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In
Operating System
Anmerlo U. Comia
BSITDA311
4 Basic component of computer system
Input devices are used to provide input and instructions to be processed to the computer.
These devices are also called peripheral devices and include mouse, keyboard, microphone,
scanner, mouse, keyboard, scanner, digital camera, mic, webcam, touch screen, scanner,
joystick, bar- code reader
Output devices include monitor and printers which are used for displaying the results of the
instructions processed by the computer.
Ex. monitor, speakers, headphones, printer, plotter, projector, 3D printer, lights, buzzers,
motors
CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the main component of the computer which is responsible for
data processing. CPU itself has many subcomponents such as mother board, registers, buses etc
to perform the processing operations. CPU uses memory (another important component of
computer) to store the instructions either permanently or temporarily.
Storage is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain
digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers. The central
processing unit (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data by performing computations.
Ex. Storage - hard drive, floppy disk, USB, CD, DVD, RAM, storage tape, micro drive, smart cards,
PC card
Memory Cache: A memory cache, sometimes called a cache store or RAM cache, is a
07/07/12portion of memory made of high-speed static RAM (SRAM) instead of the slower and
cheaper dynamic RAM (DRAM) used for main memory. Memory caching is effective because
most programs access the same data or instructions over and over. By keeping as much of this
information as possible in SRAM, the computer avoids accessing the slower DRAM.
Disk Cache: Disk caching works under the same principle as memory caching, but instead of
using high-speed SRAM, a disk cache uses conventional main memory. The most recently
accessed data from the disk (as well as adjacent sectors) is stored in a memory buffer. When a
program needs to access data from the disk, it first checks the disk cache to see if the data is
there. Disk caching can dramatically improve the performance of applications, because
accessing a byte of data in RAM can be thousands of times faster than accessing a byte on a
hard disk.