Hardware inside the box
Announcement
Invited talk today at C106
from 7:00PM
Required Movie at C106
Pirates of Silicon Valley

Starring Noah Wyle (ER) and
Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen
Candles)
Two times:
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Tuesday Sept 9th, 7-9 pm
Wednesday Sept 10th, 7-9 pm
Cast of Characters
Apple
Microsoft
Steve Jobs
Steve Wozniak
(beard)
Bill Gates (Huge
glasses)
Paul Allen (beard)
Steve Ballmer (bald)
Today’s Information
Microprocessors (CPU)
Memory
Motherboards
Storage
Metric System
Kilo =
Mega =
Giga =
Tera =
These terms are used frequently to
describe storage and speed in computers
Metric System
Kilo = 1000
Mega = 1,000,000 = 1 million
Giga = 1,000,000,000 = 1 billion
Tera = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 trillion
These terms are used frequently to
describe storage and speed in computers
Basic storage unit
1 bit : Single 1 or 0 is a bit.
1 Byte = 8 bits = eight 1s or 0s in any
combination
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10100011
“B” represents byte and “b” represents bit. (KB
and Kb are different units.)
1 KB = Kilobyte = 1024 Bytes (210)
1 MB = Megabyte = 1024 Kilobytes = 220 Bytes
1 GB = Gigabyte =1024 Megabytes = 230 Bytes
(1073741824 Bytes)
Where are my Bytes?
If you have bought a memory card or hard
drive, computer will report that it is smaller
than what you paid for.
Manufacturers are playing tricks here.
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512MB(metric) = 512*106 Bytes/(10242) =
488.3MB(reported by computer), that is 4.6%
difference
40G(metric)=40*109 Bytes/(10243)=37.3G
(reported by computer ) you lose 6.9%
Two things determine function
Processor Speed
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This is the speed at which information is
processed
RAM (Random Access Memory)
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This is how much information is available for
rapid processing
Computer Speed
Hz = Hertz = Cycles/second
MHz = Megahertz = Million cycles/second
GHz = Gigahertz = Billion cycles/second
Typical processor today runs at 2 GHz!
If numeric addition takes 4 cycles, that is
500 million additions in a second.
Moores Law
Manufacturers always coming out with faster
processors
It takes about 18 month the fastest processors
to double in speed
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1996 – 233 MHz
1998 – 450 MHz
2000 – 1.4 GHz (cost $600 in 2000, $100 today)
2002 – 3.06 GHz and more!
Take Home Message: Don’t buy the top of the
line processor, it will be dated very quickly!
8088
Evolution of Intel Microprocessors
and Pursuit by AMD Processors
80286
80386
AMD 386
80486
AMD 486
Pentium
Pentium Pro
AMD K5
AMD K6
Pentium II
AMD K6-II
Pentium III
AMD K6-III
Celeron
(Castrated Pentiums)
Pentium IV
Duron
Athlon
Important Microprocessor Qualities
Speed, e.g. 1.5 GHz (Gigahertz)
Level 2 Cache - speeds processing
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Memory inside the CPU.
It is much faster than the main memory.
A huge chunk of computer programs are
loops. So moving these loops into cache
can speed up the processing.
The major difference between Pentium and
Celeron series CPU are amount of cache.
Memory - RAM
RAM is Random Access Memory
CPU can not access to the Hard drive
directly. Program needs to be moved into
RAM first.
RAM is memory that is “volatile.” when you
shut down the computer, everything in
RAM is gone.
RAM stores info and data of running
programs
Types of RAM
DDR Ram is Double Data Rate, for Athlon
and Pentium IV
SDRAM – Used in a lot of machines, but
being phased out
RIMMS – Newest and fastest
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For Pentium IV, 400 MHz transfer rate
Adding new RAM is the cheapest and
easiest way to make your computer run
faster
Analogy
If the processor is the brain of the
computer, then what is the motherboard?
The Spinal Cord
Processor and Motherboard make up
Central Neural System
Motherboards
Circuitry that connects all items to the
processor
Card slots for modems, sound cards,
graphics cards
Socket or slot for processor
Bus speed determines processors
Motherboard must be compatible to
CPU
Motherboards and
Microprocessors
Motherboard must have appropriate
socket or slot for processor
Motherboard must support processor’s
speed and have the same bus speed
Storage Media
Media refers to the objects on which
information is stored
Singular of word is medium
A CD is a medium for storage, a floppy
disk is a medium, …
Storage: Magnetic
“Drive” Storage: magnetic polarity stores
1s and 0s
Hard Drives - Internal, sealed platters
Floppy Drive - One flexible platter
Zip Drive – Very high capacity floppy
Storage: Solid State Memory
Solid state is contrast to the moving parts
of HD, Floppy Disk…
Digital memory
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Compact Flash
Smart Media
Multi-Media card (MMC) and Secure Digital
card (SD)
USB drives.
Storage: Optical Read Only
CD-ROM – 650MB or 700 MB, read only,
etched pits
drives 32X etc. for speed relative to normal
DVD - stands for Digital Video Disc, 4.7 Gb
(7X CD) single side, single layer.
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4x DVD does not mean it is slower than a 16x
CD-ROM.
CD Burners – Optical Read/Write
CD RW
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32x/8x/40x means 32x maximum write speed,
8x max. rewrite speed, and 40x max. read
speed
Media: CD-R is cheapest, write once
CD-RW – good medium for transporting
files
New Generation: DVD RW
There are two competitive standards of
DVD RW, respectively DVD+RW and
DVD-RW.
Media for these two type are NOT interchangeable.
Will both of them survive in 5 years?
Best strategy: DVD-/+RW
Technically, can I duplicate my own DVD
movies?
Assignment for Next Week
Measure computer startup speed
Find out processor speed, type
Amount of RAM
Operating System
Startup computer three times, measure in
seconds
Go to course website for more info and
form