QE2-2 What Are the Types of Computer Hardware and Their Capacities? Flashcards
What are the basic types of hardware?
The basic types of hardware include:
Wearables: e.g., Apple Watch, Fitbit
Personal Computers (PCs): e.g., Apple Mac Pro
Tablets: e.g., iPad, Microsoft Surface, Kindle
Smartphones: e.g., iPhone, Samsung Galaxy
Servers: e.g., Dell PowerEdge
Server Farms: Racks of servers
What is a wearable, and give examples?
Wearables are small electronic devices worn on the body. Examples include the Apple Watch and Fitbit.
What is a server, and how does it differ from a PC?
A server is a computer designed to support processing from many remote computers and users.
It is like a PC but more powerful, an example being the Dell PowerEdge server.
What is a server farm?
A server farm is a collection of thousands of servers, often placed in large truck trailers that hold 5,000 servers or more.
These support large-scale computing for multiple users and clients.
What is an example of a tablet, and what is its primary use?
Examples of tablets include the iPad, Microsoft Surface, and Kindle. Tablets are mobile computers with touchscreen displays, often used for both personal and business computing needs.
What is a bit?
A bit is the smallest unit of data in computing, represented as a binary value of 0 or 1.
Bits can be represented in various ways, such as switches (on/off), magnetic fields (one direction or another), or reflections (reflect/no reflect on optical media).
How are bits grouped for storage?
Bits are grouped into 8-bit chunks called bytes. For example, one character of data typically fits into one byte.
Storage capacity is often expressed in bytes and its multiples.
What are the common terms for data storage sizes?
Kilobyte (K): 1,024 bytes
Megabyte (MB): 1,024 kilobytes
Gigabyte (GB): 1,024 megabytes
Terabyte (TB): 1,024 gigabytes
Petabyte (PB): 1,024 terabytes
Exabyte (EB): 1,024 petabytes
What is computer speed, and how is it measured?
Computer speed is measured in cycles per second, called hertz.
A slow personal computer might operate at around 2.9 gigahertz (GHz), while faster computers can reach 4+ GHz.
What is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit CPUs?
32-bit CPUs: Less capable and cheaper, handling less memory.
64-bit CPUs: More advanced, handling larger amounts of memory and more processing power. Most CPUs built after 2016 are 64-bit.
