Test 1 Flashcards
What is an Operating system (OS)?
An operating system (OS) is software that coordinates the interaction between hardware and any software applications and the interaction between a user and the computer
What is a Bit? What is a byte?
A bit is a 1 or 0
A byte is approximately 8 bits
What is Firewire? What is USB?
Both are examples of cables and ports that allow peripherals to be connected to your computer.
What is ESD?
Electrostatic discharge, use anti static bracelets or techniques to not shock the computer.
What is a computer peripheral?
Aperipheralis an adjunct, an accessory, not something required.
ex: printers, speakers, video card, monitor
What is a computer component?
A component is essential to the computer
ex: cpu, motherboard, ram
What is a video port?
a port that can be used to connect a monitor or other display, such as a TV, to a computer
What is the difference between broadband and narrowband EMI?
- narrowband affects less than broadband
- narrowband is a short disruption that does not cause permanent harm in the system
-broadband can cause permanent damage to devices
What is a search engine?
A program that searches for and identifies items in a database that correspond to keywords or characters specified by the user, used especially for finding particular sites on the World Wide Web is called a search engine.
What is a browser?
A web browser is a software application that allows you to access information using the World Wide Web.
What is a motherboard?
Contains all necessary components of computer, like cpu, ram, video cards etc.
What is a processors register size?
The number of bits processed at one time
Today, cpus have register sizes of 64 too 128 bits
What are buses? Say the difference between internal and external?
An internal bus are the electronic lines inside the CPU
The external bus connects the CPU to external devices
What is an ALU?
An arithmetic logic unit. part of a central processing unit that carries out arithmetic and logic operations on the operands in computer instruction words
What are pipelines?
Processors have multiple pipelines, or separate internal buses that operate simultaneously
Process are broken down into smaller tasks and each line helps complete the entire process faster
A 32- or 64-bit CPU can have separate paths, each of which handles 32 or 64 bits
Debate continues about whether a longer pipeline improves performance
What is a multi-core processor?
A CPU that combines two cores in a single unit
How to cool the processor?
Using a cooling fan , heat sink, or liquid cooling
How to install processor?
Gently, by applying zero force and just letting it drop in the right position with the triangle
What is a GPU?
A GPU provides better video card performance with an adapter
What is PCI? What is PCIE?
Peripheral Component Interconnect, an industry-standard, high-speed bus found in nearly all desktop computers used to install graphics/video cards and sound cards.
PCIE is basically a better and newer version of PCI. The E stands for Express
What is AGP?
Accelerated Graphics Port, Bus interface for graphics adapters developed from the PCI bus. It is better to put graphics here then PCI.
What is the power supply?
The power supply converts AC to DC, distributes DC power to components throughout the computer, and provides cooling through the use of a fan located inside the power supply.
Power from wall socket? High Voltage AC
Power needed by computer? Low Voltage DC
What are power protection? Give 4 examples
Surge suppressor: helps so that overvoltage isnt an issue
Line suppresor: converts at the wall socket before the computer
UPS: provides power during an outage and conditions the voltage when there is no outage FOR a short amount of time
SPS: provides power during an outage for a long time
What is hyper-threading?
allows a single CPU to run multiple tasks simultaneously rather than sequentially, which improves performance in most situations.
What is the chipset?
manages the flow of data between components on a motherboard. It’s the traffic controller between the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, and peripherals.
What is clock speed?
Clock speed is the number of times a second that a circuit operates and is most associated with the central processing unit (CPU). It is measured in hertz, or cycles per second.
What is Cache memory?
Cache memory is a chip-based computer component that makes retrieving data from the computer’s memory more efficient. It acts as a temporary storage area that the computer’s processor can retrieve data from easily.
What is overclocking?
term for increasing a component’s CPU (Central Processing Unit or computer hardware) to speed up its performance.
What is processor pipelines?
a technique for breaking down a sequential process into various sub-operations and executing each sub-operation in its own dedicated segment
What is Processor threads?
a sequence of instructions given to the CPU by a program or application
What is BIOS?
Basic input/output system:
-Holds and executes power-on self-test (POST)
-Holds a basic routine called a bootstrap program
-Holds Setup
-Turns control over to an adapter’s onboard BIOS
What is the Setup program?
Setups the computer, typically you need to press a key to make it appear
What is UEFI?
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, upgraded form of bios
What is CMOS?
Settings changed in system BIOS are recorded and stored in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) found in the motherboard chipset
What is a device driver?
a set of files that tells a piece of hardware how to function by communicating with a computer’s operating system.
What does flashing the BIOS mean?
To update it
