CO M P UTER HA R DWARE

FUNDAMENTALS
IT 102
 ABOUT
T h is c ou r se is design ed to pr ovide th e
students with the knowledge a n d skills in
c ompu ter h a r dwa r e, ma in ten a n c e a n d
tr ou blesh ootin g.

•T h is c ou r se pr ovides a deeper
under sta nding of the per son a l c ompu t er
(PC) system a n d its per iph er a l devic es,
or ga n iza tion , a n d per f or ma n c e image from pexels.com

•T h is c ou r se a lso pr ovides stu den ts with

ba sic ma in ten a n c e a n d
tr oubleshootingknow - how.
 PC
PC PA RT S & T OOLS
CHAPTER 1
TOOLS
 Tools
PHILLIPS S CREW DRIVER
sc r ewdr iver , tool, u su a lly h a n d - oper a ted, f or
tu r n in g sc r ews with slotted h ea ds.

FLAT HEAD S CREW DRIVER

a sc r ewdr iver f ea tu r in g a sin gle f la t bla de th a t is
designed to be used with a sc r ew t h a t h a s a
str a igh t slot a c r oss its top c ompa r e ph illips
sc r ewdr iver .
 Tools
B RUS H
a n implemen t with a h a n dle, c on sistin g of
br istles , h a ir , or wir e set in to a bloc k, u sed f or
c lea ning or sc r ubbing
ANT I -S T AT IC W RIS T B AND
a r e design ed to sa f ely gr ou n d oper a tor s wor kin g
with ESD sensitive c ompon en t s, pr even t in g a
bu ild - u p of sta tic elec tr ic ity. A n tista t' s r a n ge of
wr istba n ds a r e design ed to be wor n c lose to th e
skin esta blishing a pa th to gr ou n d.
CHAPTER 2
PC PARTS
 PC Parts
CHAS S IS ( O LD)

T h e c h a ssis h ou ses th e ma in elec tr on ic

c omponents, inc luding the mot h er boa r d (wit h
pla c es to in ser t or r epla c e mic r oc h ips f or th e
ma in a n d possibly spec ia lized pr oc essor s a n d
r a ndom a c c ess memor y ( RA M ) a n d pla c es f or
a ddin g option a l a da pter s (f or ex a mple, f or a u dio
or video c a pa bilities).
 PC Parts
CHAS S IS ( LAT ES T )

T h ese PC c h a ssis design s h a ve been design ed by

Fr a c ta l Design a s a lineup of c ompu t in g
equ ipmen t th a t wou ld pr ovide u ser s with a wa y
to eleva te th e a esth etic of th eir spa c e with ou t
losing sight of essentia l f un c t ion a lit ies.

T h e c h a ssis c ome in th e f or m of th e T or r en t
N a n o a n d th e T or r en t Compa c t, wh ic h a r e both
c a pa ble of ma x imizin g a ir f low to keep
c omponents a t the optima l t emper a t u r e in side
wa s r elea se on FE BUA RY . 13, 2022.
 PC Parts
PC PO RT S ( O LD)
Por ts c a n en a ble power c on n ec tion , th e c h a r gin g
of a c c essor ies f or per ipher a l wor k, E t h er n et
c on n ec tion s, ex ter n a l stor a ge of doc u men ts or
pr ojec ts, pr ojec tion of a u dio or visu a l media a n d
wir ed c on n ec tion to per iph er a l devic es, su c h a s
pr in ter s or sc a n n er s.
 PC Parts
PC PO RT S ( LAT ES T )
This is the new PC ports, a s you ca n see in the
ima g e. In contra st to the pre v ious one , which
l a cked a n HDMI port for device visua l iz a tion, the
new ports ha ve numerous ports tha t ma y be
pl ug g ed in.

This port includes 19 - pins a nd HDMI 2.0 is the

l a test version, used to ca rry dig ita l video sig na l up
to 4096 ×2160 resol ution & 32 a udio cha nnel s
 PC Parts
MO T HERB O ARD ( O LD)

T h e moth er boa r d is th e ba c kbon e th a t ties th e

c omputer ' s c omponents toget h er a t on e spot a n d
a llows th em to ta lk to ea c h oth er . With ou t it,
n on e of th e c ompu ter piec es, su c h a s th e CPU,
G PU, or ha r d dr ive, c ould in t er a c t . T ot a l
moth er boa r d f u n c tion a lity is n ec essa r y f or a
c ompu ter to wor k well.
 PC Parts
MO T HERB O ARD ( LAT ES T )

The motherboa rd is in a new era ; it is strong er a nd

more powerful tha n the prev ious one , a nd it ha s
more specia l cha ra cteristics tha n the previous one.
a dditiona l l y, it conta ins modern fea tures.
Wh a t is th e n ewest moth er boa r d f r om In tel?

Utilize the per f or ma nc e enh a n c emen t s of t h e

13th G en In tel Cor e pr oc essor with
moth er boa r ds th a t u se th e In tel 600 c h ipset th a t
wer e r elea sed in N ovember . 2022.
 PC Parts
PRO CES S O R

T h e pr oc essor , a lso known a s t h e CPU, pr ovides

th e in str u c tion s a n d pr oc essin g power th e
c ompu ter n eeds to do its wor k. T h e mor e
power f ul a nd upda ted your pr oc essor , t h e f a st er
you r c ompu ter c a n c omplete its ta sks. By gettin g
a mor e power f u l pr oc essor , you c a n h elp you r
c ompu ter th in k a n d wor k f a ster .
 PC Parts
PRO CES S O R ( LAT ES T )

T h is is the Intel Cor e i9 X - ser ies, on e of t h e

la test h igh - en d lin e of pr oc essor s f or desktop
c ompu ter s kn own f or its h igh c or e a n d th r ea d
c ou n ts, h igh c loc k speeds, la r ge c a c h e, a n d f a st
memor y su ppor t. It pr ovides power f u l
per f or ma nc e f or ta sks suc h a s video edit in g,
Over a ll, it is c on sider ed on e of th e most
a dva n c ed a n d power f u l pr oc essor s on th e
ma r ket. T hey wer e intr oduc ed in Ma y 2017 f or
LG A 2066 c h ips, a lso kn own a s In tel Cor e X -
ser ies pr oc essor s.
 PC Parts
CPU FAN & HEAT S INK

T h e CPU f a n a nd hea tsink a r e c ompon en t s t h a t

c ool th e CPU, by blowin g a ir over th e h ea tsin k,
wh ic h dissipa tes h ea t a wa y f r om th e CPU. It
helps the CPU to oper a te c or r ec t ly by pr even t in g
over h ea tin g.
 PC Parts
CPU FAN ( LAT ES T )

T h is is la test CPU f a n a nd h ea t sin k, design ed t o

pr ovide su per ior c oolin g per f or ma n c e, impr oved
h ea t tr a n sf er a n d lower temper a tu r e f or you r
CPU. Upgr a de to our new design f or opt ima l
c oolin g a n d per f or ma n c e.
Cooler Ma ster Hyper 212 Bl a ck E dition for a ir
cool ing . It's incredibl y a fforda bl e compa red to
other cool ers, especia l l y A IO l iquid sol utions.
Performa nce - wise, this thing is ca pa bl e of ha ndl ing
even the more powerful Intel a nd A MD processors
wa s rel ea se on Februa ry 2022
 PC Parts
G RAPHICS PRO CES S ING UNIT ( G PU)
T h e G eFor c e RT X ™ 3090 T i a n d 3090 a r e big
f er oc iou s G PUs (BFG PUs) with T IT A N c la ss
per f or ma n c e. Power ed by A mper e —N V IDIA ' s 2n d
gen RT X a r c hitec tur e —they dou ble down on r a y
tr a c in g a n d A I per f or ma n c e with en h a n c ed Ra y
T r a c in g Cor es, T en sor Cor es, a n d n ew str ea min g
multipr oc essor s.
Nvidia officia l l y rel ea sed the GeForce R TX 3080
12GB g ra phics ca rd on Ja nua ry 11, 2022 a nd the
desktop GeForce R TX 3050 g ra phics ca rd on image from pexels.com by Nana Dua

Ja nua ry 27, 2022.

 PC Parts
HARD DIS K DRIVE ( HDD)
T h e h a r d dr ive is wh er e a ll you r per ma n en t
c omputer da ta is stor ed. Wh en ever you sa ve a
f ile, ph oto, or sof twa r e to you r c ompu ter , it' s
stor ed in you r h a r d dr ive. Most h a r d dr ives h a ve
stor a ge spa c e
 PC Parts
S O LID S T AT E DRIVE ( S S D)
The Sa msung SSD 970 PR O NV Me M.2 series
drives were relea sed in Ma y 2022 a nd come with
more ca pa city a nd a re more efficient to util iz e,
a l l owing you to ex perience more spa ce from your
computer.
 PC Parts
PARALLEL AT A ( PARALLEL ADVANCED
T ECHNO LO G Y AT T ACHMENT O R PAT A)
T h is is a sta n da r d f or c on n ec tin g h a r d dr ives in to
c ompu ter systems bef or e it wa s r epla c ed by
SA T A whic h of f er s f a ster da t a t r a n sf er speeds
a n d mor e ef f ic ien t c a ble c on n ec tion s.
 PC Parts
S ERIAL ADVANCED T ECHNO LO G Y AT T ACHMENT
CAB LE ( S AT A CAB LE)
A r e u sed to c on n ec t stor a ge devic es to you r
c ompu ter ' s moth er boa r d (" mobo" ) or SA T A
c ontr oller .
 PC Parts
PO W ER S UPPLY UNIT ( PS U)

Power supply unit is used f or pr ovidin g st a ble

elec tr ic ity. T h e devic e c on ver ts a n d su pplies
elec tr ic ity of th e r equ ir ed volta ge a n d f r equ en c y,
ex c lu din g n oise f r om th e elec tr ic ity obta in ed
f r om a n elec tr ic a l ou tlet. Power su pplies a r e
c la ssif ied by a pplic a tions f or a va ila ble DC, A C,
a n d ou tpu t volta ge r a n ges.
 PC Parts
PO W ER S UPPLY UNIT ( PS U) LAT ES T

T h e CORSA IR A X1600i is th e u lt ima t e digit a l

A T X power su pply, bu ilt u sin g on ly th e best
c ompon en ts a n d sta te - of - th e - a rt ga lliu m n itr ide
tr a n sistor s to deliver mor e th a n 94% ef f ic ien c y
wa s r elea se on Ja n u a r y 2021.
 PC Parts
RANDO M ACCES S MEMO RY ( RAM)
RA M is u sed f or immedia te da ta stor a ge a n d
r etr ieva l. Y ou r RA M c a n pr oc ess in f or ma tion
sign if ic a n t ly f a ster th a n da ta on a h a r d disk —
twenty to a hundr ed times f a st er , depen din g on
th e spec if ic h a r dwa r e a n d ta sk.
 PC Parts
RANDO M ACCES S MEMO RY ( RAM) LAT ES T
The FU R Y DDR 4 R GB memory ra ng e is now
a va ila ble with speeds of up to 3466MHz , a s 8GB
a nd 16GB sing l e modul es a nd in kits of two a nd
four with 16GB, 32GB a nd 64GB ca pa citie s.wa s
rel ea se on Ja nua ry 2019
DISSASSEMBLE AND ASSEMBLE
CPU PA RT S

image from pexels.com

 image from pexels.com by 洋榤 郭

4 S T EPS IN DIS AS S EMB LING O F CPU PART S

Ma ecena s velit lig ula , a liqua m e u tincidunt ut,
euismod sed mi.

5 S T EPS IN AS S EMB LY O F CPU PART S

C ra s va rius quis purus non fermentum. Nul l a m
ia cul is eros a rcu, in viverra ex consequa t ut.
 1
DISASSEMBLE
 STEP 1
W EAR ANT I -S T AT IC W RIS T S T RAP
It is importa nt to wea r sa fety equipment when
ha ndl ing el ectronics to prevent a ny injury.
 STEP 2
UNPLUG G ING PO W ER S UPPLY PO RT S
We remove the powersuppl y by first unpl ug g ing the
connectors from the boa rd.
 STEP 3
REMO VING PO W ER S UPPLY
We ca n then sa fel y remove the power suppl y since
it is no l ong er connected to a nything by just
unscrewing the screws.
 STEP 4
REMO VING HARD DIS K DRIVE
We must remove the SA TA C a bl e (red ca bl e in
picture) from the ports. The n we ca n sa fel y
unscrew the HDD from its driv e dock a nd re mov e
it.
 STEP 5
REMO VING RAM S T ICKS
We r emove r a m stic ks by ta kin g th e r a m c lips on
ea c h side a n d open th em both a t on c e, so th e
slot will be unloc ked. T hen we c a n ea sily r emove
 STEP 6
UNPLUG G ING PC B UT T O N, LED, PO RT CAB LES
We th en r emove th e c a bles c on n ec ted to th e
moth er boa r d f or th e USB por ts, power bu tton ,
r eset button, a nd dr ive LED.
 STEP 7
REMO VAL PREPARAT IO N FO R CPU FAN
We first remove the power ca bl e of the cpu fa n
connected to the motherboa rd shown in the
picture. Then we ta ke a fla t he a d scre wdriv e r a nd
unfa sten the l ocks of the cpu fa n by turning it
counter clockwise.
 STEP 8
REMO VE CPU FAN & HEAT S INK
Once we unfa sten the l ocks we ca n sa fel y l ift it up
with sl ig ht force on either side to remove the C PU
fa n.
 STEP 9
REMO VING CENT RAL PRO CES S ING UNIT ( CPU)
We then unl ock the dock tha t conta ins the
processor. Then we must ca reful l y remove the cpu
by only touching the sides.
 STEP 10
REMO VING MO T HERB O ARD
A fter removing a l l the previous components we ca n
now sa fel y remove the motherboa rd. You ca n now
unscrew a ll the screws a nd re mov e the
motherboa rd with both ha nds.
 2
ASSEMBLE
 STEP 1
PLACING O F MO T HERB O ARD

T h e mother boa r d will be th e f ir st c ompon en t t o

be in sta lled ba c k with two h a n ds a n d pla c ed on
its pr oper pla c emen ts a s we r emove th e f in a l
c ompon en t of th e CPU in th is a r ea .
 STEP 2
PLACING O F MO T HERB O ARD
In or der to tigh ten it pr oper ly, we sc r ew ba c k
th e moth er boa r d in to its r igh t position s a s we
a ssemble it.
 STEP 3
PLUG G ING O F PC B UT T O NS
T h er e a r e por ts c on ta in in g la bels th a t you c a n
pla c e on th eir c on n ec tor s in th is ju n c tion , su c h
POWE R SWIT CH , USB PORT , A UDIO PORT , a n d
LED LIG H T S PORT .
 STEP 4
PLACING O F PRO CES S O R

T o a void en er gy tr a n sf er f r om th e h u ma n body to
th e pr oc essor , a void tou c h in g th e c en tr e sec tion
of th e pr oc essor wh en settin g it down . In stea d,
sea r c h f or th e n otc h es to en su r e pr oper
positioning.
 STEP 5
INS T ALLING O F RAM S T ICKS

You must e x ercise ca ution when insta l l ing R A M

beca use there a re l ocks on both sides tha t must be
correctl y reinsta l l ed with both ha nds.
 STEP 6
INS T ALLING O F CPU FAN
Wh en in sta llin g th e CPU f a n , it mu st be
in ser ted in its c or r ec t pla c emen t, a n d th en
c onnec t CPU f a n power . T igh t en in g t h e
sc r ew c loc kwise.
 STEP 7
DO CKING AND INS T ALLING O F HARD DIS K DRIVE
Wh en in sta llin g a h a r d disk dr ive, th e
dr ive mu st be sc r ewed on f ir st. T h en
c onnec t the SA T A c a ble f r om t h e
moth er boa r d to th e h a r d disk dr ive SA T A
por t.
 STEP 8
INS T ALLING O F PO W ER S UPPLY
Wh en pla c in g th e power su pply, you mu st
f ir st tigh ten th e sc r ews a n d th en plu g th e
power c onnec tor into the mot h er boa r d
c on n ec tor .
 STEP 9
CO NNECT ING O F CPU FANS PO W ER S UPPLY
Fin a lly, c on n ec t th e CPU f a n power su pply
to its c on n ec tor , r epla c e th e c a se c over ,
a nd you' r e done.