Chapter 6

The System Unit

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

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.

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System Unit

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 System Unit Types
• Desktop System Units

• Notebook System Units

• Tablet PC System Units

• Handheld Computer

System Units

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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

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Binary 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

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 System Board
• Connects all components
• Allows communication between devices
• Main board or motherboard
• Circuit board
electronic components
– Sockets
– Slots
– Bus lines

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Microprocessor
• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• Two Basic Components
– Control unit
– Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)

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Microprocessor Chips
• Chip capacities are expressed in word sizes
• Two Recent Significant Developments
– 64-bit processors
• Becoming more commonplace
• Windows XP Professional X64 Edition
– Dual-Core Chips
• Can provide two separate and independent CPUs
• Parallel processing

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 New Chips
• Apple’s new chip from Intel Core
Technology
– The Intel Core 2 Duo is actually two
processors (cores) engineered onto a
single chip http://www.apple.com/intel/
• Intel announced multi-core chips available with 6
microprocessors on 9/13 http://afp.google.com/
article/ALeqM5ic7yenB9Jvd8KRmQHk6lRIL63pdQ
• New chip from Intel : code-named
Larrabee, will be available in late 2009
or early 2010. (may have 16-48 cores!)
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Specialty Processors
• Coprocessors
– Designed to improve specific computing operations
– Graphics coprocessors

• Smart cards
– Credit card sized with an embedded chip
– Used by many universities

• RFID tags
– Information chips
– Used for tracking purposes

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Memory
• Holding area for data, instructions, and
information
• Memory is contained on chips connected to
the system board
• Types of memory chips
– RAM
– ROM
– CMOS

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 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

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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

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CMOS
• Complementary metal-oxides semiconductor
(CMOS) chips provide flexibility for a
computer system
• Contains essential information every time
the computer is turned on
– Date and time
– Amount of RAM
– Type of keyboard
• Content can be changed to reflect changes
in the computer system

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 System Clock
• Important measurement indicating speed
– Located on a small chip
– Produces electrical beats
• Synchronizes operations
• Expressed in gigahertz (GHz)
(billions of beats per second)
• Faster clock speed, faster computer

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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

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Commonly Used Expansion

Cards
• Graphics cards
• Sound cards
• Modem cards
• Network interface cards (NIC)
• PC cards (PCMCIA cards)
• TV tuner cards

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 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

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Plug and Play

• Set of hardware and software standards
developed by Intel, Microsoft, and others

• Creating devices that are able to configure

themselves when installed

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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 (also known
as external bus

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 Expansion Buses
• Connects the CPU to other components on
the system board, including expansion slots
• Principal types
– Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)
– Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
– Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
– Universal serial bus (USB)
– FireWire buses (HPSB)

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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
• Two Types
– Standard Ports Ports

– Specialized Ports

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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

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 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

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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 $13.00 to $22.00

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A Look to the Future

Xybernaut Corporation
• Wearable
computers
• Send and receive
email
• Maintain your
personal schedule
book
• Play interactive
games and surf the
Web from anywhere
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 New and Cool

• Diamonds offer cool computer solution

– http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/
2008/06/20/2278896.htm
• Tiny wind engines cool computers
– ionic wind that blows over chips
– http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/
6946042.stm
•

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