Module 2: Hardware Flashcards
What does Hardware consist of?
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Primary Storage
Secondary Storage
Input Technologies
Output Technologies
Communication Technologies
What is the Computer Hierarchy?
Supercomputers
Mainframe Computers
Microcomputers
Laptop and Notebook Computers
Tablet Computers
Wearable Computers (Wearables)
What are the two main types of input technologies?
Human data-entry (keyboard, mouse, pointing stick, trackball, joystick, touch-screen, stylus, digital pen, Wii, Webcam, voice-recognition)
Source-data automation (magnetic stripe reader, barcode scanners, optical mark reader, sensors, cameras, RFID, optical character recognition
What does the CPU do?
It performs the actual computation or “number crunching” inside any computer
What is the CPU?
It is a Microprocessor made up of millions of microscopic transistors embedded in a circuit on a silicon wager or chip.
What are the parts of a microprocessor?
Control unit
Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)
Registers
What are the two basic categories of computer memory?
Primary storage: stores small amounts of data and information that the CPU will use immediately, located with the CPU
Secondary storage: stores much larger amounts of data and information - an entire software program, for example - for extended periods of time, located outside the CPU
What is the hierarchy of memory capacity?
Kilobyte (KB): one thousand bytes
Megabyte (MB): one million bytes
Gigabyte (GB): one billion bytes
Terabyte: one trillion bytes
Petabyte: one thousand terabytes
Exabyte: one thousand petabytes
Zettabyte: one thousand exabytes
What are the three types of information that primary storage stores for very brief periods of time?
Data to be processed by the CPU
Instructions for the CPU on how to process the data
Operating system programs that manage various aspects of the computer’s operation
What are the four main types of primary storage?
Registers
Random access memory (RAM)
Cache memory
Read-only memory (ROM)
What are the characteristics of secondary storage?
Nonvolatile
More time is needed to retrieve data from secondary storage than from RAM
Cheaper than primary storage
Consists of a variety of media, each with its own technology
What are the types of secondary storage?
Magnetic tape
Magnetic disks (called hard drives)
Solid state drives (SSDs)
Optical disk drives (CD-ROM, DVD)
Flash memory devices (or memory cards)
