Lesson 2 Chapter 4 - Inside the System Unit Flashcards
What are the 3 interchangeable terms used to describe a system unit?
- system unit
- case
- enclosure
Describe what a system unit case is?
A system unit case houses the internal components of a PC and is the shell that protects those components from external factors
Typically what’s found on the front of a PC? (3)
- Lights to show the status of the PC when turned on
- Doors for accessibility to removal media drives (if installed, like DVD)
- Power button
What are 5 things typically found on the back of a PC?
- Vast majority of system unit connections
- Onboard port connections
- Area for added-on ports via expansion cards
- Power plug
- Cooling fan
Is there a standard way to open a PC case?
No, every case is different. You will have to make sure you remove the screws in the back and remember where they were installed.
What type of electrical charge does the body carry?
static electricity
What increases the charge of static electricity?
- Wearing polyester or wool
- Walking on carpet (while the heater is on)
How does electrostatic discharge (ESD) happen?
ESD happens when you touch something that has a different electrical charge than your body’s
What can a tech wear to prevent ESD from damaging computer components?
A tech can wear an antistatic wrist strap
How does an antistatic wrist strap prevent static discharge? Where does it clip to?
an antistatic wrist strap prevent ESD by keeping you on the same electrical charge as the PC
it clips onto the metal sides of the PC case
What do you do if you want to prevent ESD but you don’t have an antistatic wrist strap? (2)
- Touch the power supply to give off ESD to the PSU before touching anything inside, this will make you equal charge with the PC
- Touch the metal part of the case occasionally before and during repairs
What are 3 additional ways to reduce ESD?
- Be barefoot or wear rubber-soled shoes
- Don’t work on carpeted areas
- Add a humidifier to the work area as dry air increases static charge
What’s another name for a CPU?
microprocessor
What do CPUs generally look like?
CPUs generally are a square circuit board with a big chip mounted on it, and a metal protective plate on top
What are 2 arrays that are located on the back of a CPU?
Land Grid Array (flat metal contact points)
Pin Grid Array (tiny metal pins)
Since CPUs generate a lot of heat, what are 2 things they require to avoid overheating?
- Cooling Fan
- Heat Sink Assembly
What is a heat sink? What is it made of?
A heat sink is a big slab of copper or aluminum and it is placed on top of the CPU to draw away the heat generated by it
What happens to the heat that’s drawn away from the processor by the heat sink?
It’s pulled out by the cooling fan and pushed out through the case
Who are the 2 most common ‘makes’ of CPUs?
- AMD
- Intel
What does RAM stand for and what does it do?
Random Access Memory
RAM stores the programs and data that are currently in use by the CPU
Each piece of RAM is called a ____
stick
What does it mean if a RAM stick has 8GB of RAM?
It means that the RAM can store 8 total gigabytes of programs and data
What does DIMM stand for? What is it?
Dual Inline Memory Module
It’s a common type of physical form factor for a RAM stick
How do DIMMs that can look alike differ? (3)
- capacity
- speed
- error correction capability
How many types of DIMM can a PC accept?
Only 1 type, so it’s crucial to know which one it can accept in order to replace/upgrade the RAM in the future
Everything connects to the ___ either directly or indirectly, and contains a number of ___ ___ that accepts ____ ___ ______
Everything connects to the motherboard either directly or indirectly and contains a number of special sockets that accept various PC components
What does a motherboard look like? How big are they usually?
It is a flat and thin circuit board, often slightly larger than a sheet of notebook paper
What are 2 components that connect to the motherboard by being plugged in?
- RAM
- CPU
What are 3 components that connect to the motherboard sockets through short cables?
- Hard Drive
- Power Supply
- DVD Drives
What 4 types of external devices are connected to the motherboard via onboard connectors? (USB, audio, etc)
- Pointing devices
- Printers
- Keyboards
- Speakers
What type of connectors does the PSU provide? (2) What do they power?
- Special connectors to power the motherboard
- General-use connectors for all other devices/components that need power
What’s inside a HDD? What does a HDD do?
Inside an HDD are a sealed set of metal platters, a motor, and a read/write head
An HDD stores data and programs that are not currently in use by the CPU
How does a HDD read/write data?
There are metal platters that use a spindle motor to spin the platters past a read/write head
In what unit is RAM storage measured? (2)
RAM uses megabytes and gigabytes
What 2 units are used to measure the capacity of HDD/SDDs?
- gigabytes
- terabytes
How many GB is in a TB?
1,000 GB in 1 TB
What type of memory does a SSD store data in?
stores data in non-volatile memory
What does non-volatile memory mean when it comes to SSDs?
It means that the data does not disappear from memory when there isn’t continuous power to the device
What are some differences between SSDs and HDDs? (3)
- SSDs have no moving parts
- SSDs consume less power (very little electricity)
- SSDs are faster
Are SSDs mounted and connected differently from HDDs? What interface do they use?
SSDs are connected the same way as HDDs, and they both use the Serial ATA interface
What are 2 different ways an SSD can look? How are they connected?
- SSD can look like an HDD on the outside (encased), connected via SATA interface
- SSD can look like a bare circuit board, connected to the motherboard via the M.2 slots in the motherboard
What is an optical drive?
enables a computer to read one or more types of optical discs
What are 3 types of optical discs?
- CD
- DVD
- Blu-Ray (BD)
What are 2 types of optical drives that can be installed?
- DVD
- Blu-Ray
What are the 3 types of CDs? Describe them
- CD-ROM (Read Only Memory, can’t change data)
- CD-R (Recordable, can change data once)
- CD-RW (Rewriteable, can change data multiple times)
What does DVD stand for?
Digital Versatile Discs
What’s the smallest capacity for a DVD?
4GB, enough for a movie
What does it mean when a DVD is double-layer?
It means it can hold twice as much data than a typical DVD disc
What is the capacity for Blu-Ray discs that store data?
25 GB minimum and up
What’s the capacity of a CD?
700 MB
