Experiment 1-Familarization of Computer Hardware

i).AIM: Familiarization of CPU Box, Motherboard CPU and Chipset, Interface card, Card Slots, Hardsisk,
Cables, SMPS, NIC, Various ports, Computer peripherals-I/O Devices, storage devices, interface cards-Buses
and Firmware.

ii). Hardware Requirements: Cabinet, Hard Disk, CD/DVD Drive, Floppy Drive, Monitor, Mouse,
Keyboard, Mother Board, Socket 478, Processor, Heat Sink Fan, RAM Slots, PCI Slot, AGP Slots, CMOS
Battery, BIOS, North Bridge, South Bridge, IDE Slots, SMPS, ATX power Connector.

Software Requirements: Not Required

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER:

A computer is a programmable machine or computer is an electronic device which takes the input information
from the input device, process or executes the input in Processor or CPU and generates the output information
through output devices. Computer enables arithmetic computations, data processing, information
management (storage) and knowledge reasoning in an efficient manner.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF COMPUTER

Basically, the computer system has three major components. These are

1. Central Processing Unit (Processor)

2. Input and Output Unit.

3. Memory Unit (Main Memory and Auxiliary storage).

1. CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT:

The Central Processing Unit takes the input data from the input devices and processes it according to
the set of instructions. After that generate the output and sends the output to the output devices. The CPU is
composed three parts. These are
a) ALU:

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 Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU) is used to do the arithmetic operations on data by adding, subtracting,
dividing, multiplying and incrementing and decrementing. It is also used for Logical operations like AND,
OR, NOT and X-OR.
b) CU:
Control unit is mainly used for generating the electronic control & timing signals for program
execution. It controls all the operations of the computer.
c) Registers:
CPU also possesses the memory to hold the data temporarily during the execution of an instruction.
These are small memory locations in CPU.
2. INPUT AND OUTPUT UNIT:
INPUT DEVICE:
Input devices accept the data and instructions from the user. Ex: Mouse, Scanner, Keyboard, joysticks,
digital cameras, microphones, etc.… OUTPUT DEVICE:
Output devices return the processed data back to the user. Ex: Monitor, Printer, etc.…

3. MEMORY UNIT:
Memory is like an electronic scratch pad inside the computer. It is a storage unit to hold the data.
In the computer the data will be stored and retrieved in the form of bits and bytes. The byte will store
a single character such as a letter of the alphabet or a numeral.

a) 8 BITS = 1 BYTES
b) 1024 BYTES = 1 KB
c) 1024 KB = 1 MB
d) 1024 MB = 1 GB
e) 1024 GB = 1 TB.

The memory can be classified into two categories. These are

I. primary or main memory
II. Secondary or auxiliary memory
I. PRIMARY OR MAIN MEMORY:
Primary memory is the fastest memory in a computer. This memory is primarily (temporarily) used to store
the data and programs during the execution of a program.

Primary memory is classified into two categories called

a) Random Access Memory (RAM)
b) Read Only Memory (ROM)\
II. SECONDARY OR AUXILIARY MEMORY:

Secondary memory used to store the data permanently. The data will be stored in storage devices.
Storage devices are like Magnetic disks, Hard disks, Floppy disks, Compact disks

IDENTIFICATION OF PERIPHERALS:

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1. Cabinet:
It is used to install all hardware devices like (Mother Board, SMPS, HDD, CD ROM, and FDD). It has
Start, Restart Button, Led’s, Audio and USB Connecters are available at front side.

2. The Mother Board/ System Board

In Personal Computers, a Mother Board is the central printed circuit Board (PCB) in many modern
computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other
peripherals. It is also called as main board or system board.

Classification of Mother Boards:

1) Integrated Mother Boards have all the peripheral device slots, input output ports, serial and
parallel ports are mounted on the board.
2) Non-Integrated Mother Boards have all peripheral device slots and input output ports,,
serial and parallel ports are connected using expansion Boards.
List of Mother Board Manufactures are: Intel, Zebronics, Acer Inc.,VIA Technologies, etc.

Mother Board

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Mother Board Parts:
a) CPU or Processor
CPU The central processing unit contains the heart of any computer, the processor. The processor is
fitted on to a Mother Board. The Mother Board contains various components, which support the
functioning of a PC. Clock Speed measures how fast a processor completes operations, usually
measured in megahertz and gigahertz. A 1.8GHz processor runs at 1,800,000,000 cycles per second.
List of CPU Manufacturers are: AMD, INTEL, Samsung, IBM, Transmeta, etc

Processor Heat Sink Fan

b) RAM Slots and RAMs

RAM Slots are used to place the RAM Cards. RAMs are used to increase the processing speed
the system to run application more effectively, and it has temporary memory. We have two types
of RAMs

i) SD RAM (Synchronous Dynamic), it has two Gaps/Notche

ii) DDR RAM (Double Data Rate), it has one Gap/Notch

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 RAM slots SRAM

DDR RAM

Manufactures of RAM’s are Transcend, Kingston, Micron, Hynix, etc.

c) North Bridge:
It is also called as controller. It converts electronic signals to binary values and binary values to
electronic signals.

d) South Bridge:
It is controls major components of mother board and it is a back bone of the input out
devices. It communicates PCI slots, IDE-1, IDE-2, floppy connecter, BIOS chip.

e) CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Battery

Computer is using a coin shape battery. It generates the clock signal and it manages system
time continuously.
f) Primary & Secondary(IDE-1 & IDE-2) :
Mainly there are three IDE slots and cables i.e. IDE-1 (Primary) to connect Hard Disk Drive having

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 40 pin slot and 80 wire cable, IDE-2 (Secondary) to connect CD/DVD Drive having 40 pin slot
and 40 wire cable, IDE-3 (Tertiary) to connect Floppy Drive having 35 pin slot 3.5inch wire with
a cut in middle. But present mother boards do not have IDE-3 slot.
g) Input & Output ports :
I/O ports are used to connecting I/O device such as key boards, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner,
speakers etc.

h) PCI(Expansion) Cards, PCI Slots :

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots are used to place the PCI cards such as LAN
(Ethernet) Card, Sound Card, TV Tuner Card, etc.

LAN Card Graphics Card

i)BIOS is a type of firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and
to perform hardware initialization during the booting process.

j)ATX Power connecter Slot:

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) power connector slot used to place the ATX power

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 connector from SMPS to supply the power to motherboard.

3. SMPS (Switched mode Power Supply)

To supply the power to all the components inside the cabinet and it is a case that holds a transformer,
voltage control and fan.

4)HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

HDD is a device for storing and retrieving digital information, primarily computer data. It consists of
rotating discs (often referred to as platters), coated with magnetic material and with magnetic heads
arranged to write data to the surfaces and read it from them.

List of Manufacturers of HDD Devices are: Hitachi, Samsung, Toshiba, Seagate Technology
.CD-ROM Drive/ DVD ROM Drive :

CD Drive the most common type of removable media.

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The common types are: CD-ROM, CD-RW, CD-R, DVD, DVD-ROM., DVD-RW, DVD-R

5.Computer Cables
a).HDMI Cable : HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable is used to transmit high-quality
audio and video signals between devices like TVs, monitors, and gaming consoles. It supports both standard
and high-definition formats, including 4K and 8K resolutions, providing a clear and lag-free
experience.HDMI cables come in different versions, such as HDMI 1.4, 2.0, and 2.1, with newer versions
offering higher bandwidth and advanced features like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and eARC.

b).VGA Cable: A VGA cable is used to transmit analog video signals from devices like computers to
monitors or projectors.It typically has a 15-pin connector and supports resolutions up to 1080p, but lacks
audio transmission.While VGA was widely used in older devices, it has largely been replaced by HDMI
and DisplayPort for better digital video quality.

c).Ethernet cable : RJ45 (Registered Jack 45) is a standardized connector used for Ethernet networking,

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 commonly found on cables that connect computers, routers, and switches.It has eight pins that transmit
data and supports different Ethernet standards, such as Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat7, for varying speeds and
bandwidths.RJ45 connectors are essential for wired internet connections, providing stable and high-speed
data transmission in homes, offices, and data centers.

d)PS/2 Cable: A PS/2 cable is used to connect older keyboards and mice to a computer via a 6-pin mini-DIN
connector. It was commonly used in desktop computers before being replaced by USB. PS/2 ports are color-
coded ,purple for keyboards and green for mice and provide a direct hardware connection for reliable input
device communication.

USB Cables: USB (Universal Serial Bus) cables are used to connect and transfer data between devices like
computers, smartphones, printers, and external storage. They also provide power for charging and operating
peripherals. USB cables come in different types, including USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, Micro-USB, and Mini-
USB, with newer versions like USB 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0 offering faster data transfer speeds and improved
efficiency.

Firmware
Firmware is a type of software program embedded into hardware devices to help them function smoothly and
effectively. Firmware is installed directly onto a piece of hardware during manufacturing. It is used to run
user programs on the device and can be thought of as the software that enables hardware to run.
Types of firmware
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 There are many types of firmware, but all firmware can be sorted into three categories:
• Low-level firmware. Low-level firmware is considered an intrinsic part of a device's hardware. It is
often stored on non-volatile, read-only chips like ROM and cannot be rewritten or updated.
• High-level firmware. High-level firmware allows updates and is generally more complex than low-level
firmware. It usually resides on flash memory chips.
• Subsystem firmware. Subsystem firmware is often part of an embedded system, such as a CPU or
liquid-crystal display. Another example is a server's power subsystem, which is a piece of server
hardware that functions semi-independently from the server. Like high-level firmware, subsystem
firmware can be updated. Also, it is more complex than low-level firmware.
The devices like Routers, Network drives, Printers,Scanners,Camera etc require firmware to operate as
intended and to run user programs.
Result: Familiarized all computer hardware and studied all components of motherboard

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