Computer Anatomy
Chin-Sung Lin
Eleanor Roosevelt High School
The Visible Part:
Computer Hardware
What is a Computer?
Main Memory
Input
Microprocessor
Storage
Output
What is a Computer?
What is a Computer?
System Unit
Motherboard
Terminology
Bit (b), Byte (B), Word, LSB & MSB
Terminology
Prefix: kB, MB, GB & TB
Example: Number of bytes (B)
1 kB = 1,000 B = 103 B
1 MB = 1,000,000 B = 106 B
1 GB = 1,000,000,000 B = 109 B
1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 B = 1012 B
Terminology
Serial vs. Parallel Communication
Terminology
Frequency (Hz, kHz, MHz & GHz)
Number of clocks per second (Hertz, Hz)
1 kHz = 1,000 Hz = 103 Hz
1 MHz = 1,000,000 Hz = 106 Hz
1 GHz = 1,000,000,000 Hz = 109 Hz
Terminology
Bandwidth (BW)
Amount of data being transmitted per second (e.g., MB/s, Gb/s)
USB 3.0 reaches 5 Gb/s (gigabits per second)
PCI Express 4.0 can reach 15.754 Gb/s
IEEE 802.11 ad reaches 6.75 Gb/s
Back Panel Interface
PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse
Connectors
PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard
Serial and Parallel Ports
25-pin Parallel Port
9-pin Serial Port
USB and Ethernet Connectors
Ethernet
USB
Audio Connectors
Line In
Audio Out
Microphone In
VGA Connectors
HDMI Connectors
ATX Connector
IDE (PATA) Connector
SATA Connector
Advanced Graphics Port (AGP)
PCI Slot
Motherboard Interface
Motherboard
What is a Computer?
What is a Computer?
Main Memory
Input
Microprocessor
Storage
Output
Motherboard
Processor
Processor
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Select
A
B
Y
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Select
A
B
Y
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Motherboard Chipset
Motherboard Chipset
Cache Memory
Level 2 Cache Memory
Memory Hierarchy
Memory Hierarchy
Memory
72-pin SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module)
168-pin DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module)
Hard Drive (HD/HDD)
Hard Drive Capacity
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Hybrid Hard Drive (HHD)
HD vs. SSD
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Power Supply Unit
Motherboard
Motherboard
The Invisible Part:
Computer Software
Software Layer Structure
Software Layer Structure
Operating System
Desktop Operating System
Mobile Operating System (US)
Mobile Operating System (Global)
Types of Operating Systems
Single-user, single-tasking
Single-user, multi-tasking
Multi-user, multi-tasking
Real-time operating system
Single-User Single-Tasking
Single user can effectively do one
thing at a time.
Also know as Embedded operating
systems.
Used in personal digital assistants
(PDAs) and mobile phones.
Single-User Multi-Tasking
Typical desktop and laptop operating systems
such as Windows and Mac OS.
Single user can run several programs at the same
time.
Multi-User Multi-Tasking
A multi-user operating system simultaneously
allows many different users (hundreds or even
thousands) to take advantage of the computer's
resources.
Unix, MVS, VMS are examples.
Real-Time OS (RTOS)
The fastest OS which are used in time-critical
environments/applications.
Control machinery, scientific instruments,
industrial systems, sophisticated medical
equipment, airport traffic, space flights and high
speed aircraft.
Software Layer Structure
Software Layer Structure
Operating System
Operating System
Functions of Operating Systems
System Bootup
Application Program Loading
Hardware Resource Management
Memory Management
File System Management
Security
User Interface
PC Boot Up Process
CPU initializes itself by a series of clock ticks.
ROM BIOS runs the power-on self test (POST), and checks the BIOS chip,
CMOS RAM, hardware (e.g., video card), secondary storage (e.g., hard drives),
ports, keyboard and mouse.
The BIOS looks for an OS to load from the C drive or DVD drive. The order of
drives that the CMOS looks to in order to locate the OS is called the boot
sequence.
The BIOS copies its files into memory and the OS takes over control of the
boot process.
The OS performs another inventory of the system's memory and loads the
device drivers for the peripheral devices, such as a printer, scanner, optical
drive, mouse and keyboard.
After this the user can access the system’s applications to perform tasks.
Future Technology
Mobile Computing
Cloud Computing
Neuromorphic Chips
Quantum Computer
Cognitive Computing
Computer Anatomy
Q&A