Chapter 1 Flashcards
Most home computer components are modular. Modular:
means they can be removed and replaced
the smaller the device the less modular it is
Field Replacement Unit (FRU):
refers to if a component is modular and can be replaced
Almost every PC device made today requires these three parts. What are they?
Motherboards
Processors
Memory
Printed Circuit Board (PCB):
a conductive series of pathways laminated to a nonconductive substrate that lines the bottom of the computer
What components are attached to the circuit board and aren’t intended to be removed?
The underlying circuitry
the CPU socket
RAM slots
Expansion slots
a variety of other chips
What components are attached to the circuit board via their own connectors?
Hard drives
Power supplies
What components are physically attached to the motherboard?
CPU
RAM
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Baby-AT
1985; 8.5 x 10-13 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
ATX
1996; 12 x 9.6 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Micro ATX
1996; 9.6 x 9.66 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Mini-ITX
2001; 6.7 x 6.7 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Nano-ITX
2003; 4.7 x 4.7 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Pico-ITX
2007; 3.9 x 2.8 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Mobile-ITX
2007; 3.9 x 2.8 in
Release year; Size of the motherboard:
Neo-ITX
2012; 6.7 x 3.35 in
Chipset:
provides interfaces for memory, expansion cards, and onboard peripherals and dictates how a motherboard will communicate with the installed peripherals
The functions of chipsets can be divided into two major groups:
Northbridge
Southbridge
Northbridge:
is responsible primarily for communications with integrated video and processor-to-memory communications
Front-Side Bus (FSB):
a set of signal pathways connecting the CPU and main memory
Back-Side Bus (BSB):
a set of signal pathways between the CPU and any external cache memory
Southbridge:
is responsible for providing support to the onboard slower peripherals and managers their communications with the rest of the computer and the resources given to them
Bus:
a common collection of signal pathways over which related devices communicate within the computer system
Serial Bus:
communicates one bit of data at a time
many of the fastest peripheral-connection technologies use this
Parallel Bus:
communicates in several parallel channels at once
the different streams of data needs to be carefully synchronized
CPU Sockets:
are almost as varied as the processors they hold
are basically flat and have several columns and rows of holes or pins arranged in a square
The three kinds of CPU sockets are:
Pin Grid Array (PGA)
Land Grid Array LGA)
Ball Grid Array (BGA)
Pin Grid Array (PGA) sockets:
have holes, and the processors have pins that fit into the holes
uses a simple lever
Land Grid Array (LGA) sockets:
have contacts (often pins) build in to them, which connects with contacts on the CPU
uses a complex locking harness
Ball Grid Array (BGA) sockets:
uses small balls as their contact points
Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs):
RAM for desktops; comes on circuit boards
Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Modules (SODIMMs):
RAM for laptops
RAM Slots:
are long and slender and generally close to the CPU socket
metal pins in the bottom make contact with the metallic pins on each memory module
small metal or plastic tabs on each side keep the memory securely in its slot
Cache Memory:
is a fast form of memory, and it improves system performance by predicting what the CPU will ask for next and prefetching this information before being asked
Expansion Slots:
used to install various devices in the computer to expand its capabilities
What are some expansion devices?
Video Cards
Network Cards
Sounds Cards
Disk Interface Cards
What are the three main types of expansion slots?
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
PCIe
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI):
used for adding internal components to a desktop computer
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP):
slots are known mostly for legacy video card use and have been supplanted in new installations by PCI Express slots
designed to be a direct connection between the video circuitry and the PC’s memory
PCI Express (PCIe):
most common expansion slot
designed to be a replacement for AGP and PCI
no plug compatibility with either AGP or PCI
faster than AGP and PCI
the current choice of gaming
What speeds are supported by PCIe?
By 1 or x1
By 2 or x2
By 4 or x4
By 8 or x8
By12 or x12
By 16 or x16
By 32 or x32
What is a downside to PCIe?
Any movement of these high-performance devices can result in temporary failure or poor performance.
Hard Drive:
used for permanent storage and quick access
hold the data as well as files the system needs to operate smoothly
What are the 2 main hard drive standard connectors?
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) (older)
Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) (newer)
How many pins are in the block connector for the new motherboards?
24 pins
How many pins are in the block connector for the old motherboards?
20 pins
Firmware:
any software that is encoded in hardware
Basic Input/output System (BIOS):
contains the BIOS system software that boots the system and initiates the memory and hard drive to allow the operating system to start.
Power-On-Self-Test (POST):
hands over control to the boot device (usually a hard drive) highest in the configured boot order to load the OS
offers the user a chance to enter the BIOS and change the configuration settings
what settings does CMOS hold?
date and time
hard drive configuration
memory
CPU settings
boot sequence
power management features
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS):
keeps certain settings when PC is turned off
What are the two largest PC-compatible CPU manufacturers?
Intel
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
What configurations do CPU sockets come in?
Pin Grid Array (PGA)
Land Grid Array (LGA)
Pin Grid Array (PGA):
older version of CPU socket
has pins in processor
Land Grid Array (LGA):
new version of CPU socket
studier than PGA because it has the pins in the socket versus on the processor
What will a CPU have to keep it cool?
A heat sink
A fan
Both
What are the three key characteristics of a CPU?
Architecture
Speed
Cache
What are three CPU architecture-related terns?
32-bit
64-bit
Advanced RISC Machines (ARM)
What does 32-bit and 64-bit refer to?
A set of data lines between the CPU and the primary memory of the system
the wider the bus, the more data that can be processed per unit of time
Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC):
Advanced RISC Machines’ architecture
Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC):
Intel’s x86 architecture
RISC vs CISC:
RISC processors may take more steps to do the same math problem than would a CISC processor
RISC can be made much smaller than CISC
RISC can produce less heat than CISC
Two key things to know about ARM:
made in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions
generally used in devices that are tablet-sized and smaller
Multicore:
means that the CPU is actually made up of several processors working in unison within the same package
Hertz (Hz):
electrical cycles per second
to save power many CPUs can throttle down their speed to reduce the amount of energy used
Cache:
a quick form of memory that greatly speeds up the performance of your computer
What are the three different cache designations?
L1 cache, the smallest and fastest
L2 cache, larger but a little slower than L1
L3 cache is larger and slower than L1 and L2
What are the two starts of binary processing?
on or 1
off or 2
Instruction Set:
rules on how to do the math
accepts numbers as input, performs calculations on them, and delivers other numbers as output
Memory:
data storage that uses on/off states on a chip to record patterns of binary data
What are the two types of memory?
Read-only memory (ROM)
Random access memory (RAM)
Static Memory:
doesn’t require power to maintain its contents
Dynamic Memory:
has to be constantly powered on to retain its contents
Dynamic RAM:
when you turn off computer, the content is gone
Virtual Memory:
a portion of the hard disk set aside as a holding area for contents of RAM
Swap file or Page file:
the reserved area on the hard disk for virtual memory
Memory Bus:
the pathway that delivers data to and from the memory
System timer:
controls memory on modern PCs synchronization
determines the speed at which data enters the processor
Single Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory(SDR SDRAM):
memory that operates at the same speed as the front-side bus
Double Data Rate (DDR):
makes higher transfer rates achievable by strictly controlling the timing of the electrical data and clock signals so that data can be double-pumped into the RAM
Solid-state drive (SSD):
has no moving parts but uses the same solid-state memory technology found in the other forms of flash memory
Optical Storage Drive reads:
Blu-ray Disc (BD)
Digital Video/Versatile Disc (DVD)
Compact Disc (CD)
Dual-layer:
discs that can have multiple layers on the same side
Video card:
is the expansion card you put into a computer to allow the computer to display output on some kind of monitor
What are the two common GPUS?
AMD Radeon
NVIDIA GeForce
Sound cards:
one of the most common integrated technologies found on motherboards today
Network interface card (NIC):
an expansion card that connects a computer to a network so that it can communicate with other computes on that network
Modem:
a device that converts digital signals from a computer into analog signals that can be transmitted over phone lines and back again
Power Supply Unit (PSU):
converts 110V or 220VAC into DC voltages that a computer needs to operate
Watt:
a unit of power
the higher the watt the more power your computer can draw from the PSU
Two categories of cooling systems:
Case cooling
CPU cooling
Air cooling:
the movement of air removes the heat from the component
Heat sinks:
are attached to a heat-producing component to dissipate the heat more rapidly
Most desktop PCs have a combination of fans:
Front intake fan
Rear exhaust fan
Power supply exhaust fan
Front Intake Fan:
used to bring fresh, cool air into the computer for cooling purposes
Rear Exhaust Fan:
used to take hot air out of the case
Power Supply Exhaust Fan:
usually found at the back of the power supply
draws air from inside the case into vents in the power supply
works with front intake and rear exhaust fans
Liquid cooling:
uses a special water block to conduct heat away from processor
water is circulated through the block to a radiator to get cooled
the lowest temperature achieved is room temperature
needs one fan in the radiator
RAM Capacity:
L1 Cache
64 KB (32 KB each for data and instructions
RAM Capacity:
L2 Cache
256 KB
RAM Capacity:
L3 Cache
4 MB-12 MB
RAM Capacity:
RAM
4 GB-64 GB
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1 bit
A single 0 or 1
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
8 bits
1 byte; One text character
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 bytes
1 kilobyte; A 1,000 character plain text file or a small icon
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 kilobytes
1 megabyte; A small photograph or one minute of music
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 megabytes
1 gigabyte; A full-length audio CD is about 800 megabytes
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 gigabytes
1 terabyte; A large business database
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 terabytes
1 petabyte; Data from a large government institution, such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 petabytes
1 exabyte; It’s rumored that YouTube stores just over 1 EB of data, but its hard to confirm that claim
Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:
1,024 exabytes
1 zettabyte; In 2013, NPR and Forbes reported that the U.S. National Security Agency’s new Utah data center could store up to 5 ZB of data. There is no confirmation of this because it’s the NSA.
