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IT Fundamentals + > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Most home computer components are modular. Modular:

A

means they can be removed and replaced

the smaller the device the less modular it is

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2
Q

Field Replacement Unit (FRU):

A

refers to if a component is modular and can be replaced

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3
Q

Almost every PC device made today requires these three parts. What are they?

A

Motherboards

Processors

Memory

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4
Q

Printed Circuit Board (PCB):

A

a conductive series of pathways laminated to a nonconductive substrate that lines the bottom of the computer

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5
Q

What components are attached to the circuit board and aren’t intended to be removed?

A

The underlying circuitry

the CPU socket

RAM slots

Expansion slots

a variety of other chips

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6
Q

What components are attached to the circuit board via their own connectors?

A

Hard drives

Power supplies

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7
Q

What components are physically attached to the motherboard?

A

CPU

RAM

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8
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Baby-AT

A

1985; 8.5 x 10-13 in

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9
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

ATX

A

1996; 12 x 9.6 in

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10
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Micro ATX

A

1996; 9.6 x 9.66 in

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11
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Mini-ITX

A

2001; 6.7 x 6.7 in

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12
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Nano-ITX

A

2003; 4.7 x 4.7 in

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13
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Pico-ITX

A

2007; 3.9 x 2.8 in

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14
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Mobile-ITX

A

2007; 3.9 x 2.8 in

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15
Q

Release year; Size of the motherboard:

Neo-ITX

A

2012; 6.7 x 3.35 in

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16
Q

Chipset:

A

provides interfaces for memory, expansion cards, and onboard peripherals and dictates how a motherboard will communicate with the installed peripherals

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17
Q

The functions of chipsets can be divided into two major groups:

A

Northbridge

Southbridge

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18
Q

Northbridge:

A

is responsible primarily for communications with integrated video and processor-to-memory communications

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19
Q

Front-Side Bus (FSB):

A

a set of signal pathways connecting the CPU and main memory

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20
Q

Back-Side Bus (BSB):

A

a set of signal pathways between the CPU and any external cache memory

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21
Q

Southbridge:

A

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

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22
Q

Bus:

A

a common collection of signal pathways over which related devices communicate within the computer system

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23
Q

Serial Bus:

A

communicates one bit of data at a time

many of the fastest peripheral-connection technologies use this

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24
Q

Parallel Bus:

A

communicates in several parallel channels at once

the different streams of data needs to be carefully synchronized

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25
Q

CPU Sockets:

A

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

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26
Q

The three kinds of CPU sockets are:

A

Pin Grid Array (PGA)

Land Grid Array LGA)

Ball Grid Array (BGA)

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27
Q

Pin Grid Array (PGA) sockets:

A

have holes, and the processors have pins that fit into the holes

uses a simple lever

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28
Q

Land Grid Array (LGA) sockets:

A

have contacts (often pins) build in to them, which connects with contacts on the CPU

uses a complex locking harness

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29
Q

Ball Grid Array (BGA) sockets:

A

uses small balls as their contact points

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30
Q

Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs):

A

RAM for desktops; comes on circuit boards

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31
Q

Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Modules (SODIMMs):

A

RAM for laptops

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32
Q

RAM Slots:

A

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

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33
Q

Cache Memory:

A

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

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34
Q

Expansion Slots:

A

used to install various devices in the computer to expand its capabilities

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35
Q

What are some expansion devices?

A

Video Cards

Network Cards

Sounds Cards

Disk Interface Cards

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36
Q

What are the three main types of expansion slots?

A

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

PCIe

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37
Q

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI):

A

used for adding internal components to a desktop computer

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38
Q

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP):

A

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

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39
Q

PCI Express (PCIe):

A

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

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40
Q

What speeds are supported by PCIe?

A

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

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41
Q

What is a downside to PCIe?

A

Any movement of these high-performance devices can result in temporary failure or poor performance.

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42
Q

Hard Drive:

A

used for permanent storage and quick access

hold the data as well as files the system needs to operate smoothly

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43
Q

What are the 2 main hard drive standard connectors?

A

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) (older)

Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) (newer)

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44
Q

How many pins are in the block connector for the new motherboards?

A

24 pins

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45
Q

How many pins are in the block connector for the old motherboards?

A

20 pins

46
Q

Firmware:

A

any software that is encoded in hardware

47
Q

Basic Input/output System (BIOS):

A

contains the BIOS system software that boots the system and initiates the memory and hard drive to allow the operating system to start.

48
Q

Power-On-Self-Test (POST):

A

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

49
Q

what settings does CMOS hold?

A

date and time

hard drive configuration

memory

CPU settings

boot sequence

power management features

50
Q

Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS):

A

keeps certain settings when PC is turned off

51
Q

What are the two largest PC-compatible CPU manufacturers?

A

Intel

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

52
Q

What configurations do CPU sockets come in?

A

Pin Grid Array (PGA)

Land Grid Array (LGA)

53
Q

Pin Grid Array (PGA):

A

older version of CPU socket

has pins in processor

54
Q

Land Grid Array (LGA):

A

new version of CPU socket

studier than PGA because it has the pins in the socket versus on the processor

55
Q

What will a CPU have to keep it cool?

A

A heat sink

A fan

Both

56
Q

What are the three key characteristics of a CPU?

A

Architecture

Speed

Cache

57
Q

What are three CPU architecture-related terns?

A

32-bit

64-bit

Advanced RISC Machines (ARM)

58
Q

What does 32-bit and 64-bit refer to?

A

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

59
Q

Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC):

A

Advanced RISC Machines’ architecture

60
Q

Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC):

A

Intel’s x86 architecture

61
Q

RISC vs CISC:

A

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

62
Q

Two key things to know about ARM:

A

made in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions

generally used in devices that are tablet-sized and smaller

63
Q

Multicore:

A

means that the CPU is actually made up of several processors working in unison within the same package

64
Q

Hertz (Hz):

A

electrical cycles per second

to save power many CPUs can throttle down their speed to reduce the amount of energy used

65
Q

Cache:

A

a quick form of memory that greatly speeds up the performance of your computer

66
Q

What are the three different cache designations?

A

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

67
Q

What are the two starts of binary processing?

A

on or 1

off or 2

68
Q

Instruction Set:

A

rules on how to do the math

accepts numbers as input, performs calculations on them, and delivers other numbers as output

69
Q

Memory:

A

data storage that uses on/off states on a chip to record patterns of binary data

70
Q

What are the two types of memory?

A

Read-only memory (ROM)

Random access memory (RAM)

71
Q

Static Memory:

A

doesn’t require power to maintain its contents

72
Q

Dynamic Memory:

A

has to be constantly powered on to retain its contents

73
Q

Dynamic RAM:

A

when you turn off computer, the content is gone

74
Q

Virtual Memory:

A

a portion of the hard disk set aside as a holding area for contents of RAM

75
Q

Swap file or Page file:

A

the reserved area on the hard disk for virtual memory

76
Q

Memory Bus:

A

the pathway that delivers data to and from the memory

77
Q

System timer:

A

controls memory on modern PCs synchronization

determines the speed at which data enters the processor

78
Q

Single Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory(SDR SDRAM):

A

memory that operates at the same speed as the front-side bus

79
Q

Double Data Rate (DDR):

A

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

80
Q

Solid-state drive (SSD):

A

has no moving parts but uses the same solid-state memory technology found in the other forms of flash memory

81
Q

Optical Storage Drive reads:

A

Blu-ray Disc (BD)

Digital Video/Versatile Disc (DVD)

Compact Disc (CD)

82
Q

Dual-layer:

A

discs that can have multiple layers on the same side

83
Q

Video card:

A

is the expansion card you put into a computer to allow the computer to display output on some kind of monitor

84
Q

What are the two common GPUS?

A

AMD Radeon

NVIDIA GeForce

85
Q

Sound cards:

A

one of the most common integrated technologies found on motherboards today

86
Q

Network interface card (NIC):

A

an expansion card that connects a computer to a network so that it can communicate with other computes on that network

87
Q

Modem:

A

a device that converts digital signals from a computer into analog signals that can be transmitted over phone lines and back again

88
Q

Power Supply Unit (PSU):

A

converts 110V or 220VAC into DC voltages that a computer needs to operate

89
Q

Watt:

A

a unit of power

the higher the watt the more power your computer can draw from the PSU

90
Q

Two categories of cooling systems:

A

Case cooling

CPU cooling

91
Q

Air cooling:

A

the movement of air removes the heat from the component

92
Q

Heat sinks:

A

are attached to a heat-producing component to dissipate the heat more rapidly

93
Q

Most desktop PCs have a combination of fans:

A

Front intake fan

Rear exhaust fan

Power supply exhaust fan

94
Q

Front Intake Fan:

A

used to bring fresh, cool air into the computer for cooling purposes

95
Q

Rear Exhaust Fan:

A

used to take hot air out of the case

96
Q

Power Supply Exhaust Fan:

A

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

97
Q

Liquid cooling:

A

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

98
Q

RAM Capacity:

L1 Cache

A

64 KB (32 KB each for data and instructions

99
Q

RAM Capacity:

L2 Cache

A

256 KB

100
Q

RAM Capacity:

L3 Cache

A

4 MB-12 MB

101
Q

RAM Capacity:

RAM

A

4 GB-64 GB

102
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1 bit

A

A single 0 or 1

103
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

8 bits

A

1 byte; One text character

104
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 bytes

A

1 kilobyte; A 1,000 character plain text file or a small icon

105
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 kilobytes

A

1 megabyte; A small photograph or one minute of music

106
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 megabytes

A

1 gigabyte; A full-length audio CD is about 800 megabytes

107
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 gigabytes

A

1 terabyte; A large business database

108
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 terabytes

A

1 petabyte; Data from a large government institution, such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service

109
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 petabytes

A

1 exabyte; It’s rumored that YouTube stores just over 1 EB of data, but its hard to confirm that claim

110
Q

Conversion of Bits and Bytes; An Example:

1,024 exabytes

A

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.

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