1001: Hardware Flashcards
Name the 3 primary components to a HDD.
Controller - Controls all drive operations
Hard Disk - Solid metal disk that stores data in electrical fields
Host Bus Adapter (HBA) - converts electrical signals to data
What are the 3 primary sizes of HDDs?
- 8 in - uncommon
- 5 in - laptops and portable devices
- 5 in - desktops
What is the logical processing system used by SSDs?
NAND (not-and)
What are the two types of memory module sockets used?
Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM)
Small Outline DIMM (SODIMM)
Why can Blu-ray drives write and store more data than DVDs and CDs?
Laser is blue in color, works in a higher frequency. Encodes data in a tighter focus.
How many pins does a traditional PCI card have?
124
What are the 4 main speed standards of wireless PCI cards?
802.11a/b/g/n
What does TRS and TRRS stand for when talking about audio connections?
Tip Ring [Ring] Sleeve
Describes the type of 3.5 mm audio jack connection. TRRS used with devices that have microphones.
How are LCD screens lit?
Using a fluorescent or LED back light.
How does an OLED screen produce light in each pixel?
Passing a charge from the positive anode, through the LEDs, to the negatively charged cathode.
What are the two main types of OLED screens?
Passive Matrix (PMOLED)
Active Matrix (AMOLED)
What are the two factors to consider when measuring webcam performance?
Image Quality (resolution in pixels)
Frame Rate (FPS)
High quality and high frame rates mean higher data counts
What is required for a fluorescent back light that an LED does not need?
Inverter
What is a digitizer?
A screen that uses a pointing device for input
What are the common motherboard form factors in descending size/functionality?
ATX Micro-ATX Mini-ATX Mini-ITX Nano-ITX
What considerations apply to overclocking a processor?
Adequate Cooling
Adequate power
System Stability
What are the two major groups of chipsets on modern motherboards?
NorthBridge
Southbridge
What bus handles communication between the processor and memory?
Front-side bus
What characteristic of a PCI express slot determines the size of card it can fit?
The number of lanes
What does it mean for a memory module to be dual-inline?
Has connectors on both sides of the card
What are the 4 main slot sizes for DIMM memory? (Pin counts)
30
72
168
184
What are the 3 main slot sizes for SODIMM memory? (Pin counts)
72
144
200
How does DDR (Double Data Rate) RAM double speeds of SDRAM?
It performs reads and writes at the top and bottom of each clock cycle
What advantage does DDR2 RAM have over DDR?
Two memory accesses for each rising and falling of the clock cycle
What is the transfer rate difference between DDR2 and DDR3?
DDR3 has twice the data transfer rate, enabling higher bandwidth (64 times the memory clock speed in mbps)
How can you tell if a memory stick uses parity or non-parity error checking?
Parity sticks have 9 chips on them, non-parity have 8