PARTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT

SYSTEM UNIT
also known as a "tower" or "chassis" It is the main part, processing unit and devices, of a microcomputer

 core of a computer system a rectangular box placed on or underneath your desk

PARTS OF THE SYSTEM UNIT

MOTHERBOARD

 main printed, flat circuit board in an electronic device such as microcomputers. sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple computers, the logic board.

PARTS & FUNCTIONS

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Slot

- This is where various peripherals like graphics cards, sound cards, ethernet cards, modems and DVD recorders are attached

 Central Processing Unit (CPU) Socket

- This socket is the home for your computer's processor. - The biggest advantage of these sockets is that they allow the simple swapping of processors inside a machine, and this allows computer users to really enhance the versatility of their computer.

 Motherboard Battery Compartment

- When you shut your system down, your data is stored in a battery on the motherboard. This motherboard battery is placed inside the battery compartment that is present on the surface of your motherboard.

RAM slots (DIMM and SIMM)

- slots that hold the RAM chips of your computer

- more chips of different sizes can be attached here so as to increase the efficiency of the machine, and to make it more comfortable to work on multiple programs at a time.

 Power Connector - The motherboard requires the power to function properly and this power supply comes from the main power connector.

 PS/2 Connectors are color coded ports (purple is for the keyboard and green is for the mouse) and have been around ever since computers showed up in the 80's.
- These

 USB (Universal Serial Bus) Port - They are used for connecting external devices like USB flash drives, external hard disks, iPods, MP3 players and cameras. Every computer has at least 2 such ports, and more of them are always welcome. The versatility that USB ports offer is truly unmatched in the realm of computers.

 Game Port
- This port is mostly used to connect the devices that are used for gaming purposes. Gamepads, joysticks and other gaming accessories can be attached to the machine through this port and this flexibility is something that many users and gamers find highly useful.

POWER SUPPLY UNIT

 converts mains AC to low-voltage regulated DC power for the internal components of the computer Some power supplies have a manual selector for input voltage, while others automatically adapt to the supply voltage.

PARTS & FUNCTIONS

Power Supply Case
- The case protects internal components from outside elements and protects users from electric shock.

 Fan and Fuse

- The fan pulls cool air into the power

supply; this keeps the components from overheating. The fuse protects the supply and computer circuitry from current overloads and power surges.

 Capacitors and Inductors

- The capacitors help to filter and stabilize the power going from the supply to the computer. The inductors filter noise in the power lines that could interfere with the computer's operation. Capacitors can hold lethal voltages.

 Transformers, Cables and Wires

- Transformers step the voltage down to the standard voltages: +5V, -5V, +12V, -12V and +3.3V for the computer components. The power supply has cables that connect to the computer components, including the power button.

 Semiconductor Components
- The diodes and rectifiers change the alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Voltage regulators stabilize the output voltages during heavy loads

HDD (HARD DISK DRIVE)

 a device that is used to store large amounts of data in a computer system.

differ from other memory because they are non-volatile, they retain the data even when they do not have power.

PARTS & FUNCTIONS

Heads (or Head Stack Assembly)

- magnetically read and write data to the platters, moving at incredibly high speeds to extremely precise positions in order to do so

 Spindle -spins the platters of the drive under the heads.

 Platters

- hold the hard drive's information, and they're incredibly sensitive.

CD -ROM/DVD-ROM DRIVE
CD ROM DRIVE

DVD ROM DRIVE

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory a pre-pressed compact disc that

contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback.

DVD-ROM DRIVES
A new type of readonly compact disc that can hold a minimum of 4.7GB (gigabytes), enough for a fulllength movie.

PARTS & FUNCTIONS

1. Drawer - for loading the media. 2. Metal Case - covering the CD-ROM from dust and for packaging. 3. Clipsed Compounds - For connecting the internal devices 4. Simple Jack - connects electric devices together within the CD-ROM 5. Belt - Controls the drawer in & out of the CD-ROM

 6. Focus lenses - reads the input media 7. Electric motor - controls the drawer 8. Connection cables 9. Electric Circuit - Supplies current to other electrical parts.

PATA/SATA PORTS
PATA stands for Parallel ATA (Advanced Technology Agency) -a type of internal computer port that attaches to hard drives and other devices. SATA stands for Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Agency is a computer bus interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives.

RAM (Random )Access-Memory

a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time.

SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory)

synchronized with the system bus and has a synchronous interface
waits for a clock signal before responding to control inputs and is therefore synchronized with the computer's system bus. The clock is used to drive an internal finite state machine that pipelines incoming commands.

Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-access Memory (DDR SDRAM)

is a class of memory integrated circuits used in computers

DDR SDRAM interface makes higher transfer rates possible by more strict control of the timing of the electrical data and clock signals

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

called the brains of the computer It is the chip that performs all of the calculations necessary for the computer to do its job it is the device that makes computing possible.

PARTS AND FUNCTIONS

ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) -executes instructions and performs calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and comparisons.

 CONTROL UNIT
- directs the flow of data and instructions within the computer. It supervises or monitors the functions performed by the entire computer system according to conditions set forth by the stored program.

 Registers/ Cache -temporary storage devices that hold data; they help the CPU in executing instructions by the repetition of machine cycles performed by the system clock.

ATX POWER CABLE

 a motherboard form factor specification developed by Intel in 1995 to improve on previous de facto standards like the ATrs, improving form factor. It was the first big change in computer case, motherboard, and power supply design in many yeast and faradization and interchangeability of parts.

EXPANSION CARD
(also expansion board, adapter card or accessory card) in computing is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a computer motherboard or backplane to add functionality to a computer system via the expansion bus.

VIDEO CARD

 referred to as display card, graphics card, or graphics adapter an expansion card which generates output images to a display.

SOUND CARD

 also audio card an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs.

NETWORK INTERFACE CARD

 a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network.

commonly implemented on expansion cards that plug into a computer bus, the low cost and ubiquity of the Ethernet standard means that most newer computers have a network interface built into the motherboard.