Understanding Computers

Today and Tomorrow 12th Edition

 Hardware

• Hardware: The physical parts of a computer

– Internal hardware
• Located inside the main box (system unit) of
• the computer
– External hardware
• Located outside the system unit
• Connect to the computer via a wired or wireless
• connection
– There is hardware associated with all five
• computer operations
Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, 13th Edition
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 1.2 Hardware
Hardware
A Computer System consists of:
– Central Processing Unit (CPU)
– Main memory
– Secondary storage
– Input devices
– Output devices

Figure 1-2 Typical components

of a computer system

1-3
The Components of the system unit
The Components of the system unit

System Unit is a case that contains electronic components of

the computer used to process data.
❖ Made of metal or plastic to protects the internal
components from damage.
❖ All computers have a system unit. It is available in
variety of shapes & sizes.
 The Components of the system unit
System unit

System System
unit unit

System unit
System
unit
Handheld controller
The Components of the system unit
6
7
1

2
5 motherboard 3
4

4 4 4
The Components of the system unit
1. Processor interprets & carries out the basic instructions that
operate a computer.
2. Memory holds data waiting to be processed & instruction waiting
to be executed.
3. Processor & Memory are connected to a circuit board called the
motherboard.
4. Adapter cards (expansion slots): are circuit boards that
provide connections and functions not built into the motherboard.
5. Devices outside the system unit often attach to the ports.
6. A drive bay holds one or more disk drive.
7. The Power supply provide the computer with the electricity.
 The Components of the system unit

Motherboard , called system board.

❖It is a main circuit board of the system unit.
❖Many electronic components attach to the motherboard, others are
built into it. Ex: adapter cards, a processor chip and a memory
module.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Processor, called the central processing unit (CPU), Microprocessor.

 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Comparison of Personal computer Processors

The leading processor chip manufacturers for personal computers are
❖ Intel (used in PCs)
❖ AMD ( advanced Micro Devices) (used in PCs)
❖ Motorola ( used in Apple)
❖ Alpha (used in workstations and high-end servers)
 The CPU

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 Memory

Memory
❖ Memory consist of electronic components that store
instructions waiting to be executed by the processor, data
needed by those instructions, and the results of
processed data ( information).

❖ Memory usually consist of one or more chips on the

motherboard.
 Memory

Memory
Stores 3 basic categories of items:

1. The operations
2. Application programs
3. The data being processed by the application programs and
resulting information.
 Memory

Memory sizes
It’s the number of bytes the chip or devices has available for storage.

Approximate no. of Exact no. of

Term Abb. byte byte

Kilobyte KB or K 1000 1,024

Megabyte MB 1Million 1,048,576

Gigabyte GB 1Billion 1,073,741, 824

Terabyte TB 1 Trillion 1,099,511,627,776

Zetabytes ZB
 RAM (Main Memory)

RAM ( Random Access Memory ), Also Called main memory.

❖ consists of memory chips that can be read from and written to by

the processor and other devices.

❖ The content my changed.

Saving is a process of copying items from RAM to a storage device

such as a hard disk.
 RAM

RAM ( Random Access Memory )

❖RAM chips usually reside on a memory module, which is a small
circuit board.

❖Memory slots on the motherboard hold memory modules.

 ROM

ROM ( Read Only Memory)

❖ The data on most ROM chips cannot be modified.

❖ Manufacture of ROM chips often record data, instructions, or

information on the chip when they manufacture the chip.

❖ Computers almost always contain a small amount of read-only

memory that holds instructions for starting up the computer.
 Ports and Connectors

Ports and Connectors

Port is the point at which a peripheral attaches to or communicates
with a system unit so the peripheral can send data to or receive
information from the computer.
▪ the term jack sometimes is used to identify audio and video
ports.

▪ Port have a different types of connectors, A connectors joins a

cable to a peripheral.
 Ports and Connectors

Serial Ports is a type of interface that connects a device to the

system unit by transmitting data one bit at a time.
 Ports and Connectors

Parallel Ports is an interface that connects a device by transferring

more than one bit at a time.

❖ The printers using a parallel port.

 Ports and Connectors

USB Ports, Short for universal serial bus port.

❖ Can connect up to 127 different peripherals together with a single

connector.
❖ USB hub is a device that plugs in a USB port on the system &
contains multiple USB ports.
 Ports and Connectors

FireWire Ports Previously called an IEEE 1394 port.

❖ It is similar to a USB port in that it can connect multiple type of
device that require faster data transmission speeds to a single
connector, such as digital video camera, color printers, scanners,
.. etc.
❖ Allow you to connect up to 63 devices together.
❖ You can use a FireWire hub to attach multiple devices to a single
FireWire port.
❖ USB and FireWire are replacing all other types of port.
 Ports and Connectors

Special-Purpose Ports

These ports are not included in typical computers.

❖ MIDI Port
❖ SCSI Port
❖ IrDA Port
❖ Bluetooth Port
 Ports and Connectors

MIDI Port, short for musical instrument digital interface.

❖ Serial port
❖ Connect the system unit to keyboard.

SCSI Port
❖ A special high-speed parallel port.
❖ Allow you to attach SCSI peripherals such as disk driver and
printers.
Ports and Connectors
 Ports and Connectors

BUSES
a set of electronic signal pathways that allows information and signals to
travel between components inside or outside of a computer.

Buses transfer bits

❖ from input devices to memory.
❖ from the processor to memory, and from memory to the processor.
❖ from memory to output devices.
 Ports and Connectors
• Port: A connector on the exterior of a PC’s system unit
to which a device may be attached

– Serial – USB
– Parallel – FireWire
– Network – SCSI
– Keyboard/Mouse – MIDI
– Monitor (VGA, – IrDA
DVI, HDMI) – Game
– Modem/Phone – eSATA

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 Ports and
Connector
s

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 30

 Ports and
Connector
• Many desktop PCs comes
with a variety of ports on
the front of the system
unit for easy access
• A wired or wireless hub
can connect many
devices to a single USB
or FireWire port

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 Ports and
Connector
• Notebook computers
have ports similar to
s
desktop PCs, but often
not as many
• Handheld computers
and mobile devices
typically have less ports
– An SD slot is common
for both memory cards
and to connect
peripheral devices

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 32

 Power Supply

Power Supply
Is a component of the system unit that supply computer with power.
 Fans, Heat Sinks, and
Other Cooling Components
• Heat: A continuing problem for CPU and computer
manufacturers
• Fans: Used on most PCs
• Heat sinks: Small components typically made out of
aluminum with fins that help to dissipate heat
• Water cooling systems: Cool the PC with liquid-filed
tubes
• Other cooling methods (such as ion pump cooling
systems) are under development

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 34

 Fans, Heat Sinks, and
Other Cooling Components

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 35

 Computer Hardware

The CPU is usually protected

from Heat by a
Heatsink and Fan
Chapter 2
combination
Understanding Computers, 12th Edition
 Fan and Heat Sink

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition

 How the CPU
•
Works
CPU: Consists of a variety of circuitry and
components packaged together
– Transistor: Key element of the microprocessor
• Made of semi-conductor material that acts like a
switch controlling the flow of electrons inside a
chip
• Today’s CPUs contain hundreds of millions of
transistors; the number doubles about every 18
months (Moore’s Law)

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 Sidebar: How can I make my computer
fast?
• RAM (Random-access Memory)
• CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition

 Making Computers Faster and Better
Now and in the Future
• Improving performance today
– Add more memory
– Perform system maintenance
• Uninstall programs properly
• Consider placing large files on external storage
devices
• Delete temporary files
• Arrange files efficiently
• Scan for viruses and spyware
• Empty the Recycle Bin
– Buy a larger or second hard drive
– Upgrade your Internet connection
– Upgrade your video graphics card

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 Making Computers Faster and Better
Now and in the Future
• Strategies for faster and better computers
– Improved architecture: Smaller components, faster
bus speeds, multiple CPU cores, etc.
– Improved materials: New backing materials, flexible
circuits, etc.
– Pipelining: Allows multiple
– instructions to be processed
– at one time
– Multiprocessing and parallel
– processing: Use multiple
– processors to speed up processing

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 4

 Future Trends
• Nanotechnology: The science of creating tiny
computers and components less than 100 nanometers
in size
• Carbon nanotubes used in many products today
• Nanoparticles and nanocrystals
• In the future, components may be built by
working at the individual atomic and molecular
levels

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 •
Future Trends
Quantum computing: Applies the
principles of quantum physics and
quantum mechanics to computers
– Utilizes atoms or nuclei working
together as quantum bits
(qubits)
– Qubits function simultaneously
as the computer’s processor
and memory and can represent
more than two states
– Expected to be used for
specialized applications, such
as encryption and code
breaking

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Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 4
 •
Future Trends
Optical computer: Uses light, such as from laser
beams or infrared beams, to perform digital
computations
– Opto-electronic computers use both optical and
electronic components
• Silicon photonics: The process of making optical
devices using silicon manufacturing techniques
– Hybrid silicon laser
• Terascale computing: The ability to process one trillion
floating-point operations per second
– Expected to be needed for future applications
• 3D chips: Contain transistors that are layered to cut
Chapter 2 down onComputers,
Understanding the surface
12th Edition area required 4
 •
Summary
Data and Program Representation
• Inside the System Unit
• How the CPU Works
• Making Computers Faster and Better Now and In
the Future

Chapter 2 Understanding Computers, 12th Edition 4