Lesson 2: Installing System Devices Flashcards
What is the volate for most homes and offices in america?
Low-line VAC 110-120
What kind of volate do facilities such as data centers typically use?
High-line VAC 220-240
How are watts calculated for electrical components?
As voltage multiplied by current (V*I)
V x I
Is how you calculate watts for electrical components
How is a PSU’s output capability measured?
As it’s wattge rating.
What does power distribution refer to?
How much power is supplied over each rail
What is the most common output raing (rail/rails) for modern computers?
+12 VDC rail
How is DC Direct Current voltage supllied to the motherboard devices at 3.3 VDC, 5 VDC, and 12 VDC?
From power connectors
Do all computer components use power at exactly 3.3, 5, and 12 VDC’s?
No
What are voltage regulators?
They correct the voltage supplied from the PSU to the voltage required by the component.
What was the original ATX connector form factor for the P1 Connector?
20 pin (2x10)
What was the 20 pin (2x10) connector used for?
The original ATX specification
Black wires are what?
Ground wires
What voltage are yellow wires? (20-pin connector)
+12 V
What voltage are red wires? (20-pin connector)
+5 V
What voltage are orange wires? (20-pin connector)
+3.3 V
What ATX Advanced Technology eXtended version do most systems now use?
ATX12V version 2 specification
What form factor does ATX12V Version 2 use?
24 pin (2x12) P1 form factor
What is a 20 + 4-pin P1 adapter cable?
It’s used for capatibility with older motherboards with a 20-pin port
What is unique about Modular PSU’s?
o Power cables are detachable from the unit. It reduces the number of cables to the minimum required and minimizes clutter within the chasis.
o It improves airflow and cooling.
What does a redundant PSU configuration require?
A compatible motherboard
Where are redundant PSU’s more commonly found?
On server systems
Name 3 components that require cooling solutions:
o CPU
o Memory Module
o Graphics Adapters
What is a heat sink made of?
A block of copper or aluminum with fins.
What do the fins do on a heat sink?
They expose a larger surface area to the air aroudn the component to achieve a cooling effect by convection.
How is a heat sink affixed to the surface of the chip?
Using thermal paste to ensure the best transfer of heat by eliminating small air gaps.
What performs a similar function to thermal paste?
A thermal pad.
Is thermal paste or thermal pads more reliable?
Thermal paste
What does a heat sink need to work well?
Good airflow around the PC
Why should you use a fan in a PC?
o Because many comonents generate more heat than can be removed by passive cooling (heat sinks).
o Fans improve airflow which helps to dissipate heat.
What are fans used for? (What parts?)
o Power supply
o Chassis exhaust points
Where will the fan’s power connector be plugged into?
The motherboards fan power port
What three components does an open-loop, liquid-based cooling system use?
o Water loop / tubing and pump push the coolant added via the reservoir around the system
o Water blocks and brackets are attached to each device to remove heat by convection. Attached similarly to heat sink/fan assemblies and then connected to the water loop
o Radiators and fans positioned at air vents to dispel excess heat
What do simpler closed-loop, liquid-based cooling systems install with?
A single component (CPU or GPU) only
What kind of liquid-based cooling system requires draining, cleaning, and refilling periodically?
Open-looped systems
What are the 3 standard form factors for storage devices? (Width)
o 2.5 inches
o 3.5 inches
o 5.25 inches
What size form factor for standard storage devices are provided with removable panels?
5.25 inches
When installing a SSD, what is the main drawback to connecting it with SATA or mSATA power connectors?
The 600 MBps SATA interface can be a bottleneck to the best performing SSD’s which can achieve transfer rates of 6.7 GB/s
What logical interface does SATA use to communicate with the bus?
ACHI Advanced host controller interface
What logical interface does PCIe use to communicate with the bus?
Use NVMHCI non-volatile memory host controller interface
Does PCIe/NVMe or SATA/ACHI offer higher transfer rates?
PCIe / NVMe
What slots can a NVMe SSD be packaged as? 2 answers
o PCIe slot as an expansion card
o M.2 Slot
Is M.2 adapter card form factor bigger or smaller than a PCIe adapter?
M.2 adapter is considerably smaller than a PCIe adapter.
How is a SATA interface SSD usually keyed?
B keyed
How are 2 lane PCIe SSD’s usually keyed?
B / M keyed
How are 4-lane SSd’s usually keyed?
M keyed
How is the performance of an HDD determined?
By the speed at which the disks spin
How is the speed at which HDD disks spin measured?
RPM Revolutions per minute
How many RPM Revolutions Per Minute is considered a high performance HDD?
15,000–10,000
What is average performance (In RPM Revolutions per minue) for HDD’s?
7,200–5,400
A high-performance drive will have an access time below what? HDD
3 ms
A typical drive might have an access time of around? HDD
6 ms
The internal transfer rate of a drive is a measure of what? HDD
How fast read/write operations are performed on the disk platters
What kind of connections do most HDD’s use?
SATA interface
What are the two main form factors of HDD’s? (Sizes)
o 2.5 inch
o 3.5 inch
What HDD form factor is used in desktops?
3.5 inch
The 2.5 inch HDD form factor is usually used in what?
Laptops and as portable external hard drives
RAID’s: redundancy sacrifices some ___ ________ but provides _____ _________.
o Disk capacity
o Fault tolerance