Managing System Components

Question 1

ATX

Answer 1

An older motherboard that was introduced by Intel in 1995 to provide better I/O support, lower cost, easier use and better processor support than even earlier form factors.

Question 2

Chipset

Answer 2

The set of chips on the system board that support the CPU and other basic functions.

Question 3

CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor)

Answer 3

An old style of static memory that was used to store information about the computer setup that the BIOS refers to each time the computer is started.

Question 4

DIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Modules)

Answer 4

A RAM form factor that is found in most systems and that has a 64-bit data path.

Question 5

Form Factor

Answer 5

The size and shape of a given component. Often used in terms of motherboard and drive characteristics

Question 6

Full Duplex

Answer 6

Permits simultaneous two-way communication.

Question 7

Heat Sink

Answer 7

A passive heat exchanger that dissipates heat from a source such as a CPU and transfers it, normally via an enlarged surface area, to another medium such as air or water.

Question 8

Line Noise

Answer 8

A power problem that is caused by a fluctuation in electrical current.

Question 9

Liquid-Based Cooling

Answer 9

Cooling methods that circulate a liquid or liquefied gas, such as water or freon, past the CPU to keep it cool.

Question 10

MicroATX

Answer 10

Introduced in late 1997, and is often referred to as ATX, and has a maximum size of 9.6 inches by 9.6 inches.

Question 11

Mini-ATX

Answer 11

A smaller version of the full ATX board with a maximum size of 11.2 inches by 8.2 inches.

Question 12

Mini-ITX

Answer 12

A small compact board that fits the same form factor as the ATX, and the mirco-ATX boards. They have a maximum size of 6.7 inches by 6.6 inches.

Question 13

Northbridge

Answer 13

A component of the chipset that controls the system memory and the AGP video ports, and sometimes the cache memory.

Question 14

Overvoltage

Answer 14

A power condition where the voltage in a circuit is raised above the circuit’s upper voltage limit.

Question 15

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect - PCI Bus)

Answer 15

A peripheral bus commonly used in PCs that provide a high-speed data path between the CPU and peripheral devices.

Question 16

PCI Bus (Peripheral Component Interconnect Bus)

Answer 16

A peripheral bus commonly used in PCs that provides a high-speed data path between the CPU and peripheral devices.

Question 17

PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)

Answer 17

A video adaptor bus that is based on the PCI computer bus. PCIe supports significantly enhanced performance over that of AGP.

Question 18

PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)

Answer 18

A video adaptor bus that is based on the PCI computer bus. PCIe supports significantly enhanced performance over that of AGP.

Question 19

POST Card (Power-On Self Test Card)

Answer 19

A card that can be plugged into the motherboard in an available expansion card slot that can read and display any error codes that get generated during the POST process of a computer.

Question 20

Power Sag

Answer 20

A momentary low-voltage power failure.

Question 21

Power Supply Tester

Answer 21

A tool that connects to the power supply’s 24-pin connector that tests the functionality of the unit.

Question 22

RIMM (Rambus Inline Memory Modules)

Answer 22

A RAM form factor that has a metal cover that acts as a heat sink. Although they have the same number of pins, RIMMs have different pin settings and are not interchangeable with DIMMs and SDRAM.

Question 23

Sag

Answer 23

A momentary low-voltage power failure.

Question 24

SCSI ID

Answer 24

Indentifiers assigned to each SCSI device connected to the bus. The ID numbers range from 1 to 15.

Question 25

Southbridge

Answer 25

A component of the chipset that controls input/output functions, the system clock, drives and buses, APM power management and various other devices.

Question 26

Thermal Paste

Answer 26

A paste that is used to connect a heat sink to a CPU to provide a liquid thermally conductive compound gel that fills any gaps between the CPU and the heat sink to permit a more efficient transference of heat from the processor to the heat sink.