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ICS3U1 - Computer Science > Computer Hardware > Flashcards

Computer Hardware Flashcards

1
Q

What are some examples Peripheral Computer Parts?

A

Graphics Card (GPU)
Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse
Network Card (NIC)
Sound Card (SPU)
Speakers/Headset
Microphone
External Hard Drives/SSDs

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2
Q

What does the Graphics Card (GPU) do?

A
  • Takes data from RAM
  • Performs colour, shape, and 3D math on the data
  • Produces a video signal
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3
Q

How does the GPU connect to the motherboard?

A

PCI Express x16 Slot (PCIe x16)
or
Some motherboards or CPUs have the GPU already bulid in

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4
Q

Is the GPU an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

output

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5
Q

What does the Monitor do?

A
  • Takes video signals from the GPU
  • Converts signals into colours and shapes we can see on the screen
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6
Q

How does the Monitor connect to the motherboard?

A

It connects to the GPU using HDMI, USBc, Displayport

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7
Q

Is the Monitor an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

Output (since it follows inline with the graphics card)

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8
Q

What does the Keyboard/Mouse do?

A

Takes and converts human hand movement and clicks into character data and x,y coordinate data that is then stored in RAM

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9
Q

How does the Keyboard/Mouse connect to the motherboard?

A

Wired - USB
Wireless - USB or
Bluetooth Dongle

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10
Q

Is the Keyboard/Mouse an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

Input

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11
Q

What does the Network Card (NIC) do?

A
  • Takes data from the network and puts it in the RAM
  • Takes the data from RAM and puts it on the network
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12
Q

How does the NIC connect to the motherboard?

A

PCIex1
USB

or
Most motherboards have a bulit-in ethernet or wifi card

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13
Q

Is the NIC an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

input and output

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14
Q

What does the Sound Card (SPU) do?

A
  • Takes data from RAM and performs sound calculations to produce an audio signal
  • Takes an audio signal and performs analog to digital calculations and puts that digital data into RAM
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15
Q

How does the SPU connect to the motherboard?

A

PCIe x1

USB
or
Most motherboards have a decent SPU built in

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16
Q

Is the SPU an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

Output and Input

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17
Q

What do Speakers/Headsets do?

A

Takes an audio signal from SPU and produces soundwaves we can hear

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18
Q

Are the Speakers/Headset an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

output

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19
Q

How do the Speakers/Headset connect with the motherboard?

A

Connects to the SPU using the headphone/line out jack

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20
Q

How do Webcams, Scanners, Printers Gamepads, External Hard Drives/SSDs, Rumble Chairs, and LED Game Mood Lighting connect to the motherboard?

A

USB

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21
Q

How does the Microphone connect to the motherboard?

A

Connects to the mic jack on the SPU

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22
Q

Is the External Hard Drive/SSD an input or output device relative to RAM?

A

Input and/or Output

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23
Q

What are the 7 Basic Computer Parts

A

Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Storage: Hard Drive/SSD
Power Supply Unit (PSU)
Cooling
Case/Tower

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24
Q

What does the motherboard look like?

A

Large circuit board with microchips on it
Many sockets, slots, ports, plugs on so you can plug stuff into it

25
Q

What part of the human body is the motherboard similar to?

A

spinal cord

26
Q

What is the function of the motherboard?

A

central communication hub of the comptuer
–> all data goes through the motherboard

27
Q

What should you note when buying a motherboard?

A

ensure it has the proper sockets, slots, or ports that you need to connect your devices

28
Q

What does the CPU look like?

A
  • small, rectangular circuit board with one main microchip on it
  • backside has connector pins/dots
  • sometimes may be coverd with a metal protector
29
Q

What does the CPU do?

A

performs math or logic calculations

30
Q

What are examples of math calculations?

A

addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponents

31
Q

What are some examples of logic calculations?

A

less than, greater than, equal to, AND, OR

32
Q

What part of the human body is the CPU similar to?

33
Q

What should you note when buying a CPU?

A

Ensure that it fits into the socket that your motherboard has

Ensure that it has the power for the apps/games you want to run

34
Q

What is the general rule of thumb for faster CPUs?

A

More Ghz
Newer
More CPU Cores

35
Q

What does the RAM look like?

A
  • Small rectangular circuit board with microchips on it
  • One side/edge has connector pads
  • microchips are sometimes covered with a metal protector
36
Q

What does the RAM do?

A

RAM stores the data of currently running programs

It is fast and temporary data storage, but has limited capacity.

37
Q

What happens to the data in RAM after a program is closed/done?

A

data is freed so RAM can store data of the next running program

38
Q

What part of the body is the RAM like?

A

short term memory of the brain

39
Q

What should you note when buying RAM?

A

ensure it is compatible with the RAM slot in the motherboard (usually DDR4)

ensure ther is enough RAM to run the apps/games you want

40
Q

What were the 4 types of Storage explored?

A

Traditional Hard Drives
SSD using an SATA connecor
SSD that looks like a circuit but uses SATA connector
SSD using NVME connector

41
Q

What does the traditional Hard Drive look like?

A

large metal box with SATA data and SATA power ports on one side

42
Q

What does the storage do?

A

stores data of programs that are NOT currently running & the files that the programs use

storage is much slower than RAM, but can store lots of data

43
Q

When does the data in the hard drive/SSD erase?

A

when we tell it to

44
Q

What part of the human body is the storage similar to?

A

long-term memory of the brain

45
Q

What should you note when buying storage?

A

Ensure you have enough space to store all the data of your programs as well as the data that those programs use

46
Q

What does the power supply unit look like?

A
  • large metal box
  • AC powerconnector on one side
  • DC powercable(s) on the other
47
Q

What does the PSU do?

A
  1. convert 110V of AC power to 5-12V DC power that computers can use
  2. distribute the power inside of the PC case to all the parts of the computer (eg. motherboard, hard drives, GPUs, etc.)
48
Q

What part of the body is the PSU similar to?

A

human digestive system

49
Q

What should you note when buying a PSU?

A

Ensure that it has enough Watts to run the parts inside the computer.

50
Q

What happens if you don’t have enough Watts to run the parts inside the computer?

A

The computer might crash or produce incorrect output

51
Q

What does the Case/Tower look like?

A

large metal boxes that all computer parts are installed into

52
Q

What is the function of a case/tower?

A
  1. provide a rigid structure to install your computer parts
  2. provide protection against the outside environment
53
Q

What part of the human body is the Case/Tower like?

A

Skeletal system - 1st function
Integumentary System (skin) - 2nd function

54
Q

What can the cooling look like?

A

fans
heat sinks
liquid cooling
air conditioning

55
Q

What does the cooling do?

A

ensure that hot microchips remain in a specified temperature range (usually 100℃)

56
Q

What part of the human body is the cooling like?

57
Q

Explain how the different types of cooling work.

A

Fans - blow hot air away
Heat Sinks - distribute the heat by increasing surface area via metal
Water cooling - uses water to transport heat away from hot microchips

58
Q

What does the CPU connect to the motherboard?

A

AMD - Socket AM 4
Intel - Socket 1700
(usually)

59
Q

How does the RAM connect to the motherboard?

ICS3U1 - Computer Science (9 decks)

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