Lesson 1: Installing and Configuring CPU Components Flashcards
What is PAT?
(portable appliance testing) In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the process for inspecting and testing electrical equipment to ensure its safety.
What is a fuse?
A circuit breaker designed to protect the device and users of the device from faulty wiring or supply of power (over current protection).
What does it mean to Ground an object?
An equipment ground provides a safe path for electrical current to flow away in the event that a device or cable is faulty. Self-grounding removes any static potential difference between a technician’s clothes and body and a device they are handling, reducing the risk of damaging the component through Electrostatic Discharge (ESD).
How do you self-ground?
Manual dissipation of static buildup bytouching a grounded object prior to touching any electronic equipment.
What is a desktop computer?
A computing device designed to be placed on or near a user’s desk.
What is SFF?
(Small Form Factor) Motherboards and connectors that are designed to take up less space.
What is an adapter card?
Circuit board providing additional functionality to the computer system(video, sound, networking, modem, and soon). An adapter card fits a slot on the PC’s expansion bus and often provides ports through slots cut into the back of the PC case. Different cards are designed for different slots (PCI or PCIe).
What is the ATX Form Factor?
A standard PC case, motherboard, and power supply specification.
What is the microATX Form Factor?
Introduced in late 1997, and is often referred to as μATX, and has a maximum size of 9.6 inches by 9.6 inches.
What is mini-ITX?
A small compact board that fits the same form factor as the ATX and the micro-ATX boards. They have a maximum size of 6.7 inches by 6.6 inches.
What is RAM? Is it volatile?
(Random Access Memory) The principal storage space for computer data and program instructions. RAM is described as being volatile in the sense that once power has been removed or the computer has been rebooted, data is lost.
In general, what is a chipset?
The chipset provides communications between different components by implementing various controllers (for memory, graphics, I/O, and so on).Historically, “fast” controllers (memory and video) were part of a “north bridge” chipset, placed close to the CPU and system memory. Slower buses were part of a “southbridge” chipset. In modern PC architecture, video and memory controllers are part of the CPU (on-die),the northbridge would mostly handle PCI Express adapters, and the southbridge would host SATA, USB, audio and LAN functions, plus PCI/PATA legacy bus support.
What is the CMOS?
(complementary metal oxide semiconductor) A type of integrated circuit with a wide range of applications, including static RAM (for firmware and flash memory) and imaging sensors.
Define the RTC.
(real time clock) Part of the system chipset that keeps track of the date and time. The RTC is powered by a battery so the PC keeps track of the time even when it is powered down. If the computer starts losing time, it is a sign that the battery is failing.
What is the local bus?
The internal bus that links components directly to the processor, resulting in the highest possible data speed as required by components such as the video display.
Define the expansion bus.
The external bus that allows additional components to be connected to the computer.
What is a riser card?
A space-saving feature of some motherboards, a riser card puts the PC’s expansion slots on a separate board installed at right-angles to the main board. This allows the system components to fit within a slimline case.
