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Chapter 3

Hardware
Computer Architecture & Von Neumann Architecture
●​ The central processing unit (CPU) (also known as a microprocessor or

processor) is central to all modern computer systems

The CPU consists of the following architecture:

●​ Processor: The processor contains the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

●​ Control Unit: The control unit controls the operation of the memory,

processor and input/output devices

●​ Arithmetic Logic Unit: Carries out the logic system like calculations

●​ System Clock: The system clock is used to produce timing signals on the

control bus

Busses: Carry data through components. The following are its types.

●​ Address bus – unidirectional

●​ Data Bus – bi-directional

●​ Control Bus – bi-directional

Immediate Access Store: Stores the instructions that are to be processed, which

are fetched by the CPU

●​ The following registers also exist in the architecture:

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REGISTER ABBREVIATION DEFINITION

CIR Current instruction Stores the instruction the CPU

register is currently decoding or

executing

MAR Memory address Stores the Address of the

register instruction, copy it, and sends it

to MDR

MDR Memory data Stores the Data from the

register address received from the MAR

and sends data to CIR

PC Program counter Stores the address of the next

instruction to be fetched from

memory

ACC Accumulator During calculations, data is

temporarily held in it
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Source: Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Computer Science - Second Edition (Hodder Education)

The Fetch-Execute Cycle

1.​ PC contains the address of the next instruction to be fetched

2.​ This address is copied to the MAR via the address bus

3.​ The instruction of the address is copied into the MDR temporarily

4.​ The instruction in the MDR is then placed in the CIR

5.​ The value in the PC is incremented by 1, pointing to the next instruction to be

fetched

6.​ The instruction is finally decoded and then executed

Stored Program Concept

●​ Instructions are stored in the main memory

●​ Instructions are fetched, decoded and executed by the processor

●​ Programs can be moved to and from the main memory

Memory Concept

●​ A computer’s memory is divided into partitions: Each partition consists of an

address and its contents, e.g.

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MEMORY LOCATION CONTENT

10101010 01010110

Instruction Set:

An instruction set is a list of all the commands that a CPU can process, and the

commands are machine code

Cores, Cache and Internal Clock

System’s Clock

The clock defines the clock cycle that synchronises all computer operations. By

increasing the clock speed, the computer's processing speed also increases.

This doesn’t mean that the computer's performance is increased, however.

Overclocking

Using a clock speed higher than the computer was designed for.

It leads to multiple issues.

●​ Operations become unsynchronised - (the computer would frequently crash

and become unstable)

●​ can lead to serious overheating of the CPU

Length of Data Buses

The wider the data buses, the better the performance of the computer

Cache
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Cache memory is located within the CPU itself

-- allows faster access to the CPU

-- stores frequently used instructions and data that need to be accessed faster, which

improves CPU performance

The larger the cache memory size, the better the CPU performance

Cores

The more cores in the CPU, the better and faster the performance

●​ But if any number of cores are used, it could possibly slow down the system

performance as the communication between each core increases, and so do

the data cables between each. Which in turn reduces the potential system

performance.

●​ You might have heard about quad and dual cores, not septa or octa cores.

Input Devices
Two-dimensional Scanners:

●​ Used to input hard-copy documents

●​ The image is converted into an electronic form which can be stored in the

computer

○​ Document is placed on a glass panel

○​ A bright light illuminates the document

○​ A scan head moves across the document until the whole page is

scanned. And image of the document is produced and sent to a lens

using a series of mirrors

○​ The lens focuses the document image

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○​ The focused image now falls onto a charge couple device (CCD) which

consists of a numbers of integrated circuits

○​ Software produces a digital image from the electronic form

●​ Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a software which converts scanned

documents into a text file format

●​ If the original document was a photo/image, then the scanned image forms an

image file such as JPEG

Three-dimensional Scanners

●​ 3D scanners can scan solid objects and produce a three-dimensional image

●​ Scanners take images at several points, x, y and z (lasers, magnetic, white

light)

●​ The scanned images can be used in Computer Aided Design (CAD) or to a

3D printer to produce a working model

Application of 2D Scanners at an Airport:

●​ Make use of (OCR) to produce digital images which represent the passport

pages

●​ Text can be stored in ASCII format

●​ The 2D photograph in the passport is also scanned and stored as jpeg image

●​ The passenger’s face is also photographed using a digital camera and

compared using face recognition software

●​ Key parts of the face are compared (distance between eyes, width of nose)

Barcode readers/scanners

●​ A barcode is a series of dark and light parallel lines of varying thicknesses

●​ The numbers 0 -9 are each represented by a unique series of lines

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●​ The left and right hand sides of the barcode are separate using guard bars

●​ Allows barcode to be scanned in any direction

○​ Barcode is read by a red laser or red LED

○​ Light is reflected back off the barcode; dark areas reflect little light

which allows the bars to be read

○​ Reflected light is read by sensors (photoelectric cells)

○​ The pattern is generated, which is converted to digital

Quick Response (QR) Codes

●​ Another type of barcode is the QR codes

●​ Made up of a matrix of filled-in dark squares on a light background

●​ Can hold more storage (7000 digits)

●​ Advantages of QR codes:

○​ No need for the user to write down the website address

○​ QR codes can store website addresses

Digital Cameras

●​ It is controlled by a microprocessor that adjusts the shutter speed, focuses the

image, etc.

●​ Photo is captured when light passes through the lens onto a light sensitive cell

●​ The cell is made up of pixels

●​ The number of pixels determines the size of the file

Keyboards

●​ Connected to a computer with a USB connection or by wireless connection

●​ Each character has an ASCII value and is converted into a digital signal

●​ Slow method
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●​ Prone to errors

Pointing devices

●​ Mouse/trackball

○​ Traditional; mechanical ball, connected by USB port

●​ Modern type; red LEDs to detect movement

Microphones

●​ Used to input sound to a computer

●​ When a microphone picks up sound, a diaphragm vibrates, producing an

electric signal

●​ The signal goes to a sound card and is converted into digital values and

stored in a computer

●​ Voice recognition, voice is detected and converted into digital

Touchscreens

●​ Capacitive (medium cost tech)

○​ Made up of many layers of glass

○​ Creating electric fields between glass plates in layers

○​ When the top layer of glass is touched, electric current changes

○​ Co-ordinates where the screen was touched are determined by an

on-board microprocessor

●​ Infra-red heat (expensive)

○​ Use glass as the screen material

○​ Needs a warm object to carry an input operation

●​ Infra-red optical (expensive)

○​ Uses glass as screen material

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○​ Uses an array of sensors (grid form)

○​ Point of contact is based on which grid co-ordinate is touched

●​ Resistive (inexpensive)

○​ The upper layer of polyester, the bottom layer of glass

○​ When the top polyester is touched, the top layer and bottom layer

complete a circuit

○​ Signals are then sent out, which are interpreted by a microprocessor,

determine where the screen was touched

Sensors

●​ Devices that read or measure physical properties

●​ Data needs to be converted to digital

●​ Analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) converts physical values into digital

●​ Sensors and their purposes:

○​ Acoustic - These sensors act like a microphone that converts sound to

electric pulses.

○​ Accelerometer - These sensors measure an object's acceleration or

deceleration and motion.

○​ Flow - This sensor measures the flow of liquid or gas.

○​ Gas - These sensors measure the amount/level of any gas in the

environment.

○​ Humidity - This sensor measures the water vapour in the air or any

sample.
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○​ Infra-red (active) - This IR sensor uses an invisible infrared beam.

When the beam is broken/disturbed, it changes the amount of infrared

light reaching the detector.

○​ Infra-red (passive) - These sensors detect the heat emitted by any type

of object.

○​ Level - This sensor detects the solids, liquids, or gas level.

○​ Light - These devices use light-sensitive cells that generate electric

current based on light brightness.

○​ Magnetic field - This sensor detects the change in magnetic field.

○​ Moisture - This type of sensor detects the water content wherever this

sensor has been installed.

○​ pH - This measures the acidity or alkalinity.

○​ Pressure - This sensor measures the pressure applied

○​ Proximity - This sensor detects the nearby objects around the sensor

○​ Temperature - These sensors measure the temperature of the

environment.

●​ (Note: You do not need to know the working principle of the sensor. But have

an idea of their purposes.)

Control of Street Lighting­­

●​ The light sensor sends data to the ADC

●​ Digitised data and sends it to the microprocessor

●​ Microprocessor samples data every minute

●​ If data from sensor < value stored in memory:

○​ Signal sent from microprocessor to street lamp

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○​ Lamp switched on

Output Devices
Inkjet Printers

●​ Used to print one-off pictures and documents

1.​ Data from the document sent to the printer driver

2.​ The printer driver ensures data is in the correct format

3.​ Check made by printer driver that the chosen printer is available

4.​ Data is sent to printer, and stored in a temporary memory (printer buffer)

5.​ A sheet of paper is fed; the sensor detects if the paper is available in the

paper tray

6.​ The print head moves across paper printing text/image, four ink colours

sprayed in the exact amount

7.​ Paper is advanced, so next line is printed

8.​ Repeated until the buffer is empty

9.​ Once it is done, the printer sends an interrupt to the processor (request for

more data to be sent)

Laser Printers

●​ Used to print flyers, high quality

●​ Use dry powder ink (toner) and static electricity to produce text and images

●​ Prints the whole page in one go

1.​ (steps 1-4 same as inkjet)

2.​ Printing drum is given a positive charge; as the drum rotates, the laser beam

is scanned across it, removing the positive charge leaves negatively charged

areas which match the text/image

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3.​ The drum is then coated with positively charged toner; it only sticks to

negatively charged parts of the drum

4.​ A negatively charged sheet is rolled over the drum

5.​ The toner on the drum now sticks to the paper to produce a copy of the page

6.​ Paper finally goes through a fuser (set of heated rollers); heat melts the ink so

it is permanent

7.​ The discharge lamp removes all electric charge from the drum, ready to print

next page

3D Printers

●​ Used for models of cars

●​ Produce solid objects that work

●​ Built up layer by layer, using powdered resin, ceramic powder

●​ A design is made using Computer-aided Design (CAD)

2D and 3D Cutters

●​ 3D cutters can recognise objects in x, y, z direction

●​ 3D laser cutters can cut; glass, crystal, metal, wood

Actuators

●​ The actuators convert electrical signals to mechanical processes.

●​ Used in many control applications involving sensors and devices (ADC and

DAC)

Loudspeakers/Headphones

●​ Sound is produced by passing the digital data through a DAC then through an

amplifier and then emerges from the loudspeaker

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●​ Produced by voltage differences vibrating a cone in the speaker at different

frequencies

LCD and LED Monitors

●​ The front layer of the monitor is made up of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD),

these tiny diodes are grouped together in threes as pixels (LCD doesn’t emit

any light)

●​ LCD monitors are backlit using Light Emitting Diode (LED) because:

○​ LEDs reach their maximum brightness immediately

○​ LEDs sharpens image (higher resolution), and CCFL has a yellow tint

○​ LEDs improve the colour image

○​ Monitors using LED are much thinner than CCFL

○​ LEDs consume very little power

●​ Before LEDs, LCD monitors were backlit using CCFL

●​ CCFL uses two fluorescent tubes behind the LCD screen, which supplies the

light source

Light Projectors:

●​ Two common types of light projectors:

○​ Digital Light Projector (DLP)

○​ LCD Projector

●​ Projectors are used to project computer output onto larger screens/interactive

whiteboards

Digital Light Projectors (DLP)

●​ Uses millions of micromirrors

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●​ the number of micromirrors and the way they are arranged on the DLP chip

determines the resolution of the image

●​ When the micromirrors tilt towards the light source they are on

●​ When the micromirrors tilt away from the light source, they are off

●​ This creates a light or dark pixel on the projection screen

●​ A bright white light source passes through a colour filter on its way to the DLP

chip

●​ White light splits into primary colours

LCD Projectors

●​ Older technology than DLP

●​ A powerful beam of white light is generated from a bulb

●​ This beam of light is then sent to a group of chromatic-coated mirrors; these

reflect the light back at different wavelengths

●​ When the white light hits the mirrors, the reflected light has wavelengths

corresponding to red, green, and blue

●​ These three different lights pass through three LCD screens; these screens

show the image to be projected as millions of pixels in grayscale

●​ When the coloured light passes through the LCD screens, a red, green and

blue version of the grey image emerges

●​ Finally, the image passes through the projector lens onto the screen
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Memory, Storage Devices & Media

Primary vs. Secondary Storage

●​ The CPU directly accesses primary storage

●​ The CPU does not directly access secondary storage

●​ RAM, ROM, and cache memory are some examples

●​ HDD, SSD, DVD, memory stick, and Blu-ray disc are some examples

Primary Memory:

Random Access Memory (RAM)

●​ RAM is used by a system when it needs to store and access data immediately

that is actively being used or processed by the user.

●​ Features of RAM

○​ Volatile/temporary memory (contents lost if RAM is turned off)

○​ Used to store; data, files

○​ It can be written to or read from, and the contents of the memory can

be changed

●​ The larger the size of the RAM, the faster the computer will operate

●​ RAM never runs out of memory and continues to run slow

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●​ As RAM becomes full, the processor has to access the continually hard drive

to overwrite old data on RAM with new data

●​ RAM is of two types:

DRAM (Dynamic RAM) and SRAM (Static RAM)

Virtual memory

●​ When RAM runs out of memory, there is a problem with memory

management; thus, the system has a high chance of crashing. This is why

virtual memory comes into the picture.

●​ The virtual memory can be either HDD or SSD (these storages are discussed

below)

●​ You may be expected to draw a diagram like the above.

●​ The main advantages of virtual memory are

○​ They can be larger than the physical memory provided in the RAM.
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○​ Avoids the need to install/upgrade RAM, as it could be expensive

○​ The system wastes no storage on unwanted/unused data.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

●​ Features of ROM

○​ Non-volatile/permanent memories (contents remain even when ROM is

turned off)

○​ Used to store start-up instructions (basic input/output systems)

○​ Data/contents of a ROM chip can only be read and cannot be changed

Secondary Storage:

Hard Disk Drives (HDD)

●​ Data is stored in a digital format on the magnetic surface of the disks (platter)

●​ A number of read/write heads can access all of the surfaces of the disk

●​ Each platter will have two surfaces which can be used to store the data

●​ Data is stored on the surfaces in sectors and tracks

●​ HDD has very slow data access compared to RAM

Solid-State Drive (SSD)

●​ There are no moving parts, and all data is received at the same time (not like

HDD)

●​ Store data by controlling the movement of electrons within NAND chips, as 1s

and 0s

●​ Non-volatile rewritable memory

●​ Benefits of using SSD rather than HDD:

○​ More reliable (no moving parts)

○​ Considerably lighter (suitable for laptops)

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○​ Lower power consumption

○​ Run much cooler than HDDs

○​ Very thin

○​ Data access is faster than HDD

●​ Drawback – questionable longevity (20GB per day)

Off-Line Storage:

CD/DVD Disks

●​ Laser (red) light is used to read and write data on the surface of the disk.

●​ Use a thin layer of metal alloy to store data.

●​ Both systems use a single spiral track that runs from the centre of the disk to

the edge

●​ DVD uses Dual-Layering, which increases the storage capacity (two individual

recording layers)

Blu-ray Disks

●​ Uses a blue laser to carry out read-and-write operations

●​ The wavelength of laser light is less than CD and DVD (stores up to five times

more data than DVD)

●​ Automatically come with secure encryption (prevent piracy and copyright

infringement)

●​ Used as backup systems

USB Flash Memories

●​ Very small, lightweight, and suitable for transferring files

●​ Small back-up devices for photo, music

●​ Solid state, so needs to be treated with care

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Cloud Storage:

●​ Cloud storage is a method of data storage where data is stored on remote

servers

●​ The same data is stored on more than one server in case of maintenance or

repair, allowing clients to access data at any time. This is known as data

redundancy.

●​ The following are its types:​

» Public cloud – this is a storage environment where the customer/client and

cloud storage provider are different companies​

» Private cloud – this is storage provided by a dedicated environment behind

a company firewall; customer/client and cloud storage provider are integrated

and operate as a single entity​

» Hybrid cloud – this is a combination of the two above environments; some

data resides in the private cloud, and less sensitive/less commercial data can

be accessed from a public cloud storage provider

Embedded Systems
●​ Combination of Hardware and Software which is designed to carry out a

specific set of tasks.

●​ Embedded systems may contain -

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○​ Microcontrollers - CPU, RAM, ROM and other peripherals on one

single chip

○​ Microprocessor - Integrated circuit with CPU only

○​ System on Chips (SoC) - microprocessor with I/O ports, storage and

memory

●​ Process of Embedded Devices -

○​ Input from the user is sent to the microprocessor (ADC needed if the

data is analogue)

○​ Data from the user interface is also sent to the microprocessor

○​ Microprocessor then sends signals to actuators which is the output

●​ Non-programmable devices need to be replaced if they need a software

update.

●​ Programmable devices have two methods of updating -

○​ Connecting the device to a computer and downloading the update

○​ Updating automatically via a satellite, cellular or Wi-Fi link

< centre>Advantages and Disadvantages of using embedded systems

Advantages Disadvantages

Small in size, therefore can Can be difficult to upgrade

easily fit into devices

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Low cost to make The interface can be confusing

sometimes

Requires very little power Troubleshooting is a specialist’s job

Very fast reaction to Often thrown away as difficult to

changing input upgrade and faults are harder to find

Dedicated to one task only Increased garbage as they are thrown

away

Can be controlled remotely Any computerised system is prone to

attacks

●​ Applications of Embedded devices -

○​ GPS systems

○​ Security Systems

○​ Vending Machines

○​ Washing Machines

○​ Oven

○​ Microwave
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Network Hardware
Network Interface Card (NIC)

A network interface card (NIC) is needed to allow a device to connect to a network

(such as the internet).

Media Access Control (MAC)

A MAC address comprises 48 bits which are shown as six groups of hexadecimal

digits. The first six display the manufacturer’s code, and the second half shows the

device serial number.

●​ These do not change and are primarily constant for every device

●​ there are two types of MAC addresses: the Universally Administered MAC

Address (UAA) and the Locally Administered MAC Address (LAA)

The only difference between the two types are that UAA is made Universally and

cannot be changed, but it is the opposite for LAA.

IP Addresses

●​ IP address allocation:

○​ The network allocates IP addresses.

○​ Two types of IP addresses: static and dynamic.

●​ Static IP addresses:

○​ Assigned manually to a device.

○​ Does not change over time.

●​ Dynamic IP addresses:

○​ Assigned automatically by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration

Protocol) server.
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○​ Changes periodically or when the device connects to a different

network.

●​ IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4):

○​ Widely used protocol.

○​ Consists of four groups of decimal numbers separated by dots (e.g.,

192.168.0.1).

○​ Provides approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses.

●​ IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6):

○​ Developed to address the limitations of IPv4.

○​ Uses eight groups of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons (e.g.,

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).

○​ Provides an extremely large number of unique addresses

(approximately 340 undecillion).

●​ Differences between IPv4 and IPv6:

○​ Address format: IPv4 uses a 32-bit address, while IPv6 uses a 128-bit

address.

○​ Address space: IPv4 provides approximately 4.3 billion addresses,

whereas IPv6 offers around 340 undecillion addresses.

○​ Address allocation: IPv4 addresses are allocated using DHCP or

manually, while IPv6 addresses are primarily assigned using stateless

autoconfiguration.

Routers

●​ Router functionality:
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○​ A router is a networking device that directs data packets between

different networks.

○​ It determines the most efficient path for data transmission.

●​ Sending data to a specific destination on a network:

○​ A router examines the destination IP address of incoming data packets.

○​ It uses routing tables to determine the next hop or the next router on

the path to the destination.

○​ The router forwards the data packet to the appropriate next hop.

●​ Router's role in IP address assignment:

○​ A router can act as a DHCP server (Dynamic Host Configuration

Protocol) and assign IP addresses to devices on a local network.

○​ It dynamically allocates IP addresses from a predefined range to

connected devices.

○​ DHCP allows for automatic IP address configuration and simplifies

network management.

●​ Connecting a local network to the Internet:

○​ A router serves as the gateway between a local network and the

internet.

○​ It connects the local network to an internet service provider (ISP)

network.

○​ The router receives data packets from devices on the local network

and forwards them to the internet.

○​ It also receives incoming data packets from the internet and routes

them to the appropriate devices on the local network.