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L1 - Overview and Hardware

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30 views29 pages

L1 - Overview and Hardware

Uploaded by

azzehhamzeh360
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Today’s lecture

 Identifying the key components in a


computer

Understanding how these components


work

 Using this knowledge to understand


computer specs
Overview of a computer

Input

Processing

Output

Storage
Computer hardware
 “Those parts of the system that you can hit
with a hammer (not advised) are called
hardware”

 Key design principle of modularity

System Unit
Monitor

Keyboard

Mouse
Form factors
 Systemunits come in lots of different
form factors

All-in-one PC
Inside the system unit
RAM Optical drive

Power

supply
Fans

CPU
Hard disk
drive
Expansion
cards

Motherboard
Inside a laptop
CPU
RAM
Fans

Optical
drive Motherboard

Power
supply
(batteries)
Hard disk
drive
Power supply
unit
 Converts AC voltage to DC voltage for use
within the computer
Motherbo
ard
 The main circuit board to which all
components are connected, allowing
them to communicate with each other
Central processing unit
(CPU)
 The ‘brain’ of a computer. Processes data
in a computer using its instruction set

 Performancemeasured in
instructions per second

 Clockspeed (measured in Hertz [Hz])


measures the speed at which electrical
signals pass through the processor

 CPUs must be kept cool, generally


using a heatsink and fan
CPUs - transistors
CPUs – Moore’s Law
 Gordon Moore (Intel co-founder) stated in a
1965 paper:
‘The number of transistors on a single
integrated circuit doubles approximately
every 18 months, while the price remains
the same.’

 So…
 In 3 years, CPUs will be 4 times faster
 In 15 years, CPUs will be 1000 times faster
CPUs - Moore’s Law
 Moore’s Law has been an important
guide for many parts of the tech
industry, especially in CPU
manufacturing

 More difficult to keep up with Moore’s


Law as we reach the limits of CPU
fabrication technology
CPUs – other measures
 Powerefficiency and heat are just as
important as clock speed

 Modern CPUs have multiple cores,


increasing their processing capacity

 New kinds of processors, such as system


on chip (SoC) are commonly used in
mobile and embedded devices
Primary memory
Used to store data for quick access by
CPU
 Main form of primary memory is
Random Access Memory (RAM)
 RAM is volatile memory
 More RAM improves a computer’s
speed by providing more quick
access memory
 Capacity is measured in bytes, clock
speed measured in Hz
 Many types of RAM; common
type is DDR3 SDRAM
Secondary memory
 Used to store files for repeated access over
time

 Also known as non-volatile storage; the


storage medium retains its contents
without needing a supply of electricity

 Many forms of secondary storage:


 Hard disk drive (HDD)
 Solid state drive (SSD)
 CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray
 USB drives, external HDDs
Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
 Stores data on spinning magnetic disks.
Data is read and written by moving
heads

 Advantages:
 Cheap storage medium
 Widely used and supported
 Can have very large capacity drives
 Long operating life

 Disadvantages:
 Noisy operation
 Can consume more power than SSDs
 Fragile, needs to be handled carefully
Solid State Drive (SSD)
 Stores data on flash memory, the
same technology used by USB
drives

 Advantages:
 Silent operation
 Higher read/write speeds
when compared to HDDs
 Low power usage
 More durable
 Use less space

 Disadvantages:
 Costlier than HDDs
 Can wear out faster than
HDDs
Redundant Array of Independent
Disks (RAID)
 RAID pools HDDs/SSDs together to form a
larger, more reliable data storage
mechanism

 Each RAID configuration has its own


strengths and drawbacks

 RAID is commonly used in servers


Hard Disk 01

Data RAID
Controller
Hard Disk 02

Hard Disk 03
RAID configurations
 Numerous configurations, we’re
focusing on two:
 RAID 0 – data stripes used to increase speed
 RAID 1 – data redundancy used to increase
reliability

 RAID 10 combines RAID 0 and RAID 1


together

RAID 10
Memory hierarchy

CPU
caches
Primar
y
memor
y
(RAM)

Faster
Secondary
Lower cost
memory (HDD, and
access SSD) higher
tim capacity
Memory capacity
Expansion cards
 Additional circuit board that provides
extra functionality

 Examples: sound card, graphics card,


network card

 Plugged into motherboard using slots that


follow certain standards:
 ISA
 PCI-E
 AGP
Graphics card
 Used to perform graphics processing and
run the computer’s monitors

 Consists of:
 GPU (either part of CPU or separate graphics card)
 Video memory
 Heatsink and fan
 Ports
Input devices
 Peripherals that allow the computer to
receive input from the outside world,
mainly from the user

 Common input devices:


 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Webcam

 Other input devices:


 Voice recognition
 Biometric scanners
 RFID tags
Output devices
 Peripherals that present information
processed by the computer to the user

 Output devices include:


 Computer monitor
 Printer
 Speakers
 Touchscreens

 New forms of output include:


 Virtual reality
Connectors and buses
 All peripherals are connected to
the motherboard via ports

 Ports form part of a bus

 Wired connections:
 USB (Universal Serial Bus)
 Thunderbolt high speed connector
 Ethernet
 VGA, DVI and HDMI for monitors

 Wireless connections:
 Wi-Fi
 Bluetooth
Computer specs
 Howmuch primary memory
does this computer have?

 How many cores does the


processor have?

 Doesthis computer
have a motherboard?

 What kind of graphics card does


this computer have?
Computer specs
 How much primary memory
does this computer have?
 32GB of DDR4 RAM

 How many cores does the


processor have?
 Quad = 4 cores

 Does this computer


have a motherboard?
 Yes,all computers have a
motherboard which connects
everything together

 What kind of graphics card does


this computer have?
 Discrete NVIDIA graphics card
Summary
 Computers process input from the user
and other sources and provide output

 Computer systems are designed


using the principle of modularity

 System units are made up of a


number of components working
together:
 Power supply
 Motherboard
 CPU
 Primary and secondary memory
 Connectors and buses

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