Character Coding Schemes
• Three types of binary
coding schemes
– ASCII - American
Standard Code for
Information Exchange
– EBCDIC - Extended
Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code
– Unicode – handles
languages with large
numbers of characters

6-8 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 System Board
• Connects all components
• Allows communication between devices
• Main board or motherboard
• Circuit board
electronic components
– Sockets
– Slots
– Bus lines

6-9 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Microprocessor Chips
• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• Two Basic Components
– Control unit
– Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)

6-10 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Fetch-execute cycle in the CPU
• System bus uses different buses between
CPU and memory and memory and I/O
• Fetch an instruction from memory as
indicated by the Program Counter register
• Decode the instruction in the control unit
– Data operands needed for the instruction are
fetched from memory
• Execute the instruction in the ALU storing
the result in a register
• Store the result back to memory if needed
1-11 Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Microprocessor Chips
• Chip capacities are expressed in word sizes
• Two Recent Significant Developments
– 64-bit processors
• Have become standard for most of
today’s desktop and laptop computers
– Multi-Core Chips
• Can provide two
separate and
independent CPUs
• Parallel processing

6-12 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Specialty Processors
• Coprocessors
– Designed to improve specific computing operations
– Graphics coprocessors
• Smart cards
– Credit card sized with an embedded chip
– Used by many universities
• Specialty processors in cars
– As many as 70
– Used to control features
• RFID tags
– Information chips
– Used for tracking purposes

6-13 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Memory
• Holding area for data, instructions, and
information
• Memory is contained on chips connected to the
system board
• Types of memory chips
– RAM
– ROM
– Flash

6-14 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 RAM
• Random Access Memory (RAM) chips hold the
program and data
– Cache memory or RAM cache
– Flash RAM or flash memory
• Other types of RAM
– DRAM
– SDRAM
– DDR
– Direct RDRAM

Return
6-15 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 ROM
• Read-only memory (ROM) chips are not volatile
and cannot be changed by the user
• CPU can read, or retrieve data and programs
but the computer cannot write
• Contain special instructions
– Needed to start a computer
– Give keyboard keys their special capabilities
– Put characters on screen

Return
6-16 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Flash
• Flash memory offers a combination of the
features of RAM and ROM.
• Flash memory is used for a wide of range
of applications.
• If changes are made to the computer
system, these changes are reflected in
flash memory.

6-17 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Expansion Slots and Cards
• Allow for new devices to
be added
– Open architecture
– Slots provide for expansion
• Expansion cards are
also called …
– Plug-in boards
– Controller cards
– Adapter cards
– Interface cards

6-18 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Commonly Used Expansion
Cards
• Graphics cards
• Sound cards
• Modem cards
• Network interface cards (NIC)
• PC cards and Express cards
• TV tuner cards

6-19 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 TV Tuner Cards And
Video Clips
• Allows you to view your favorite TV shows while
running other applications such as Excel
• Video can be captured to a file, added to a Web
page, attached to an email, or added to a class
presentation
• Relatively inexpensive
and easy to install

6-20 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Plug and Play

• Set of specific hardware and software standards

• Creating devices that are able to configure

6-21 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Bus Lines
• Connect parts of the CPU to each other
• Data roadway for traveling bits
– Measured as bus width
– More lanes, faster traffic
• Two basic categories
– System buses
– Expansion buses

6-22 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Expansion Buses
• Connects the CPU to other components on the
system board, including expansion slots
• Principal types
– PCI Express (PCIe)
– Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
– Universal serial bus (USB)
– FireWire buses
– Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)

6-23 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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

6-24 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Legacy Ports
• Serial ports
• Parallel ports
• Keyboard and mouse ports
• Game ports
• Infrared data association (IrDA)

Return

6-26 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Cables
• Used to connect exterior devices to the system
unit via the ports
• One end of the cable is attached to the device
and the other end has a connector that is
attached to a matching connector on the port

6-28 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Power Supply
• Computers require direct current (DC)
• DC power provided by converting alternating
current (AC) from wall outlets or batteries
• Desktop computers use power supply units
• Notebooks and handhelds use AC adapters

6-29 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Careers In IT
• Computer technicians repair and install
computer components and systems
• Employers look for
– Certification in computer repair
– Good communication skills
• Continued education is
required
• Computer technicians can
expect to earn an hourly
wage of $13.50 to $22.50
6-30 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 A Look to the Future

• Wearable computers
• Send and receive
email while jogging
• Maintain your
personal schedule
book
• Remember the
names of people at a
party

6-31
 Open-Ended Questions
• Describe the six basic types of system units.
• Describe the two basic components of the CPU.
• What are the differences and similarities
between the three types of memory?
• Identify five expansion cards and describe the
function of each.
• Identify and describe four standard ports and
four specialized ports.

6-32 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.