The System

Unit
Chapter 5
Computing Essentials
2014

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale orfor
authorized distribution in any manner.
sale or distribution in anyThis document
manner. may not be
This document maycopied,
not bescanned, duplicated,
copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
 Competencies (1 of 2)
 Describe the four basic types of system
units.
 Describe system boards, including sockets,
slots, and bus lines.
 Discuss microprocessors,
including microprocessor
chips and specialty processors.
 Discuss memory including
RAM, ROM, and flash memory.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Competencies (2 of 2)
 Discuss expansion slots and cards.
 Describe bus lines, bus widths, and expansion
buses.
 Describe ports, including standard and
specialized ports.
 Discuss power supply for desktop, notebook,
tablet, and handheld computers .
 Discuss how a computer can represent
numbers and encode characters
electronically.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Introduction
 Speed, capacity, and flexibility determine the
power of microcomputers.
 Knowledge of a computer’s power allows you
to make good buying decisions and to
determine if your current system will run
new applications.
 Competent end users need to
understand the basic principles
of how microcomputers are
put together.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 System Unit Types
 Desktops
 Tower Unit, All-in-one
 Notebooks
 Laptops
 Netbooks
 Tablets
 Handhelds

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Making IT Work for You ~ Keeping Your
Computer Cool
 Computer components generate a
significant amount of heat
 Can damage your system
 Notebooks present a special challenge

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 System Board
 Main board or motherboard
 Controls communications
 Components connect to the system board
 Data path
 Traffic monitor

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 System Board Components (Page 1 of 2)
 Sockets
 Connection
point for
chips
 Chips
 Tiny circuit boards etched onto squares of
silicon
 Silicon chip, semiconductor, or integrated
circuit
 Mounted on carrier packages

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 System Board Components (Page 2 of 2)
 Slots
 Provide a connection point for specialized
cards or circuit boards
 Bus lines
 Provide pathways that support
communication among the various
electronic components

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Microprocessor
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 Contained on the microprocessor chip
 Brains of the computer
 Two Basic Components
 Control unit
 Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Microprocessor Chips (Page 1 of 2)
 Chip capacities expressed in word size
 Word
 The number of bits that can be processed at
one time
 64-bit standard
 Clock Speed
 Processing speed
 The number of times the CPU fetches and
processes data or instructions in a second

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 Microprocessor Chips (Page 2 of 2)
 Multi-Core Chip
 Two separate and independent CPUs
 Parallel Processing
 Windows 8 and Mac OS X

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 Specialty Processors
 Coprocessors
 Designed to improve specific computing
operations
 Graphics coprocessors / Graphics
Processing Unit (GPU)

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 Expansion Slots and Cards
 Advanced graphics cards
 Sound cards
 Network interface cards (NIC)
 Wireless network cards
 Plug and Play

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 Bus Lines
 Also known as a bus
 Connect parts of the CPU to each other
 Pathway for bits
 Bus width
 Number of bits that
can travel at once
 Two basic categories
 System buses
 Expansion buses

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 Expansion Buses
 Connects the CPU to other components on
the system board, including expansion slots
 Universal Serial Bus (USB)
 Connects external USB devices onto the USB
bus
 FireWire
 Audio and video equipment
 PCI Express (PCIe)
 Single dedicated path for each connected
device

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 Cables
 Used to connect external devices to the
system unit via the ports
 One end of the cable is attached to the
device and the other end has a connector
that is attached to a matching connector
on the port

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 Making IT Work for You ~ TV Tuners

 Using Windows Media System as a DVR

 Install TV Tuner

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 Power Supply
 Computers require direct current (DC)
 DC power provided by converting alternating
current (AC) from wall outlets or batteries
 Desktop computers use power supply units
 Notebooks and handhelds use AC adapters

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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 Electronic Data and Instructions
 Digital electronic signals
 Recognized by computers
 Analog signals
 Created by voices
 Conversion must take place from analog
to digital before processing can occur

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 Numeric Representation
 Binary System only two digits called bits
 On = 1; positive charge
 Off = 0; no charge
 Byte = 8 bits grouped together
 Hexadecimal system

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 Character Encoding
 Character encoding standards
 ASCII
 American Standard Code for Information Interchange
 Microcomputers
 EBCDIC
 Extended Binary coded Decimal Interchange Code
 Mainframe
 Unicode
 Uses 16 bits
 Recognized by virtually all computer systems

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 Careers In IT
 Computer technicians repair and install
computer components and systems
 Employers look for:
 Certification
 Communication skills
 Continued education
is required
 Computer technicians can
expect to earn an annual
salary of $31K to $46K

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 A Look to the Future
 Wearable computers
 Send and receive email while jogging
 Maintain your personal schedule book
 Remember the names of people at a party

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 Open-Ended Questions
 Describe the four basic types of
microcomputers and microcomputer system
units.

 Describe system boards including sockets,

chips, carrier packages, slots, and bus lines.

 Discuss microprocessor components, chips,

and specialty processors.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 25
 Open-Ended Questions (Page 2 of 3)
 Define computer memory including RAM,
ROM, and flash memory.

 Define expansion slots, cards, Plug and

Play, PC cards, PCMCIA slots, and
Express-Card slots.

 Describe bus lines including bus width,

system bus, and expansion bus.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 26
 Open-Ended Questions (Page 3 of 3)
 Define ports including standard and
specialized ports. Give examples of each.

 Describe power supply including power

supply units and AC adapters.

 Discuss electronic data and instructions.

The System Unit Computing Essentials 2014

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forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 27