Chapter 2
Computer Hardware
2 Chapter Contents
Section A: Personal Computer Basics
Section B: Microprocessors and Memory
Section C: Storage Devices
Section D: Input and Output Devices
Section E: Hardware Security
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2 Personal Computer Systems
So, where does the actual computing happen?
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2 Desktop and Portable Computers
The term form factor
refers to the size and
dimensions of a
component, such as a
system board or
system unit
A desktop computer fits
on a desk and runs on
power from an
electrical wall outlet
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2 Desktop and Portable Computers
A portable computer is a small, lightweight personal
computer
A notebook computer (also referred to as a laptop),
is a small, lightweight portable computer that opens
like a clamshell to reveal a screen and keyboard
A tablet computer is a portable computing device
featuring a touch-sensitive screen that can be used
as a writing or drawing pad
An ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) is a small form factor
tablet computer designed to run most of the
software available for larger portable computers
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2 Desktop and Portable Computers
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2
SECTION
B
Microprocessors and Memory
Microprocessor Basics
Today’s Microprocessors
Random Access Memory
Read-only Memory
EEPROM
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2 Microprocessor Basics
A microprocessor is an integrated circuit
designed to process instructions
– ALU
– Registers
– Control unit
– Instruction set
Pin Grid
Array (PGA)
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2 Microprocessor Basics
Front side bus
– HyperTransport
Microprocessor clock
– Megahertz
– Gigahertz
Word size
Cache
– Level 1 cache (L1)
– Level 2 cache (L2)
CISC vs. RISC
technology
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2 Microprocessor Basics
Serial processing
– Pipelining
Parallel processing
Dual core processor
Hyper-Threading Technology
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2 Today’s Microprocessors
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2 Techno-speak
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2 Random Access Memory
Random Access Memory is a temporary
holding area for data, application program
instructions, and the operating system
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2 Random Access Memory
Microscopic capacitors hold the bits that
represent data
Most RAM is volatile
– Requires electrical power to hold data
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2 Random Access Memory
RAM capacity is expressed in megabytes or
gigabytes
Personal computers typically feature between
256MB and 2GB of RAM
An area of the hard disk, called virtual
memory, can be used if an application runs
out of allocated RAM
Consequence of too little?? too much??
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2 Random Access Memory
RAM speed is often expressed in
nanoseconds (8ns v. 10ns) or megahertz
SDRAM is fast and relatively inexpensive
– DDR/DDR2 (double data rate)
RDRAM is more expensive, and usually
found in high-performance workstations
DDR2 DIMM
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DIMM
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2 Read-Only Memory
ROM is a type of memory circuitry that holds
the computer’s startup routine
– Permanent and non-volatile
– Programmable only once , “hard-wired”
The ROM BIOS tells the computer how to
access the hard disk, find the operating
system, and load it into RAM, etc.
– BIOS: Basis Input/Output System
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2 EEPROM
Electrically Erasable
Programmable ReadOnly Memory
More permanent than
RAM, and less
permanent than ROM
Requires no power to
hold data
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2 Memory – Quick Quiz
1. T / F RAM is a form of permanent storage used
by personal computers.
2. RAM capacity capable of storing ~ 1,000 million
1 GigaByte of
characters would be expressed as _________
RAM.
3. If your computer manufacturer advertises that you
to can keep your computer’s BIOS up to date by
downloading and installing revisions/updates, the
BIOS for your computes is probably stored on a/an
EEPROM
________ device.
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2
SECTION
C
Storage Devices
Storage Basics
Magnetic Disk and Tape Technology
CD and DVD Technology
Solid State Storage
Storage Wrap-up
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2 Storage Basics
A storage medium contains data
A storage device records data and retrieves
data on a storage medium
– Data gets copied from a storage device into
RAM, where it waits to be processed
– Processed data is held temporarily in RAM
before it is copied to a storage medium
– Access times typically measured in milliseconds
• recall RAM access times in nanoseconds
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2 Magnetic Disk and
Tape Technology
Magnetic storage stores data by magnetizing
microscopic particles on the disk or tape
surface
Durability?
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2 Magnetic Disk and
Tape Technology
Hard disk platters and readwrite heads are sealed inside
the drive case or cartridge to
screen out dust and other
contaminants.
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2 Magnetic Disk and
Tape Technology
A controller positions the disk and read-write
heads to locate data
– SATA
– Ultra ATA
– EIDE
– SCSI
Not as durable as many other storage
technologies
– Head crash!
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2 Magnetic Disk and
Tape Technology
A floppy disk is a round piece of flexible Mylar
plastic covered with a thin layer of magnetic
oxide and sealed inside a protective casing
A tape drive is a device that reads data from and
writes data to a long stream of recordable media
similar to the tapes used in audio cassettes
A tape is a sequential storage
medium
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2 CD and DVD Technology
Optical storage stores data as microscopic
light and dark spots (lands and pits) on the
disk surface
– CD and DVD storage technologies
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2 CD and DVD Technology
Today’s DVD drives typically have 16X
speeds for a data transfer rate of 168.75
Mbps (Note: 16x CD  19.2 Mbps)
Three categories of
optical technologies
– Read-only (ROM)
– Recordable (R)
– Rewritable (RW)
CD: 780nm
DVD: 650nm
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2 CD and DVD Technology
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2 Solid State Storage
Solid state storage technology stores data in
an erasable, rewritable circuitry
Non-volatile
Card reader may be required
to read data on solid state
storage
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2 Solid State Storage
 A USB flash drive is a
portable storage device that
plugs directly into a
computer’s USB port using
a built-in connector (like a
portable EEPROM device)
 A U3 drive is a special type
of USB flash drive that is
preconfigured to autoplay
when it is inserted into a
Windows computer
Durability?
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2 Storage Wrap-up, comparison
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2
SECTION
D
Input and Output Devices
Basic Input Devices
Display Devices
Printers
Installing Peripheral Devices
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2 Basic Input Devices
Keyboard
Pointing device
– Pointing stick
– Trackpad
– Trackball
– Joystick
Touch screen
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2 Display Devices
A CRT display device
uses a bulky glass tube
An LCD manipulates
light within a layer of
liquid crystal cells
Plasma screen
technology illuminates
lights arranged in a
panel-like screen
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2 Display Devices
Viewable image size
Dot pitch
Viewing angle width
Refresh rate
Color depth
Resolution
– VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, UXGA, and WUXGA
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2 Display Devices
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2 Display Devices
Graphics circuitry generates the signals for
displaying an image on the screen
– Integrated graphics
– Graphics card
– Graphics processing
unit (GPU)
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2 Printers
An ink-jet printer has a nozzle-like print head
that sprays ink onto paper
A laser printer works like a photocopier
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2 Printers
Dot matrix printers produce characters and
graphics by using a grid of fine wires
– The wires strike a ribbon and the paper
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2 Printers
 Printer features
– Resolution (pixel w x h,
dpi/dot pitch)
– Print speed (ppm)
– Duty cycle (ppM)
– Operating costs
Chapter 2: Computer Hardware
– Duplex capability
– Memory
– Networkability
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2 Installing Peripheral Devices
The data bus moves data within the
computer
Expansion cards are small circuit boards that
give the computer additional capabilities
– Expansion slot
• ISA
• PCI
• AGP
– PCMCIA slot
• PC card
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2 Installing Peripheral Devices
An expansion card simply slides
into an expansion slot and is
secured with a small screw. Before
you open the case, make sure you
unplug the computer and ground
yourself—that’s technical jargon
for releasing static electricity by
using a special grounding wristband
or by touching both hands to a metal
object.
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Chapter 2 Complete
Computer Hardware