Presented By:

JAMSHED (www.asjad.vze.com)
ASAJD

System Units

System Unit
The System Unit is a case which is just like a box made up of a metal or plastic
. This casing actually contain the electronic components of a computer used to p
rocess data. The casing is some time called Chassis, that protect the internal e
lectronic components from damage. The most important component of this System bo
x is Mother Board. All the components are then installed on this Mother Board. S
ystem Unit consist of the following devices: Mother Board Processor
Memory
y cards Disk systems

Displa

System Unit (Contd)

Mother Board

It is the main circuit board of the system unit. It is the centralized platform
where all the hardware components of a computer are connected. Many electronic c
omponents are attached to the mother board, others are built-in on it. It is som
etime called system board. The processor, memory & the other components on the m
otherboard consist one or more chips. Most chips are not bigger than one-half inch
square. Each and every Motherboard has a small battery cell. It gives to Mother
board a small amount of power to remember the settings such as hardware configur
ations, date and time etc

Mother Board (Contd)

BIOS is kind of software which holds the most important data for machine. It inf
orms the PC about the compatibility of Motherboard with different hardware compo
nents such as CPU etc It is the most important component which resides in the ROM
(Read Only Memory) of the Motherboard.

Processor
The Processor is also called Central Processing Unit (CPU). All the CPUs looks v
ery similar, but they are different in the way, they have different numbers of p
ins and different layouts.
Central Processing Unit (CPU) is an electronic device that interprets and carries
out the instructions that operates the computer.

The processor significantly impact over all computing power & manages most of co
mputer operations. On larger computers, such as Mini or Mainframe computers, the
various functions performed by the processor extend over many separate chips an
d often on multiple circuit boards. On a personal computer, all function of the
processor usually are on a single chip. Some computer manufacturer use the term
Microprocessor which refers to a personal computer chip. Most PCs today use proce
ssors manufactured by IntEL, AMD etc..

Processor (Contd)

Processor (Contd)
The combination of Arithmetic Logic Unit and Control Unit is called as Central P
rocessing Unit (CPU). OR The two main parts of CPU are ALU & CU.

Processor (Contd)
ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT (ALU)
This component of the computer is responsible for th
e actual processing. This component is capable to perform all types of arithmeti
c operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division etc.
Als
o it is capable to perform logical operations such as AND, OR etc. it is capable
of comparison as well.

Processor (Contd)
CONTROL UNIT (CU)

This unit is responsible for the overall supervision of the computer system. It
does not perform the actual processing but by reading and interpreting the instr
uctions contained in a program, Control Unit (CU) directs other unit of the syst
em to perform a specific task. Control unit (CU) behaves like a traffic police i
nstructor. It manages the functions performed by different parts of computer. It
controls and coordinates the entire computer system, just the brain directs the
human body. It is responsible to accept data from input device and send it to t
he memory, from memory to ALU, finally CU sent back the results and store in the
memory, until the results are released to an output device.

Memory

It is also called Main memory or Primary memory. Memory contains one or more set
s of chips that store data/program instructions, either temporarily or permanent
ly . The component which provides storage capability to a computer is called Mem
ory. It enables a computer to store data and instructions which are necessary fo
r the processing. All the computers which are used today needs memory or storage
capability. All the instructions that a computer follows must be stored in the
memory. There are two types of Primary Memory. Random Access Memory (RAM) Read O
nly Memory (ROM)

Random Access Memory

RAM is also called volatile memory and Keeps the information for a shorter perio
d of time because RAM Lose information if powered off or the computer is shutdow
n. RAM store data or instructions, the computer then uses these instructions to
perform any processing work. The contents of RAM change rapidly and often. Typic
al ranges 128 MB - 4 GB Random Access means direct access to any part of memory

Random Access Memory (Contd)

The amount of RAM in a PC has a direct affect on the system s speed. The more RA
M a PC has, the more program instructions and data can be held in memory, which
is faster than storage on disk. More RAM = Better Performance !

There are two types of RAM

Dynamic RAM

Static RAM

Random Access Memory (Contd)

Dynamic RAM
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) chips must be recharged with electricity
quently, or they will lose their contents. Static RAM
Static RAM (SRAM)
need to be recharged as often as DRAM, and can hold its contents longer.
r type of RAM, called flash memory, can store its contents after power is
off. Flash memory is used in digital cameras to store pictures. OR Flash
used in portable digital devices.

very fre
does not
Anothe
turned
memory

Read Only Memory

ROM is non-volatile memory. The kind of memory is generally programmed by manufa

cturer. It contains information that is permanently stored. The contents of ROM
are set during manufacturing process. Most of the ROMs are special purpose memor
ies. Example of ROM is BIOS (Basic Input Output System). TYPES OF ROM
PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) Normally ROMs are not writable but PROMs are
writable. Data can be written to PROMs using special devices. Data once written c
annot be removed. Ultraviolet Rays are used to write data in PROMs. Example: CD-R
OM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory). Data on a CD-ROM can be written through a spe
cial device called CD-Writer.

Cache memory is high-speed memory that holds the most recent data and instructio
ns that have been loaded by the CPU. Cache is located directly on the CPU or bet
ween the CPU and RAM, making it faster than normal RAM.
CPU-resident cache is ca
lled Level-1 (L1) cache. L1 cache usually has a very small capacity, ranging fro
m 8 KB to 128 KB. The most common size is 128 KB. External cache is called Level
-2 (L2) cache. L2 cache is slower then L1 cache but has much larger capacity, ra
nging from 64 KB to 4 MB. The amount of cache memory has a tremendous impact on
the computer s speed. When the processor needs an instruction or data, it search
es memory in this order, L1 cache, then L2 cache, then RAM. If the instructions
or data is not found in memory then it must search a slower speed storage medium
such as a hard disk, compact disc etc.
Cache Memory

Storage Devices

Storage devices holds data, instructions & information for future use. Every com
puter uses storage devices to holds software, specifically system software & app
lication software s. It is also called Secondary Storage or Auxiliary Storage De
vices. Example of storage media are Magnetic Storage Devices
Hard Disk,
Floppy D
isk

Magnetic Storage Devices

Exploits duality of magnetism and electricity
Converts electrical signals into m
agnetic charges Captures magnetic charge on a storage medium Later regenerates e
lectrical current from stored magnetic charge

Flat, circular platter with metallic coating that is rotated beneath read/write
heads Random access device; read/write head can be moved to any location on the
platter

Magnetic Storage Devices - Formatting

Formatting is the process of preparing a disk for reading and writing.

Before a magnetic disk can be used, it must be formatteda process that maps the d
isk s surface and determines how data will be stored. During formatting, the dri
ve creates circular tracks around the disk s surface, then divides each track in
to sectors. The OS organizes sectors into groups, called clusters, then tracks e
ach file s location according to the clusters it occupies.

Hard Disks

Auxiliary storage is a hard disk. Hard disks use multiple platters, stacked on a
spindle. or A hard disk consists of one or more rigid metal plates coated with
a metal oxide material that allows data to be magnetically recorded on the surfa
ce of the platters. Each platter has two read/write heads, one for each side. Th
e hard disk platters spin at a high rate of speed, typically 5400 to 7200 revolu
tions per minute (RPM). Storage capacities of hard disks for personal computers
range from 10 GB to 320 GB (TB is possible but rare). Read/write heads

Hard Disk (Contd)

Sectors each track is divided into pie-shaped wedges
Cluster two or more sectors combined
Tracks data is recorded in concentric circular bands