Chapter 1 and 2 Flashcards
active heat sink
Heat sink with attached fan.
AGP
(Accelerated Graphics Port) A 32-bit I/O bus used for video, provides for a direct connection between the video card and memory.
AMR
(Audio Modem Riser) A riser card and slot designed to support surround audio and soft modem on some motherboards.
application programs
used to create, store, modify, and view information you create, also called data
ATX
(Advanced Technology Integrated) Motherboard form factor with integrated port cluster at left rear of board, basis for most mid-size to full-size desktop systems.
bus speeds
Speeds of various buses on motherboards (PCI, PCIe, memory, and so on).
chip creep
Socketed chips working their way out of sockets over time due to heating/cooling.
chipset
Support chips on a motherboard (northbridge or memory controller hub; southbridge or I/O controller hub) that provide interface between onboard components and expansion slots and CPU.
CNR
Communications Network Riser. Riser slot and card for soft modem and network adapter on some motherboards.
continuous reboots
Symptom of Power Good power supply problem or STOP (BSOD) error if system is configured to restart on BSOD.
CPU
(central processing unit) An electronic circuit that can process data and execute computer programs (Core i7, Phenom II, and so on).
CPU fan connector
Connection on motherboard to power CPU fan and monitor speed.
dead short
Short circuit on the motherboard that makes the system appear to be dead.
expansion slots
Slots in the motherboard for video, network, mass storage, and other types of cards. Types include PCIe, PCI, and others.
firmware
A middle ground between hardware and software, it is a software program that has been written for read-only memory (ROM).
FlexATX
Small version of ATX motherboard designed for low-profile or small form factor systems.
form factor
Physical size and shape of motherboard, power supply. See www.formfactors.org for specifications for common motherboard and power supply standards.
front-panel connectors
Connections on front or side of motherboard for power switch, indicator lights, reset, and other features from the front of the computer.
hardware
Objects in a computer that are tangible; can be physically installed or removed.
hardware-assisted virtualization
Features in CPU and BIOS that enable virtualization to perform faster.
heat sink
Device that draws heat away from a component (CPU, GPU, and memory).
hyperthreading
(HT Technology) Intel CPU technology that enables a single processor core to work with two execution threads at the same time.
integrated GPU
GPU (graphics processing unit) incorporated in the CPU.
integrated I/O ports
Ports built in to the motherboard port cluster or internal headers such as parallel, serial, USB, and others.
jumper
Group of two or three pins on a motherboard or card; used for configuration.
jumper block
Fits across two jumper pins to enable or disable a feature.
Land grid array
(LGA) Intel CPU socket technology that uses small metal lands in the CPU socket instead of pins on the CPU.
Level 1 (L1) cache
Cache memory read by CPU first when new memory information is needed; smallest cache size.
Level 2 (L2) cache
Cache memory read by CPU if L1 cache does not have wanted information; much larger than L1 cache.
Level 3 (L3) cache
Cache memory read by CPU if L2 cache does not have wanted information; much larger than L2 cache; used on high-performance CPUs.
LGA1155
LGA socket used by second- and third-generation Core i-series processors; 1155 lands.
LGA1156
LGA socket used by first-generation Core i-series processors; 1156 lands.
LGA1366
LGA socket used by Extreme Core i7 CPUs; 1366 lands.
LGA775
First LGA socket from Intel; used by late-model Pentium 4, Pentium D, others; 775 lands.
liquid cooling
Cooling system for CPU, GPU, and other components that replaces air cooling with heat blocks, a heat exchanger, and liquid-filled hoses; used for extreme overclocking.
Mini-ITX
VIA Tech-originated ultra-compact motherboard design; used in computing appliances (media servers, and so on).
motherboard
The logical foundation of the computer; all components connect to it.
Multicore
Processor with two or more cores; some desktop processors have as many as eight cores.
overclocking
Running CPU, memory, and other components at faster-than normal speeds. May require adjustments to component voltage and improved air cooling or a switch to liquid cooling.
passive heat sink
Heat sink that relies on outside air flow for cooling.
PCI
(Peripheral Component Interconnect) 32-bit I/O bus providing a shared 33-MHz or 66-MHz data path between the CPU and peripheral controllers.
PCI Express (PCIe)
A high-speed set of serial bus communication channels used by adapter cards.
PCI-X
Workstation/server version of PCI used for network and mass storage cards; provides faster performance than PCI.
pin grid array
(PGA) CPU socket design in which pins in the rear of the CPU are inserted into holes in socket and clamped into place.
Socket 940
AMD PGA socket; requires registered memory; 940 pins.
Socket AM2
AMD PGA socket; supports CPUs with dual-channel DDR2 memory controller; 940 pins.
Socket AM2+
AMD PGA socket; enhanced version of AM2; supports CPUs with L3 cache; 940 pins.
Socket AM3
AMD PGA socket; supports CPUs with dual-channel DDR2 or DDR3 memory controller; 941 pins.
Socket AM3+
AMD PGA socket; supports CPUs with up to eight cores; 942 pins.
Socket FM1
AMD PGA socket; supports APUs (AMD term for CPU with integrated GPU); 905 pins.
software
Anything that can be stored electronically, known as data, instructions, programs, or applications.
system fan connectors
Connectors on the motherboard that provide power and speed monitoring to case fans and sometimes the power supply fan.
system lockups
System is completely unresponsive; usually caused by overheating leading to corrupted memory contents.
utility programs
used to keep a computer in good working condition or to set up new devices
x64
64-bit extension to x86 processor architecture; backward compatible; supports more than 4GB of RAM.
x86
32-bit processor architecture used by AMD and Intel CPUs.