Hardware Components Part1

8/8/2019 Hardware Components Part1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hardware-components-part1 1/21

Hardware Components

&Communications



Motherboard

Different speeds

Different makes

But all do the same, heart of the computer

that link all the components of a computer

together



CPU

The brain of the main chip on the

motherboard.

Speeds in Ghz and how many bits. E.g 2.66ghz dual core means 2 X 2.66 twice as

fast as a single core.

Different makes and speeds.



Heat Sink and Fans

Is a block made of heat absorbing metal whichabsorbs the heat made from the CPU andefficiently sends it in another direction stopping

the CPU from over heating. Fans with heat sinksare called active heat sinks,

heat sinks without a fan are called passive heatsinks.

Fans blow the heat in other directions and somefans take the heat completely out of thecomputer.



A thermal paste is normally attached to the

bottom before connecting with the CPU, this is

added to help absorb the heat from the CPU.

If the CPU is kept cooler it will continue to

work faster.



RAM

Random Access Memory (RAM) is a volatile

memory storage bank.

Dynamic RAM: Stores data for less than asecond at a time. (slower)

Static RAM: Stores data for as long as power is

flowing through it. (faster)

Largest memory a board can take is 16gig

depending on the motherboard.



ROM

Read Only Memory is used to tell the

computer how to boot, data stored here

cannot be modified.



Cache

Fast static memory, stored data between the

CPU and the main memory.

Modern computers have 2 or 3 layers of cachememory.



PCI, Expansion Slots and Buses

PCI (Peripheral components interconnect) is abus for inserting different hardware devices toa motherboard.

Sound cards, network adapters etc can beplaced into these.

PCI Express replaced the original PCI slots and

are used for graphic cards. PCI 1 has a speedof 250MB per lane and PCIe 2 ha speeds of 500MB.



Northbridge Memory

Northbridge memory controls all the data sent

between the CPU, RAM and the AGP (video

card). The northbridge chip contains the

graphics controllers for the computer.

It tells us the number, speed and type of RAM

and CPU that can be used



Southbridge Memory

Manages the input/output such as IDE, clock,

Usb, power management, storage devices and

many more.

Both the North and Southbridge are designed

to work together.



IDE

IDE (Integrated drive electronics) the parallel

cables used between the motherboard and

the storage devices. IDE is also called ATA (advanced technology

attachment).



SATA

Follows on from the parallel cables, Sata is

rounded and can be up to 1 metre long.

Sata transfers information at 300Mbps.



USB

Universal Serial Bus is a way of connecting a

computer to a device.

Connects printers, phones, MP3 players,keyboards and many more.

USB is generally plug and play and speeds vary

depending on USB 1/2/3.

USB 1 12 Mbs, USB 2 480Mbps, USB 3

due for release 4.8Gbs.



Sound

Onboard sound is a sound card already built

into the motherboard.

Not all motherboards have onboard.



Front Side Bus

Frontside bus carries data to the Northbridge

chip via the CPU.



Address Bus

Is the bus that sends the address of data

between the CPU and the RAM.



BIOS

Basic Input and Output System is the first code

read by the computer when you switch it on.

It detects, tests and starts the computerhardware.

BIOS is stored on the motherboard chipset.

It can be flashed and updated to supportnewer hardware.



CMOS RAM

CMOS RAM is the memory for the BIOS, it acts

the same way as normal ram does but only for

the BIOS settings.

It is controlled by the small battery.

The battery also controls the clock on the

computer even if it is turned off.



Graphics Card

Are used to create images to the

screen/monitor.

They come in different sizes and have differentfeatures.

Graphics cards have there own CPU called

(GPU) Graphic processing unit, some are much

more powerful than the main CPU on the

system and have their own memory as well.



NVIDIA and ATI are the main two companies

that make graphic cards.

NVIDIA XFX GEFOCE 260 graphics card with

896MB GDDR3 memory, 640MHz CORE

processor on it. Supports DirectX 10 and HD

Hardware Components Part1

Documents