Lecture 05

Computer Hardware
(System Unit)

1
SYSTEM UNIT
 WHAT IS THE SYSTEM UNIT?
Box like case that houses the electronic
components of the computer.
 SYSTEM UNIT
The main components of system unit are here
under:

Mother Board
CPU
Primary Memory
Ports & Connectors
Buses
Storage
Power Supply
Expansion Slots & Adaptor Cards
 System Unit
Processor

RAM

Sound Card

Modem

Video Card

NIC Card

Ports &
Connectors
 MOTHER BOARD
It is the primary circuit board in a computer or
other electronic device. All the components
connected with CPU are through motherboard.

Main circuit board in system unit has.

Microprocessor.
Integrated Circuits.(control the system)
Expansion slots.(to attach other devices)

Also called system board/main board.

EXPANSION SLOTS & EXPANSION CARDS
Those slots that are used to attach other devices.
EXPANSION SLOTS & EXPANSION CARDS
What is plug and play?
 RAM Slots/ROM
In RAM slots we fix RAM chips.

In motherboard we also have ROM chip,

in ROM there is written instructions also
known as BIOS or System Boot Up.
 CMOS Battery
On motherboard we have a small battery
called CMOS battery.

It contains information about date and time of

computer, when computer goes to sleep mode
and shut down.

When computer is turned off CMOS battery

automatically turned on.
 Display Card
To display output on monitor, computer must
have graphic card or video card installed.

Video card provides instructions to program

that is running inside a computer to display on
monitor.
 Sound Card
Similarly on motherboard there is slot for
sound card.

Sound card converts digital information into

analog signals and vice versa.

Speakers output the voice which is sent by

sound card.
 MODEM
The word modem is made by combining two words Modulator and
Demodulator.

Mo is first two letters of Modulator while dem is first three letters of

Demodulator.

Microphone is like a modulator, speaker is demodulator both found in

telephones.

The process of transforming digital information (1's an 0's) into analog

(perceived as sound) signals is called modulation.

The process of transforming analog signals, previously modulated, back into

digital information is called demodulation.

Modem is used for both the purposes of input and output. Modulator and
Demodulator both were found in one package called modem.
 LAN Card
If we want to form a Local Area Network (LAN)
then on each computer motherboard we must
have installed a LAN card.

LAN card is also known as Network Interface

Card.
 Peripheral Devices
Peripheral devices are those devices, without these
devices computer can work.

These devices are not necessary in a computer.

Usually peripheral devices enhance the

functionality of a computer.

Mouse and keyboard are peripheral devices.

Examples:
Printer, Modem, Scanner, Joy Sticks etc
PROCESSOR
 PROCESSOR
Processor is the main engine, which do all arithmetic,
logic calculations and control function of the
computer.

Various processors:
Intel
Pentium Pro, II, III, IV, Dual-Core, Core-2, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7.
Celeron
AMD
Athlon, Sempron,
PowerPC (Apple, Motorola)
StrongARM(specially designed for PDAs)
SPARC (for workstations designed by Sun Microsystems)
Crusoe (Laptops)
BUSES
 BUSES
What is a bus?

Electrical channel that allow various devices

inside the computer to communicate with
each other.

Bus width determines the number of bits

transmit at a time.
 THE BUS
In any computer, you will find two bus at least:
System Bus (processor communicate to input
devices, output devices and storage)
Memory Bus (processor to memory
communications)
 The number of wires in the bus affects the
speed at which data can travel.

Each wire can transfer one bit of data at a

time, an eight-wire bus can move eight bits at
a time.

Newer model computers have a 64-bit data

bus.
MICROPROCESSOR BUS
 MEMORY BUS
Memory Bus connects processor and RAM. It is subdivided
into two types:
Address Bus
Data Bus

Address Bus
The address bus is uni-directional pathway that carries
addresses generated by the microprocessor to the memory.

Data Bus
The data bus is bi-directional.
Data flows along the data bus from the microprocessor to
memory during a WRITE operation.
Conversely, data moves from memory to the
microprocessor during READ operation.
MEMORY/STORAGE
 MEMORY vs STORAGE
What is Storage?
The media on which data, instructions and
information are kept permanently.
Storage is also called Secondary Storage.
Storage is non-volatile.

What is Memory?
The media on which data and information are
kept temporarily.
Memory is also called Primary Memory.
 MEMORY/STORAGE
Memory
Ram (volatile)
Rom (non volatile)

Storage
Punch card
Magnetic Tapes
Magnetic Disks/Hard disk
Floppy Disk
CD
DVD
USB
 CLASSIFYING MEMORY/STORAGE
Classify of memory/storage:
Electronic storage (RAM/ROM)
Magnetic storage (Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, Tape)
Optical storage (CD, DVD)

Another way of classifying is:

Volatile (RAM)
Non-Volatile (Hard Disk)
 Another way of classifying is Direct & Serial
access:
Direct Access (RAM, Floppy Disk, Hard disk & CDs)
Serial Access (Magnetic tape)

Another way of classifying is Read/Write:

Read (CDs, Magnetic Tapes)
Read/Write Both (Hard Disk, RAM)
READING vs WRITING
 ACCESS TYPES
What is Sequential Access and Direct Access?
 ACCESS TIME
What is Access Time?
The amount of time
it takes the device to
locate an item on a
disk.

Defines the speed of

storage device.
 MAGNETIC TAPES
A magnetically coated ribbon of plastic capable
of storing large amount of data and
information at a low cost.

Sequential access
only.

Often used for

backup.
 FLOPPY DISKS
A portable inexpensive storage medium.
Consist of a thin, circular, flexible plastic disk
with a magnetic coating.

Enclosed in a square-
shaped plastic shell.

Standard disk is 3.5

wide, 1.44 MB.
 HARD DISKS (1/4)
Consists of several inflexible, circular platters
that store data electronically.

Also known as
magnetic-disk.
 HARD DISKS (2/4)
What is a removable hard disk?
A hard disk that you can remove it from drive.
A popular, reasonable price.
 HARD DISKS (3/4)
What is a RAID?
Redundant Array of Independent Disks.
A type of hard disk system that connects
several smaller disks into a single unit that acts
like a single large hard disk.

More reliable than a

traditional disk system
but quite expensive.
 HARD DISKS (4/4)
What is an Internet Hard Drive?
A service on the web
that provides storage
to computer users.

Sometimes called
online storage.

Many companies offer

storage free of cost.
 Advantage of Internet Hard Drive:
Large Audio, Video and Graphic files can be
stored to an internet hard drive.

Files can be accessed from any computer or

device that has internet access.

Others can be authorized to access data from

your internet hard drive.
 COMPACT DISC (CD)
A flat, round, portable optical storage
medium.

CD: 650MB
DVD: 4.7GB 17GB

Also called an optical disk.

PORTS
 WHAT IS A PORT?
A port is a connection point, a point through
which you connect any input or output device or
external devices to the system unit.

Ports are used to connect external devices with

computer i.e. mouse, keyboard, modem etc

Example:
Printer is connected to Parallel port of a
computer.
 TYPES OF PORTS
Following are the famous ports:
Parallel Port
Serial Port
SCSI
USB Port
Firewire Port
 PARALLEL PORT
Exclusively used for connecting a Printers and
Scanners .

25-pin Connector.

Support transmission of multiple bits at the same

time. 8 bits will be sent to the port at a time.
 SERIAL PORT
1 bit of information is transferred at a time.

In past digital cameras were connected, Bar code,

scanners, LED & LCD.
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
Faster than serial and parallel port.

Hard disk and network adaptor to be attached to a

computer.
 USB PORT
Bandwidth of 12 Mbit/sec

For peripherals such as keyboard, mouse, scanner,

printer.

A USB port can connect

upto 127 different
peripherals together
with a single connector.
 FIREWIRE PORT
Can connect to digital cameras, camcorders or external
hard drives.

KB-AT Port
Used to connect older style keyboards to the computer.
OTHER PORT TYPES
 Power Supply
Power Supply provides electricity to entire
computer.

A simple power supply takes 220 Walt (AC) to

change 3.5 or 5 volt (DC) for mother board.