1st 901 Hardware Study Guide Flashcards
Where can you find information about your current version of BIOS?
- system info utility
- typing “msinfo32” in cmd prompt
What is the procedure for updating or upgrading a BIOS called?
- Flashing the BIOS
The _____ tells the BIOS where to look to load the operating system.
- boot sequence
How can you secure access to the BIOS?
- By adding passwords
What BIOS security measure offers tracking, remote shutdown, and keylogger functionality?
- Lojack
The ____ is another BIOS security measure that can encrypt the contents of a storage device, or harden the encryption of BitLocker and SecureBoot.
- Trusted Platform Module
What is the most common motherboard in today’s desktops?
- The ATX aka Advanced Technology Extended
____ is a little bit smaller than the ATX and does not have as much expansion ability.
- The micro-ATX
____ is a significantly smaller form factor board and was created by VIA Technologies.
- The ITX
_____ is the largest of the three ITX form factors, with a size of 6.7 by 6.7 inches. It is also the most popular.
- The Mini-ITX
_____ was introduced by Intel in the 1990s. It replaced older 8- and 16-bit expansion slots with a 32-bit slot.
- The PCI or Peripheral Component Interconnect
____ incorporates a 64-bit data bus that was considerably faster than PCI slots, but because of the bus, it was difficult to incorporate onto the motherboard.
- PCI-X (Extended)
_____ is the newest expansion slot being used in modern computers. It sends data over a serial stream at higher speeds than conventional PCI slots.
- PCIe (Express)
What are the serial streams of a PCIe expansion slot referred to as?
- Lanes
The ____ slots were those modified to be applied to laptops. They use low power and lie flat.
- Mini-PCI
What type of RAM slot is used in desktops?
- DIMM (dual inline memory module)
What type of RAM slot is used in laptops?
- SO-DIMM (Small Outline)
What type of RAM slot is used in smaller mobile devices?
- Micro-DIMM
The _____ interfaces directly with the CPU through the front-side bus, handles high-speed connections to memory and videos as well as creating the connection to the Southbridge.
- Northbridge
The ____ handles I/O functions and all other slower devices such as the hard drive, PCI bus, and Audio.
- Southbridge
The ____ is used to power the system’s real-time clock.
- The CMOS battery
List four common power connector types.
- SATA
- Molex
- ATX
- EPS
Most fans will connect with ____ on the motherboard.
- 3- or 4-pin Molex connector
_____ indicates how fast all of the components on your motherboard are able to communicate with each each other.
- Bus Speed
_____ is the industry standard for RAM; 184-pin DIMM, and 200- or 172-pin SO-DIMM.
DDR (Double Data Rate)
_____ is faster than DDR and has less power consumption; comes in 240-pin DIMM and 240-pin SO-DIMM.
- DDR2
_____ is faster than DDR2 and consumes 30% less power; it comes in 240-pin DIMM AND 204-pin SO-DIMM.
- DDR3
is a RAM form factor found commonly in laptops; it comes in 100-, 144-, 200-, 204-, and 260-pin.
- SO-DIMM
_____ is configured in either 168- or 184-pins; both sides of the chip are used to provide connection to the socket.
- DIMM
____ refers to the RAM chip’s ability to identify errors within the memory.
- Parity vs Non-Parity
_____ refers to using multiple identical sticks of RAM in paired slots, which increases the memory throughput.
- RAM configurations (single/double/triple channel)
______ refers to position of the memory chips on the memory module.
Single sided vs Double sided
____ also known as “registered” memory; buffers between the memory and the controller; used on high tier systems.
- Buffered Memory
Check your _____ to find out which types of RAM are compatible with your system.
- Motherboard Documentation
_____ add additional functionality to your PC.
- Expansion Cards
_____ a read only memory Optical drive. It can store up to 700 MB of data per disk.
CD-ROM
_____ is an optical storage device like a CD-ROM, except the disk can be rewritten multiple times.
CD-RW
____ is a read only memory Optical Drive. It’s disk can store up to 4.7 GB of data.
DVD-ROM
____ is an optical storage device like a DVD-ROM, except the disk can be rewritten multiple times.
DVD-RW
_____ a dual-layer version of a DVD-RW. Its capacity is almost doubled at 8.5 GB per disk.
DVD-RW DL
_____ is a newer optical storage format, the disk can store up to 25GB of data.
Blu-ray
____ is a Blu-ray recordable format, it allows you to write data to the disk.
BD-R
____ is a Blu-ray recordable/erasable format that allows you to write data to the disk more than once.
BD-RE
_____ can be inserted or removed in real time, while the system is still powered on. A USB is a common type of this drive.
A Hot Swappable Drive
_____ is the largest in physical size of the card type memory hardware.
Compact Flash
______ or Secure Digital is a form of flash that is very popular today.
SD
_____ is a flash type memory card that is used in small mobile devices and can be inserted into MiniSD cards for modularity or multipurpose use
Micro SD
____ a flash type card that is used in small mobile devices similar to the Micro SD.
Mini SD
_____ is a flash card type typically found in older digital cameras.
an xD card
_____ is an alternative to a standard hard disk drive; far superior, in that it is a form of flash memory.
An SSD
_____ is a drive that combines a traditional hard drive with a solid state drive; the SSD is typically there just to make cacheing data easier; its more cost effective than a full SSD.
A Hybrid or a Solid-State Hybrid drive
____ is a flash memory type chip installed in mobile phones.
eMMC
____ is a RAID type that offers stripping of data only; it requires 2 drives; it offers no redundancy but good performance.
RAID 0
____ is a RAID type that offers mirroring of data only; requires at least 2 drives; requires more storage space to store full copies of data.
RAID 1
____ is a RAID type that offers stripping with parity; it requires at least 3 drives; it has the ability to calculate missing data and rebuild it; parity calculation may slow the system.
RAID 5
_____ is a RAID type that offers both stripping and mirroring for improved performance and full redundancy; it requires at least 4 drives.
RAID 10
A ______ is good for archiving data over extended periods of time at a low cost.
Tape Drive
The _____ functions as the brain of the computer; it comes in many different formats.
CPU
_____ is the unit of measurement for CPU speed in most modern processors.
Gigahertz
A ______ is extremely fast memory found near the core of a processor that enables the CPU to process a larger amount of information; its effectiveness depends on its size.
Cache
____ allows you to increase your CPU, typically gaining a 15-30% performance increase.
Hyperthreading
_____ allows for graphics processing to be directly embedded with the CPU.
An integrated GPU
The _____ allows for hardening of the CPU by segmenting areas where code is needed to run and, for protection, disallowing it to run anywhere else.
Non-eXecute Bit
_____ are positioned on top of components that get really hot.
Heat Sinks
_____ are attached to the top of heatsinks to create what is referred to as a cooler.
Fans