Computing Hardware Flashcards by Aaron Niebuhr

System unit

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What kind of port is this?

HDMI

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Display port

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USB

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Middle port is called what?

S/PDIF

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DVI

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Power connection

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PS/2 or mini-DIN

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NIC

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Audio input/output jacks

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What is the typical format for High-definition?

1920x1200

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What is the typical format for 4k?

3840x2160

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Thunderbolt

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SATA

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Molex connector (4 pins)

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What are the 3 network cable types?

Fiber,twisted pair, and coaxial

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What network cable type is the most expensive?

Fiber

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Which network cable type can run the longest distance?

Fiber

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What kind of connector is this?

SC - subscriber connector

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ST - Straight tip connecter

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LC - Lucent connecter

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The most common network cable type found in an office setting

Twisted-pair

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What are the 2 varieties of Twisted-pair?

Unshielded (UTP) And Shielded (STP)

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RJ-45

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RJ-11

What are the 2 most common wiring standards?

T568A and T568B

What kind of cable is this?

Coaxial cable

Which cable is used for TV and some legacy networks?

Coaxial cable

F Connector

BNC connector

What kind of cable would have a RJ-45 connector?

Twisted pair

What kind of cable would have a Subscriber Connector?

Fiber cable

What kind of cable would use a F connector?

Coaxial

What are the 3 main connectors you find with a fiber cable?

Subscriber, straight tip, and lucent

Cat5 cable specifics

Upto 100 MBPS Transmission range of 100 meters 4 twisted pairs of copper wire OUTDATED BUT ON THE TEST

What kind of wire is popular in ethernet cables?

Copper

Cat5e cable specs

Up to 1gbps Up to 100 meters Minimum 100mhz bandwidth 4 twisted pairs of copper wire physically separated and has more twists per foot than Cat5 to provide max interference protection

Ethernet is made out of this kind of wire

Copper

Cat6 specs

Upto 10gbps Minimum 250mhz bandwidth Upto 100 meters 4 twisted pair copper wire Used in 10GBaseT networks Uses longitudinal separator to reduce crosstalk

What's the difference between STP and UTP

STP has an aluminum shield to cut out interference and is 30% more expensive

Which 2 fiber connectors can be used for duplex? (2 strands instead of one)

LC and SC

Which pin assignment is this? T568A OR T568B?

T568A

Which pin assignment is this? T568A OR T568B?

T568B

USB 1.1 Speed

Upto 12mbps

USB 2.0 Speeds up to

480mbps

Which USB type is backward compatible?

The 3.0 to the 2.0

How many USB devices can connect to a computer by daisy-chaining?

127

1 hertz=

1 cycle per second

1 megahertz=

1 million cycles per second

1 gigahertz=

1 billion cycles per second

How many megabits are in 1 gbps?

1000 mbps

How many kilobits are in 1 mbps?

1000

USB 1.0

1.5 mbps

USB 3.1 Gen 1

5 gbps

USB 3.1 gen 2

10 gbps

What kind of cable is this?

Serial cable

What is the maximum speed for a serial cable?

115200 bps

The thunderbolt cable has a max speed of

10 gbps

Thunderbolt 2 max speed

20 gbps

Thunderbolt 3 max speed

40 gbps

These are all ________ connectors

HDMI

TYPE A HDMI has __ pins and is backward compatible with ___

19 pins DVI

HDMI B has ___ pins and supports greater ______________

29 pins Resolution

HDMI C is a smaller version of type __ for _____________ devices

A Portable

What is SODIMM used in?

Used in portable computers

RAM Slot pin sizes

30,72,168, 184

SODIMM pins

72, 144, 200

DDR3 pins

240

DDR3 SODIMM pins

204

DDR2 Pins

240

DDR2 SODIMM pins

200

What is the function of the OS?

It provides a method for other programs to communicate with the hardware of the PC or device. Creates the UI, a visual representation of the computer on the monitor

Motherboards are large circuit boards with components and traces on both sides. To keep motherboard components from shorting out on the case, what do you need to use? ESD Mat Standoffs Antistatic Bag Thermal Paste

Standoffs

Rear I/O shields for motherboards either come pre-installed, or as a separate piece that needs to be installed before you put in the motherboard. What functions does the rear I/O shield provide? (Select all that apply.) Dust barrier Support the motherboard in the case Block electromagnetic interference Ground the I/O ports to the case

Dust Barrier Block electromagnetic interference Ground the I/O ports to the case

Motherboards have standard standoff and mounting hole patterns based on its form factor. When installing and aligning a motherboard in the case, what do you need to be careful of? (Select all that apply.) Thermal paste Damaging rear components and traces Electrostatic discharge LED headers

Damaging rear components and traces Electrostatic discharge

PC cases come in many different sizes and configurations. Where do you connect the power button, reset button, and power LED to the motherboard? PCIe slot USB header Rear I/O Front panel header

Front panel header

When powering off a computer to open the case, what steps must you take after shutting down the computer to ensure all residual power is gone? (Select all that apply.) Remove the power cord from the rear of the computer Remove the power supply Attach an ESD strap Hold the power button for 30 seconds after power is disconnected

Remove the power cord from the rear of the computer Hold the power button for 30 seconds after power is disconnected

To connect multiple monitors to your computer you can use Daisy-Chaining. What cable types are used to Daisy-Chain monitors? HDMI VGA DVI DisplayPort

DisplayPort

To increase the graphics processing of a computer you are installing a discrete graphics card. What do you need to remove from the case to install the new graphics card? M.2 SSD CPU Cooler Case fan Blanking plates

Blanking plates

Not all graphics cards and monitors are capable of Daisy-Chaining. What minimum video protocol does your equipment need to be capable of to support Daisy-Chaining? HDMI 2.1 DisplayPort 1.2 USB-C 3.2 DVI-D Dual Link

DisplayPort 1.2

When building a PC there are a multitude of different size and power components you can choose to use, from portable and energy efficient to high performance. What primary things should you look for when choosing a PSU for your PC? (Select all that apply.) Wattage Phase Cable management Form factor

Wattage Form factor

Assuming there are case fan locations in the top, bottom, front, and back of a PC case, where would you place fans to draw cool air into the case? (Select all that apply.) Top Bottom Front Back

Bottom Front

There are multiple ways to power a case fan in a PC. From the list below, identify the common methods of powering a case fan. (Select all that apply.) 4 pin ATX SATA Fan controller 4 pin Molex

Fan controller 4 pin Molex

The motherboard supplies power to connected components (i.e. PCIe, RAM, etc.) which comes from a single connection from the PSU. Which power connection provides main power to the motherboard? 8 pin 12v ATX 24 pin ATX 6 pin PCIe SATA

24 pin ATX

SSD’s and HDD’s are one of the types of system memory your PC uses. Which of the following terms best describes them? Volatile Non-volatile Stable Discrete

Non-volatile

When installing an SSD or HDD into a PC case, what do you mount the drive to before putting it into the case? Chassis Platform Slot Bracket

Bracket

When installing a 2.5” SSD, what data connection type is used? NVMe PCIe SATA SCSI

SATA

In a desktop PC case, where are the drive bays typically located? Behind the motherboard tray Front of the case Rear of the case Next to the PSU

Front of the case

A support technician is installing a new SATA hard drive on a new computer. What is the best type of cable connector the technician will plug in to supply power to the drive? 15-pin connector 7-pin connector 4-pin connector USB connector

15-pin connector

A support technician opened a PC case and observed a small computer system interface (SCSI) connector plugged into the motherboard. What can the technician know to be true about the connector? It is likely connected to the hard disk. Each device on a wide SCSI bus must be configured with a unique ID, from 0 to 68. It transfers data 1 bit at a time. It only supports 1 device at a time.

It is likely connected to the hard disk. SCSI connectors are commonly used to connect hard disks, as well as other storage devices like tape drives, CD/DVD drives, and external storage devices.

A manager directs a support technician to plug a device into the communications (COM) port. What port is the manager referring to? IDE SCSI USB Serial

Serial

A support technician plugged a monitor with a USB C cable connector into a USB C port on the computer, but the monitor would not function. Why would the monitor not work? It was not an HDMI cable. It was not a DisplayPort cable. It was not a Lightning cable. It was not a Thunderbolt version 3 cable.

It was not a Thunderbolt version 3 cable. USB-C may not work for display purposes without a Thunderbolt-capable cable. Thunderbolt version 3 uses the same connectors as a USB-C cable.

Upgrading which component of a host machine would most likely enable you to run more virtual machines simultaneously?

Ram

Powerful hypervisors like ESXi are often booted from what location?

USB thumb drives.

Which of the following virtualization programs works well with macOS? (Select the best answer.) Virtual PC. KVM. Parallels. ESXi.

Parallels.

With what does VMware Workstation replace [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DELETE]?

[CTRL] + [ALT] + [INSERT].

Which is a term for a computer with minimal hardware that serves as a terminal to a desktop OS running inside a virtual machine on a powerful remote server?

Thin Client

A support technician is connecting a current standard extended integrated drive electronics (IDE) cable to a PC’s motherboard and knows that pin 1 on the cable must match up with pin 1 on the port. How can the tech know where pin 1 is on the cable? A.Pin 1 has a blue stripe. B.Pin 1 has a black stripe. C.Pin 1 has a red stripe. D.Pin 1 has a grey stripe.

red stripe

26.7% complete Question A support technician is installing a new SATA hard drive on a new computer. What is the best type of cable connector the technician will plug in to supply power to the drive? 15-pin connector 7-pin connector 4-pin connector USB connector

It was not a Thunderbolt version 3 cable

40.0% complete Question A support technician needs to install an optical disk drive in a new tower. Which panel should be removed so that the technician can gain access to the optical drive and connect the cables? Through the top panel Through the side panel Through the rear panel Through the bottom of the rear panel

Through the side panel

A support technician needs to connect the USB port on a portable monitor to an HDMI port on a laptop to extend the laptop’s display. What kind of cable will the technician use to accomplish this? SCSI Adapter EIDE DVI

Adapter

53.3% complete Question A support technician is installing a PCIe card that will use a combination of system memory and dedicated memory. What type of card is the tech installing? Graphics Sound NIC Wi-Fi

Graphics

A support technician manages digital displays but has some older computers with video cards that can support both analog and digital monitors. What type of video interface do these older computers have? HDMI DVI VGA DisplayPort

DVI

66.7% complete Question A support technician opened a PC case and observed a small computer system interface (SCSI) connector plugged into the motherboard. What can the technician know to be true about the connector? It is likely connected to the hard disk. Each device on a wide SCSI bus must be configured with a unique ID, from 0 to 68. It transfers data 1 bit at a time. It only supports 1 device at a time.

It is likely connected to the hard disk.

73.3% complete Question A computer is processing software instructions on the central processing unit. How is all computer software broken down to be processed? Bus Binary RAM System clock

Binary

A support technician is working on a motherboard that is 12” x 9.6” and has seven expansion slots. Which form factor is the technician working with? ATX mATX SFF Mini-ITX

ATX The Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) specification is the standard form factor for most desktop PC motherboards and is 12 inches wide by 9.6 inches deep and can contain up to seven expansion slots. The Micro-ATX (mATX) standard specifies a 9.6-inch (244 x 244 mm) square board. mATX boards can have a maximum of 4 expansion slots. Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs are popular as home machines and for use as mini servers. SFF PCs often use Via's Mini-ITX (Information Technology Extended) form factor. Mini-ITX is a 6.7 inch (170 x 170 mm) square with one expansion slot. These are designed for small cases but do note that most mini-ITX boards can be mounted in ATX cases.

A support technician needs to install a legacy peripheral component interconnect (PCI) sound card. Which of the following statements about PCI is NOT true? PCI Express supersedes PCI. PCI uses parallel communications. The PCI card can fit into the PCIe slot. PCI is software compatible with PCIe.

The PCI card can fit into the PCIe slot.

93.3% complete Question A manager directs a support technician to plug a device into the communications (COM) port. What port is the manager referring to? IDE SCSI USB Serial

Serial

Which of the following statements regarding modern connectors and ports is untrue? They use edge contacts. They use internal connection points. They sometimes use keying. They can be reversible.

They use internal connection points.

A video production company uses removable media to transport multimedia files to partner and customer sites. Often, the media has to be prepared with only very short notice. In the past, the time taken to transfer files from the development workstations has resulted in delays and missed appointments. To mitigate this issue, the company has procured USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 storage devices and Windows PC workstation expansion cards. The devices and expansion cards support multiple USB hardware port types. Which of the following adapter cables will enable the devices to take full advantage of the highest transfer rate? Type A to Type A with USB 3 compatibility (denoted by a blue tab) Type B Micro to Type A with USB 3 compatibility (denoted by a blue tab) Lightning to Type A Type C to Type C

Type C to Type C Type A ports and connectors enhanced to support USB 3 are denoted by a blue tab, but this physical interface only supports speeds up to 10 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1). Type B Micro USB 3 interfaces only support speeds up to 10 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1). The Lightning connector and port is mostly used by Apple iPhone and iPad mobile devices. Though it is present on some storage devices, a Type A to Lightning adapter cable would not support the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps transfer rate. Type C connectors and ports support data transfers at the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps rate. The connector is also much smaller than Type A and is reversible. These improvements mean that other USB connector form factors are being phased out.

A hardware technician is ordering power supply units (PSUs) for the organization’s desktop computers. What type of form factor is the technician looking for the PSUs to have from the list below? ATX SFF PCIe Mini-ITX

ATX

To mitigate the heat a high-end gaming system will generate, an engineer is using a liquid-based cooling system in the design. Which of the following components are NOT a part of an open-loop, liquid-based cooling system? Fans Heat sinks Water blocks Water loop

Heat sinks

A hardware technician is upgrading a device with multiple, identical central processing unit (CPU) packages. What class of computer is the technician most likely upgrading? Workstation Mobile Desktop Server

Server

A hardware technician is purchasing mass storage devices and tells the salesperson that they must use flash memory technology. What type of devices will the salesperson show the technician? HDD SSD RAM CDs

SSD

A hardware technician installed a new power supply unit (PSU) in a workstation and removed any unnecessary power connector cables. What type of PSU did the technician install? Modular Redundant ATX ATX12V

modular

A technician loans a laptop to employees when they go on travel and each time an employee returns the laptop the technician reformats it and reloads the operating system and all the software. After several years of following this process, the laptop is sluggish and often freezes. What is most likely to cause this to happen? Motherboard SSD RAM CDs

SSD Solid-state drives (SSDs) use flash chips that are susceptible to a type of degradation over the course of many write operations which would cause the laptop to be sluggish and freeze.

A hardware technician is purchasing more servers for an organization and needs to ensure the power supply units in the data center have the correct output to support them. What is a power supply unit’s output capability measured as? Power Voltage Watts Wattage rating

Wattage rating

A hardware technician is inspecting the notches on a dual inline memory module (DIMM) edge. What will the notches on the edge connector help the hardware technician determine? (Select all that apply.) The DDR generation If it is compatible with the slot How to insert it properly If it has a heat sink

The DDR generation If it is compatible with the slot How to insert it properly

An engineer is designing a new computer system and wants to provide active cooling to improve airflow and dissipate heat from around the components. What will the engineer use in the system? Heat sinks Fans Thermal paste Thermal pads

fans

A hardware technician is scanning a computer’s non-volatile storage devices for errors and infections. Which of the following will the technician include in the scanning? (Select all that apply.) Hard disk drives Solid-state drives Random access memory Mass storage devices

Hard disk drives Solid-state drives Mass storage devices

A hardware technician is tearing apart a non-functioning computer to salvage parts and pulls out a memory stick that synchronizes its speed to the motherboard system clock and has a peak transfer rate of 1600MBps. What type of memory has the technician removed? SDRAM Dynamic RAM DDR SDRAM ECC RAM

DDR SDRAM Modern system RAM is double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM) and makes two data transfers per clock cycle and has a peak transfer rate of at least 1600MBps. Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) is so-called because its speed is synchronized to the motherboard system clock. Dynamic RAM stores each data bit as an electrical charge within a single bit cell. A bit cell consists of a capacitor to hold a charge and a transistor to read the contents of the capacitor. Error correcting code (ECC) RAM runs in workstations and servers that require a high level of reliability.

55.0% complete Question A hardware technician is reinstalling a heat sink with a central processing unit (CPU). Which of the following steps should the technician take to reinstall the heat sink? (Select all that apply.) Clean it. Thermal paste. Pop up the CPU at a 45º angle. Wear an ESD wrist strap.

Clean it. Thermal paste. Wear an ESD wrist strap.

A hardware technician is building a server that will process financial data in real-time and wants to use error correcting code (ECC) RAM that will detect and correct errors, if possible. What other considerations will the technician need to include to support the ECC RAM? (Select all that apply.) ECC - Capable Motherboard 72-bit data bus DDR memory module Two 64-bit data buses

ECC - Capable Motherboard 72-bit data bus

A hardware technician is working on a new desktop that can send 128 bits of data per transfer rather than 64 bits. What is this referred to as? Single channel Dual channel Triple channel Quadruple channel

Dual channel

A software developer is creating an application that will run multiple parallel threads through the central processing unit (CPU) at the same time to reduce the amount of "idle time" the CPU spends waiting for new instructions to process. What type of process is the developer taking advantage of? Multi-socket Multithreading Multicore Processor extensions

Multithreading The developer is taking advantage of multithreading which is when software runs multiple parallel threads through the CPU at the same time to reduce "idle time."

A student is learning about computer hardware and the instructor selects them to identify the component that executes program instruction code. How should the student respond? CPU RAM Cache HDD

CPU

An employee is leaving the company and must return any removable storage devices they may have. What devices will the employee most likely return? (Select all that apply.) Wireless card USB flash drive SD card RAM

USB flash drive SD card

Which of the following central processing unit (CPU) architectures implements a system-on-chip (SoC) where all the controllers, including video, sound, networking, and storage, are part of the CPU? IA-32 x86 x64 ARM

ARM Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) designs implement an SoC which means that all the controllers, including video, sound, networking, and storage, are part of the CPU.

What is the primary advantage of using an SSD over a traditional hard disk drive (HDD)?

Faster data access and transfer speeds

Which of the following SSD interfaces is commonly used for consumer-grade SSDs? A. IDE B. SCSI C. SATA D. PCIe

SATA

What is the purpose of wear leveling in SSDs? A. To evenly distribute data across NAND flash cells B. To increase the write speed of the SSD C. To improve data encryption on the SSD D. To reduce power consumption

To evenly distribute data across NAND flash cells

Which SSD form factor is commonly used in laptops and ultrabooks? A. 2.5-inch B. M.2 C. PCIe D. 3.5-inch

m.2

What does TRIM do in relation to SSD performance? A. It defragments the SSD to improve performance. B. It optimizes the file system to reduce write amplification. C. It clears unused data blocks and maintains performance. D. It encrypts data on the SSD to enhance security.

It clears unused data blocks and maintains performance.

What type of NAND flash memory has the highest endurance and is often used in enterprise-grade SSDs? A. SLC B. MLC C. TLC D. QLC

SLC

Which of the following statements about SSDs and magnetic hard drives (HDDs) is true? A. SSDs are more prone to physical damage than HDDs. B. SSDs are generally slower in read and write operations than HDDs. C. SSDs use NAND flash memory, while HDDs use platters and magnetic heads. D. SSDs have a longer average lifespan compared to HDDs.

SSDs use NAND flash memory, while HDDs use platters and magnetic heads.

RAID _ provides no redundancy at all. If any physical disk in the array fails, the whole logical volume will fail, causing the computer to crash and requiring data to be recovered from backup. Consequently, RAID 0 only has specialist uses—typically as some type of non-critical cache store.

Raid 0

RAID _ is a mirrored drive configuration using two disks. Each write operation is duplicated on the second disk in the set, introducing a small performance overhead. A read operation can use either disk, boosting performance somewhat. This strategy is the simplest way of protecting a single disk against failure. If one disk fails, the other takes over. There is little impact on performance during this, so availability remains good, but the failed disk should be replaced as quickly as possible as there is no longer any redundancy. When the disk is replaced, it must be populated with data from the other disk. Performance while rebuilding is reduced, though RAID 1 is better than other levels in that respect and the rebuilding process is generally shorter than for parity-based RAID.

Raid 1

RAID _ uses striping (like RAID 0) but with distributed parity. Distributed parity means that error correction information is spread across all the disks in the array. The data and parity information are managed so that the two are always on different disks. If a single disk fails, enough information is spread across the remaining disks to allow the data to be reconstructed. Stripe sets with parity offer the best performance for read operations. However, when a disk has failed, the read performance is degraded by the need to recover the data using the parity information. Also, all normal write operations suffer reduced performance due to the parity calculation.

Raid 5 RAID 5 requires a minimum of three drives but can be configured with more.

Raid _ A nested RAID configuration combines features of two basic RAID levels. RAID 10 is a logical striped volume (RAID 0) configured with two mirrored arrays (RAID 1). This configuration offers excellent fault tolerance, as one disk in each mirror can fail, and the volume will still be available.

Raid 10 This configuration requires at least four disks, and there must be an even number of disks

Synchronous DRAM or ___________ is so-called because its speed is synchronized to the motherboard system clock.

SDRAM

A ___helps prove a user's identity and authenticates their device. A ___ also helps provide security against threats like firmware and ransomware attacks.

TPM Trusted Platform Module

A secure USB key or thumb drive used to store cryptographic material can be referred to as a

hardware security module (HSM)