1.

PC HARDWARE
AIM :
Identify the peripherals of a computer, components in a CPU, and its functions. Draw the block diagram of the CPU
along with the configuration of each peripheral.

PROCEDURE :

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

 A Computer may be defined as an electronic device, which can store and manipulate data and provide
results according to instructions given by the user.
 A computer does this by performing arithmetic and logical operation.
 A Computer system includes the computer along with software and hardware that are necessary to
operate a computer.
 Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath.
 A mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a
digital programmable computer.
 Considered by some to be the "father of the computer"
 Babbage is credited with inventing
the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all
the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's Analytical Engine.
 The term computer is derived from the Latin word compute, which means to calculate.
 A computer is an electronic machine, devised for performing calculations and controlling operations that
can be expressed either in logical or numerical terms.
 In simple terms, a computer is an electronic device that performs diverse operations with the help of
instructions to process the information in order to achieve the desired results.
 Computer application extends to cover a huge area including education, industries, government,
medicine, scientific research etc.
 A computer is one of the most influential forces available in modern times.
 Due to its memory, high speed, and perfection, its application can be extended to almost infinite levels.
Millions of complex calculations can be done in a fraction of time.
 Difficult decisions can be made with accuracy for comparatively little cost.
 Computers are widely seen as instruments for future progress and tools to achieve substantiality by way of
improved access to information via video conferencing and e-mail.
 Indeed computers have left such an impression on modern civilization that we call this era as the
information age.

Characteristics of Computers

a) Speed :
 Computers are capable of carrying out task with speed.
 Today’s computers, according to their class, can perform from 4 MIPS (Millions of instructions per second)
to 100 MIPS.
 What may take days for manual calculations may take only a few hours for computers to perform.
 Inside the computer the information signal travels at incredible electronic speed.

b) Storage:
 Computers can store quantity of information. Which is expressed in terms of Kilobytes (or) Mega Bytes
(MB) or Gega Bytes (GB).
  It is achieved through its ‘Main memory’ or ‘Primary storage’ and through ‘auxiliary storage’ or
‘Secondary storage.
 Hard disks , Floppy disks, Compact Disc(CD) and Magnetic Tape storage are examples of secondary
storages.
 These large volumes of storage occupy much lesser space compared to paper documents and this aspect of
computers makes them more powerful.

c) Accuracy:
 The accuracy of a Computer is consistently high.
 In fact, this quality of the computers make them indispensable in various fields such as Scientific Research,
Space Research, Weather Predictions and many other areas where precision of a high order is required.
 The accuracy of the computer is best achieved by programming them in the most efficient manner.
 When it comes to very complex mathematical or scientific problem the computer’s accuracy has no
substitute.

d) Versatility:
 Computers are versatile in that they can perform almost any task, provided they are given the appropriate
logical steps.
 For example, they are capable of performing wide ranging tasks such as construction of a payroll,
inventory management in a factory, hotel billing, hospital management, banking applications and any
imaginable task in every walk of life.

e) Automation:
 The biggest advantage of computers is that it is automatic in its operation. Once a programming logic is
initiated the computer performs repeated operations without human interventions until program completion.

f) Diligence:
 Computers are machines and that do not get tired or ‘lose concentration’ like human beings.
 If a large number of calculations say million calculations are to be performed the resultant output will
remain exactly the same even if operations are repeated any number of times.
 But when a human being is asked to do the same job this consistency cannot be achieved.
 Thus for those who want consistent and continuous standard output, computer’s ‘diligence’ is of great help.
g) Reliability:
 The computers give very accurate results with predetermined values. They correct and modify the
parameters automatically, giving suitable signals.
 They give formatted results with high degree of precisions.

Types of Computers

Today, there are many types of computers that differ in size, cost, computational power and its indented use.
They are:
 Desktops computers
 Portable notebook computers
 Work stations
 Mainframes
 Supercomputers

Desktops Computers:
  A desktop computer is a personal computer that is designed to be accommodated conveniently on top of a
typical office desk.
 A desktop computer typically consists of various units such as the processor, the display monitor and input
devices - usually a keyboard and a mouse that are connected together during installation.
 Today, almost all desktop computers include a built -in modem, a CD-ROM drive, a multi-gigabyte
magnetic storage drive.
 In businesses and at home, most desktop computer users can share resources such as printers, plotters and
fax machines by getting connected to a local area network.

Portable notebook computers:

 A portable notebook computer is a compact version of a personal computer with all components of a PC
packaged into a single unit which is handy and portable.
 Laptop is an example for this type of computer.

Work stations:
 A work station is a high computational powered personal computer having high resolution graphics
terminals and improved input-output capabilities.
 It often finds its use in engineering applications and interactive graphics applications.

Mainframes:
 A Main frame computer is a large data processing system used in medium and large sized business units.
 It is implemented using two or more central processing units and designed to operate at very high speeds
for large volumes of data.
 A Mainframe is also known as an Enterprise system.
Super Computers:
 A super computer is a high-performance computing device meant for highly calculationintensive tasks
involving problems on quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling and
physical simulations such as a rocket design or a submarine design etc.

Generations of Computers

 First Generation

 The period 1940 to 1956, is roughly considered as the First Generation of Computers.
 The first-generation computers were developed by using vacuum tubes or thermionic valve
machines.
 The input of this system was based on punched cards and paper tape; however, the output was displayed on
printouts.
 The first-generation computers worked on a binary-coded concept (i.e., language of 0-1). Examples: ENIAC,
EDVAC, etc.
 Second Generation
 The period 1956 to 1963 is roughly considered the period of the Second Generation of Computers.
 Second-generation computers were developed by using transistor technology.
 In comparison to the first generation, the size of second generation was smaller.
 In comparison to computers of the first generation, the computing time taken by the computers of the second
generation was lesser.

 Third Generation
 The period 1963 to 1971 is roughly considered the period of the Third Generation of computers.
 The third-generation computers were developed by using the Integrated Circuit (IC) technology.
 In comparison to the computers of the second generation, the size of the computers of the third generation was
smaller.
 In comparison to the computers of the second generation, the computing time taken by the computers of the third
generation was lesser.
 The third generation computer consumed less power and also generated less heat.
 The maintenance cost of the computers in the third generation was also low.
 The computer system of the computers of the third generation was easier for commercial
use.
 Fourth Generation
 The period 1972 to 2010 is roughly considered as the fourth generation of computers.
 The fourth generation computers were developed by using microprocessor technology.
 By coming to fourth generation, computer became very small in size, it became portable.
 The machine of fourth generation started generating very low amount of heat.
 It is much faster and accuracy became more reliable.
 The production cost reduced to very low in comparison to the previous generation.
 It became available for the common people as well.

 Fifth Generation
 The period 2010 to till date and beyond, I roughly considered as the period of the fifth generation
of computers.
 By that time, the computer generation was being categorized on the basis of hardware only,
but the fifth-generation technology also included software.
 The computers of the fifth generation had the high capability and large memory capacity.
 Working with computers of this generation was fast and multiple tasks could be performed
simultaneously.
 Some of the popular advanced technologies of the fifth generation include Artificial intelligence, Quantum
computation, Nanotechnology, Parallel processing, etc.
Components of a Computer

A computer is a combination of various components. It performs the system functions such as input, processing,
output, storage, and control.
A computer system consists of the following components:
1. Hardware
2. Software

1. Hardware
 The physical components of the computer, such as electrical, electronics and mechanical unit are known as
the hardware of the computer.
 That is, the input units, output units and CPU are called hardware.
 Thus hardware is the equipment involved in the function of a computer.
 It consists of the components that can be physically handled.
 The function of these components is typically divided into three main categories: input, output, and
storage.
 Components in these categories connect to microprocessors, output and storage.
 Components in these categories connect to microprocessors, specifically, the computer's central processing
unit (CPU), the electronic circuitry that provides the computational ability and control of the computer, via
wires or circuitry called a bus.

2. Software:
 The computer performs operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division only when the user
instructs it to do so.
 The user issues instructions and the CPU acts in accordance with the instructions.
 The sets of instructions, which control the sequence of operations, are known as programs, and collectively
programs are called software.
 The software can be broadly classified into two types.
They are:
a. System Software
b. Application software

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:
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 BYTE
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:
a) 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
b) IDENTIFICATION OF PERIPHERALS:
c) 1. Cabinet:

d) 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

Mother Board Parts:

a) Socket 478: It has 478 pin slots to place the CPU in it and above the CPU place the Heat Sink Fan to cool the
processor when it generates the heat and we can fix the fan with locks.

b) 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

Heat Sink Fan

c) 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

DDR RAM

SD RAM

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

d) North Bridge:

It is also called as controller. It converts electronic signals to binary values and binary values to electronic signals.

e) South Bridge:
It is controls major components of mother board and it is a back bone of the input out devices. It is communicates
PCI slots, IDE-1, IDE-2, floppy connecter, BIOS chip.
f) CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Battery
Computer is using a coin shape battery. It generates the clock signal and it manages system time continuously.

g) 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 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 does not
have IDE-3 slot.

h) Input & Output ports :

I/O ports are used to connecting I/O device such as key boards, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, speakers etc...
i) AGP Slot & AGP Card :
Accelerated Graphic Port (AGP) Slot is used install the AGP card. AGP back view same as VGA port (15-pins) and
used to connecting the monitors.

j) 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 , Sound Card , TV Tuner Card

k) BIOS Chip :
BIOS (Basic Input Output System) controls how the operating system and hardware wok together and manages all
the hardware devices installed in mother board.

l) ATX Power connecter Slot:

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

6. Different Screws Used:

A Computer system has three kinds’ screws

i) Mother Board Screws (Small Size)

ii) HDD, CD/DVD, FDD Drive Screws (Medium Size)

iii) Outer screws to fix sides of cabinet (Large Size)

Result: Introduction to computers and Identification peripherals task completed