Scribd
Upload
715 views17 pages

Classification of Computers

Computers are classified into four categories based on physical size, performance, and application area: microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and supercomputers. Microcomputers are small and low-cost for individual use, and include desktops, laptops, and handheld devices. Minicomputers are mid-range with processing between micros and mainframes, used for multi-user applications. Mainframes are high-performance for large data processing and storage, used by large businesses. Supercomputers maximize processing speed for scientific problems, containing parallel CPUs over 1 gigaflop/second.

Uploaded by

N Akilan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
715 views17 pages

Classification of Computers

Computers are classified into four categories based on physical size, performance, and application area: microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and supercomputers. Microcomputers are small and low-cost for individual use, and include desktops, laptops, and handheld devices. Minicomputers are mid-range with processing between micros and mainframes, used for multi-user applications. Mainframes are high-performance for large data processing and storage, used by large businesses. Supercomputers maximize processing speed for scientific problems, containing parallel CPUs over 1 gigaflop/second.

Uploaded by

N Akilan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

Classification of Computers
• Based on physical size, performance, and
application areas, computer are divided into
four major categories:
– Micro
– Mini
– Mainframe
– Super
Micro Computer
• A micro computer is a small, low cost digital computer.

• Complete micro computer system consists of


 A micro-processor, a storage unit, and an output channel.
 Power supply and connecting cables, peripherals like keyboard, monitor, printer,
disk drives, and others
 An operating system and other software program

• Designed for individual users

• Example: IBM-PC Pentium 100, IBM-PC Pentium 200 and Apple Macintosh

• Micro Computer include


 Desktop
 Laptop
 Hand-held
Micro Computer - Desktop
• Personal Computer (PC)

• Consists of a system unit, a


display monitor, a keyboard,
internal hard disk storage, and
other peripheral devices

• Not expensive

• PC manufacturers are APPLE,


IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard Personal Computer
Micro Computers - Laptop
• A portable computer
• Called as “notebook”
• Small computer enclosing all the
basic features of a normal desktop
• Advantage: can use anywhere and
at anytime
• Do not need external power
supply Laptop
• Have self-contained rechargeable
battery
• Expensive compared to desktop
Micro Computers – Hand Held
• Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
• Convenient to be stored in a pocket
• Small portable
• Bigger than common calculators
• I/P Device: Pen or Stylus instead of
keyboard
• O/P Device: Small Monitor
• Fitted on the palm, so called as palmtop
computers
• Have no disk drive, use small cards to store
programs and data
• Can be connected to printer or disk drive
• Have limited memory and are less powerful
• Example: Apple Newton, Casio Cassiopeia
and Franklin eBook Man PDA – Personal
Digital Assistant
Mini Computers
• Mid-range computer
• Mini computer is a small digital
computer
• Process and storage: Less than
mainframe but more than micro
computer
• Speed of processing data: In
between mainframe and micro
computer
• Size: size of two-drawer filing
cabinet
• Used as desktop computer
• Connected to mainframe to
perform the auxiliary operations PDP – 11 Mini Computer
Mini Computers
• Mini computer is designed to meet the computing
needs for several people simultaneously
• Capable of supporting from 4 to about 200
simultaneous users
• Serves as a centralized storehouse for cluster of
workstations or as a network server
• Mini computers are multi-user system
• Used in interactive applications in industries, research
organizations, colleges and universities.
• Also used for real time controls and engineering design
work
• Widely used mini computers are PDP 11, IBM (8000
series) and VAX 7500
Mainframe Computer
• A mainframe is an ultra-high performance
computer made for high-volume, processor-
intensive computing
• Consists of high-end computer processor,
with related peripheral devices
• Supports large volumes of data processing,
high performance online transaction
processing systems, and extensive data
storage and retrieval
• Store and process more data than a mini
computer and far more than a micro
computer
• Designed to perform at a faster rate than a
mini computer and at even more faster rate
than a micro computer
• Mainframes are the second largest (in
capability and size) of the computer family,
the largest being the super computers
Mainframe Computer
Mainframe Computer
• Mainframes can execute many programs
simultaneously at a high speed, whereas super
computers are designed for single process
• Mainframes allow users to maintain large
information storage at a centralized location and
be able to access and process this data from
different computers located at different locations
• Used by large businesses and for scientific
purposes
• Example: IBM’s ES000, VAC 8000 and CDC 6600
CDC 6600
Features:
• 60 bit processor and 10 "peripheral processing unit."
• The CDC 6600 is a natural evolution of the CDC 1604
• Developed by Seymour Cray .
• The machine developed a power of 4.58 MFLOPS.

CDC 6600
Super Computer
• Super computers are designed to
maximize the numbers of FLOPS
(Floating Point Operation Per
Second)
• Any computer below one gigaflop /
sec is not considered a super
computer
• A super computer has solving
scientific and engineering problems
• Contains number of CPUs that
operate in parallel to make it faster
• Its processing speed lies in the
range of 400-10,000 MFLOPS
(Millions of Floating Point
Operation Per Second) Super Computer
Super Computer
• A super computer can process a great deal of information and make
extensive calculations very quickly
• Can resolve mathematical equations in a few hours
• It is the fastest, costliest and the most powerful computer available
today
• Used to solve multi-variant mathematical problems of existent
physical processes, such as aerodynamics, metrology, and plasma
physics
• Required by the military strategist to simulate defense scenarios
• Cinematic specialists use them to produce sophisticated movie
animations
• Scientists build complex models and simulate them in super
computer
• Largely used in entertainment/advertising industry
• Example: CRAY-3, Cyber 205 and PARAM
India’s Super Achievement
• The PARAM Padma Super computer
was developed by India’s Center for
Development of Advanced Computer
(C-DAC)
• It marks an important step towards
high performance computing
• It promises processing speed of up to
one teraflop per second (1 trillion
processes per second)
• The supercomputer can be accessed
remotely by users wishing to analyze
large amounts of data, for example in
the fields of bioinformatics,
computational structural mechanics,
atmospheric science and seismic data
processing

PARAM Padma
CYBER - 205
• January 1988 -
March 1989
• 1 CPU
• 0.2 Gigaflop/s
peak performance
• 0.032 Gigabyte
memory
Cyber - 205
CRAY-3

Cray 1, Cray 2 + cooling rack / Part of the Cray 3


THE END

You might also like