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Computer Information Systems CIS 102 > Chapter 2 Motherboards - Complete COMPTIA A+ Guide to PC's 6th edition Cheryl A. Schmidt > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Motherboards - Complete COMPTIA A+ Guide to PC's 6th edition Cheryl A. Schmidt Flashcards

1
Q

What are the Chapter 2 objectives?

A
  • To recognize and identify important motherboard parts
  • To explain the basics of how a processor works
  • What issues to consider when upgrading or replacing the motherboard or processor
  • How to add cards to computers and mobile devices
  • The difference between PCI, PCI-X, AGP, and PCIe adapters and slots
  • About motherboard technologies like Hyper-Threading, and multi-core
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2
Q

What is a processor, CPU (central processing

unit) or microprocessor?

A

A special motherboard chip hat determines,

to a great extent, the power of the computer.

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3
Q

What does a CPU do?

A

The processor executes instructions, performs calculations, and coordinates input/output operations.

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4
Q

Who are The major processor manufacturers

today?

A

Intel, Motorola, VIA, and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.). The processors designed
by Motorola have been used in Apple computers for years.

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5
Q

Binary prefixes for storage terms

A

Kilobyte kB ~1 thousand bytes
Megabyte MB/MiB ~1 million bytes
Gigabyte GB ~1 billion bytes
Terabyte TB ~1 trillion bytes
Petabyte PB ~1,000 trillion bytes
Exabyte EB ~1 quintillion bytes
Zetabyte ZB ~1,000 exabytes
Yottabyte YB ~1 million exabytes

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6
Q

What is a processors “register size

(word size)?

A

The number of bits processed at one timein a microprocessor. Register size is in multiples of 8 bits (i.e., 8-, 16-, 32-, 64-, or 128-bit).

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7
Q

What is a bus?

A

To move the 1s and 0s around, electronic lines called a
bus
are used.

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8
Q

What is an internal data bus

or system bus?

A

The electronic lines inside the CPU are known as the

internal data bus or system bus. The word size and the number of lines for the internal data bus are equal.

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9
Q

What is an external data bus (external data path) and what does it do?

A

It communicates with devices in the outside world, such as a printer.The external data bus connects the processor to adapters, the keyboard, the mouse, the floppy drive, the hard drive, and other devices.

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10
Q

What are the four units of a CPU?

A
  • ALU (arithmetic logic unit)
  • Registers
  • Control unit
  • I/O (Input Output) unit
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11
Q

What does a/an ALU (arithmetic logic unit) do?

A

Does all the calculations and comparison logic needed by the computer.

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12
Q

What do the Registers do?

A

A very high speed storage area for 1s and 0s before the bits are processed.

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13
Q

What does a Control unit do?

A

Coordinates activities inside the processor.

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14
Q

What does an I/O (Input Output) unit do?

A

Manages data entering and leaving the processor.

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15
Q

How do you determine the speed of the processor?

A
  • Labeled on CPU itself

- (In Windows) Control Panel>System and Security>System

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16
Q

Beside the Registers (high speed storage inside the processor), where is the data or instructions the CPU needs to operate, usually found?

A
  • Cache
  • Motherboard memory (main memory)
  • Hard Drive
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17
Q

What is Cache memory?

A

A very fast type of memory designed to increase the speed of CPU operations.

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18
Q

What is L1 cache?

A

Memory is integrated as part of the CPU.

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19
Q

What is L2 (on-die) cache?

A

Included in the processor packaging, but not part of the CPU

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20
Q

What is L3 cache?

A

Third level of memory found when using higher end server processors, which can be located in the CPU housing or on the motherboard.

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21
Q

How does cache help CPU speed?

A

CPU efficiency is increased when data continuously flows into the CPU. Cache gives the fastest access.

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22
Q

Does more cache always help system performance?

A

System performance also depends on the efficiency of the cache controller
(the chip that manages the cache memory), the system design, the amount of available hard drive space, and the speed of the microprocessor.

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23
Q

What is a clock cycle?

A

A signal generated (from the motherboard), used to control the transfer of 1s and 0s to and from the processor.

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24
Q

What is a thread?

A

A small piece of an application process that can be handled by an operating system.

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25
Q

How does a thread work?

A
  • An operating system (OS), such as Windows, schedules and assigns resources to the thread.
  • Each thread can share resources (such as processor or cache memory) with other threads.
  • When there is a delay in the information being retrieved or accessed from another hardware component, Multithreading keeps the data flowing by letting another thread execute the code.
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26
Q

What does Intel’s Hyper-Threading (HT) do?

A
  • It allows a single processor to handle two separate sets of instructions simultaneously.
  • To the operating system,HT makes the system appear as if it has multiple processors.
  • Intel claims 30 % increase in performance (studies show it’s application dependent).
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27
Q

What are some requirements, in order to take

advantage of HT?

A
  • The CPU must support HT
  • The chipset (covered later in the chapter) must support HT
  • The BIOS must support HT
  • The operating system (OS) must support HT
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28
Q

How has DIB ( dual independent bus) helped speed up a system?

A

-Two buses are used: a back side bus and a front side bus.
-The back side bus connects the CPU to the
L2 cache.
-The FSB (front side bus) connects the CPU to the motherboard components.

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29
Q

What is one factors, besides CPU, that contributes to computer speed?

A

Bus speed (describes how fast the CPU can communicate with motherboard components, such as memory, chipset, orPCI bus).

30
Q

What new technologies replace the front side bus?

A
  • -AMD’s Direct Connect using HypperTransport

- Intel’s Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) and Direct Media Interface (DMI)

31
Q

When referring to motherboard speed, what is a multiplier?

A

A number that, when multiplied by

the bus speed, gives the CPU speed.

32
Q

What are other names for multiplier?

A
  • CPU clock ratio
  • Bus frequency multiplier
  • Bus frequency ratio
  • Stepping value
33
Q

Where can Processor settings can be configured (not changed)?

A

In the Bios.

34
Q

What is another bottleneck for computer performance (besides bus speed and technology)?

A

Video

35
Q

How can video speeds be increased?

A
  • Add a video card with GPU (Graphical Processing Unit)

- Choose a CPU with a GPU integrated into it ( available on some AMD and Intel processors)

36
Q

When two processors are installed does software have to be specifically written to support having multiple cores?

A

No longer true.

37
Q

What is quad-core cpu technology?

A
  • Two dual-core CPUs installed on same motherboard
  • Two dual-core CPUs installed on a single socket
  • All four cores installed in one unit (today’s technology)
38
Q

Are multi-core processor only for gamers or servers?

A

No useful to everyone.

39
Q

One advantage of multi-core processors?

A

Virtualization

40
Q

What is Virtualization?

A

Having one or more virtual machines on the same computer.

41
Q

Examples of Virtualization software?

A
  • VMware workstation

- Microsoft Hyper-V

42
Q

Benefits of Virtualization?

A
  • Legacy (old) software can be run on new machines
  • Reduced Cost
  • Physical space
43
Q

What determines if you can run virtualization on your computer?

A

Motherboard and CPU have to be designed for it.

44
Q

Where does CPU insert into?

A
  • Socket (Most do)

- Slot

45
Q

What are the different types of sockets?

A

-PGA (pin grid array), which has even rows of holes around the square socket
-SPGA (staggered pin array), which has staggered holes so
more pins can be inserted
-PPGA (plastic pin grid array) used on Intel Celerons and Pentium 4s
-μPGA (micro pin grid array) used by AMD; and LGA (land grid array) used with AMD and Intel
processors.

46
Q

How is the cpu kept cool?

A
  • Reducing or turning off parts of processor
  • System fans
  • Heat sinks
47
Q

What other motherboard components commonly have heat sinks?

A
  • Chipsets

- I/O controller chips

48
Q

What are active heat sinks?

A

Powered by motherboard

49
Q

What are two questions to consider when upgrading a cpu or motherboard?

A

Can it be upgraded and should it be.

50
Q

Factors in cpu or motherboard upgrade?

A
  • What Operating System and applications are running

- CPU voltage

51
Q

What is Throttle Management?

A

The ability to control the CPU speed by slowing it when it is not being used
heavily or is hot.

52
Q

How is the Throttle Management feature controlled/modified?

A
  • BIOS

- Power Option (Control Panel)

53
Q

How do mobile devices typically vary from desktop computers?

A
  • Processor normally not upgrade-able or as powerfull on mobile device
  • Has less memory (can be upgradeable)
  • Fewer ports
54
Q

What is the primary problem when overclocking?

A

-Insufficient Cooling

55
Q

When detecting cpu problems

A

-Ensure fans work and circulate properly
-Vacuum ANY dust
-Cool the room
-Check temp on Bios if poss.
-Research any visual codes or audio beeps on the motherboard from manufact. website
-

56
Q

What is an expansion slot?

A

Used to add an adapter to the motherboard, and it has rules that control how many bits can be transferred at a time to the adapter, what signals are sent over the adapter’s
gold connectors, as well as how the adapter is configured.

57
Q

Common expansion slots

A
  • PCI (peripheral component interconnect)
  • PCIe (PCI Express)
  • ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) (old)
  • EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture)
  • MCA (Micro Channel Architecture)
  • VL-bus (VESA- )video electronics standard s association) bus
58
Q

What are the four PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) varients?

A
  • 32 bit 33 MHz
  • 32-bit 66 MHz
  • 64-bit 66MHz
59
Q

Features of PCI - X (upgrade to pci)

A
  • Allows faster speeds
  • Is backwards compatible
  • Can operate at 66, 133, 266, 533, and 1066 MHz
  • Has its own bridge controller
60
Q

What is AGP (accelerated Graphics Port)?

A

A bus interface for graphics adapters developed from the PCI

bus.

61
Q

What does AGP help in over PCI video adapters?

A
  • Speeds up 3-D graphics
  • 3-D acceleration
  • Full-motion playback
  • Directly connects to memory
62
Q

PCIe advantages over AGP?

A

-Faster speed :PCIe 3.0 allows transfers up to 1GBps per lane in one direction
with a maximum of 32 lanes. PCIe 2.0 has a transfer rate from 2.5GT/s (gigatransfers
per second) to 5.0 GT/s, and version 3.0 increases it to 8GT/s. This allows a 16-lane PCIe link to
transfer data at a rate up to 32GBps.

-Full duplex (sends and receives info at same time)

63
Q

Why was mini PCI (32-bit 33MHz standard) standard devleloped?

A

-Allow PCI upgrades and interface cards to be added to laptops, docking stations, and printers

64
Q

What are the three form factors of mini PCI?

A
  • Type I - Uses 100 pin connectors
  • Type II - Uses 100 pin connectors
  • Type III- Uses 124 pin connectors
65
Q

What is a PCMCIA card (PC Card)?

A
  • Alternative to mini PCIe
  • Credit card size
  • Insert into a slot (instead of having to open laptop case)
66
Q

What is an ExpressCard?

A
  • Is the latest high-performance, hardware expansion standard for mobile computers.
  • Replaced PC Card
67
Q

What plug and play applications can you add with Expresscard?

A
  • Memory,
  • Other technologies: PCIe, e-SATA, IEEE 1934 (FireWire), USB 3.0
  • wired and wireless communications
  • multimedia,
  • security, and
  • networking
68
Q

Why is knowing the Motherboard chipset so important?

A
  • Usually determines what kind of processor is or can be installled
  • Tells you what computer can support.
69
Q

What two hubs make up the chipset?

A

-MCH (memory controller hub)( sometimes called the NorthBridge ) Hub - control s the maximum amount of motherboard memory, the type of RAM chips, the motherboard’s capacity for two or more CPUs, and whether the motherboard supports the latest version of PCI.

ICH(I/O controller hub) -Southbridge Hub a chip that controls what features, ports, and interfaces the motherboard supports i.e., audio technology, usb versions supported,expansion technology supported (PCIe), Ethernet communication supported (gigabit).

70
Q

What is the motherboard size referred to as?

A

Form Factor

71
Q

What type of Motherboard form factors are there?

A

ATX: The different types of ATX are known as microATX (sometimes shown as μATX), miniATX,
FlexATX, EATX, WATX, miniATX, nanoATX, picoATX, and mobileATX.

BTX: Intendeded to replace ATX but canceled in favor of proprietary form factors). MicroBTX, Nano BTX, picoBTX,

WTX - older that ATX or BTX

Older form factors include
AT, baby AT, NLX, LPX, and miniLPX. Some motherboards, such as the NLX and LPX form factors,
had a riser board that attached to the smaller motherboard. Adapters go into the slots on the riser
board instead of motherboard slots.

Computer Information Systems CIS 102 (2 decks)

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