Discovering Computers 2008

Chapter 4
The
Components
of the
System Unit
Chapter 4 Objectives
Differentiate among various styles Differentiate among the various
of system units types of memory

Identify chips, adapter cards, and other Describe the types of expansion slots and
components of a motherboard adapter cards

Describe the components of a processor and how Explain the differences among a serial port, a parallel
they complete a machine cycle port, a USB port, a FireWire port, and other ports

Identify characteristics of various personal Describe how buses contribute to a

computer processors on the market today computer’s processing speed

Define a bit and describe how a series of bits Identify components in mobile computers
represents data and mobile devices

Explain how programs transfer in

Understand how to clean a system unit
and out of memory

Next
 The System Unit
What is the system unit?
 Case that contains
electronic components
of the computer used
to process data
 Sometimes called
the chassis

p. 184 Fig. 4-1 Next

 The System Unit
What are common components inside the system unit?
 Processor
 Memory
 Adapter cards
 Sound card
 Video card
 Drive bays
 Power supply

p. 185 Fig. 4-2 Next

 The System Unit
What is the motherboard?
 Main circuit board
of the system unit
 Contains
expansion slots,
processor chips,
and memory slots
 Also called system
board

Click to view Web Link,

click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click
Motherboards below
p. 186 Fig. 4-3
Chapter Next
 The System Unit
What is a chip?
 Small piece of semi-conducting material on which
integrated circuits are etched
 Integrated circuits contain many microscopic pathways
capable of carrying electrical current
 Chips are packaged so they can be attached to a
circuit board

p. 186 Next
 Processor

What is the central processing unit (CPU)?

Interprets and carries Processor
out basic instructions Control
Control Arithmetic
Arithmetic
Unit Logic
Logic Unit
Unit (ALU)
that operate a computer Unit (ALU)

 Control unit directs and

Instructions
coordinates operations in Data
computer Informatio
n
 Arithmetic logic unit
Input Output
(ALU) performs Data Memory Information
Devices Devices
arithmetic, comparison,
and logical operations
Instructions
Also called the processor Data
Informatio
n

Storage
Devices
p. 187 - 188 Fig. Next
4-4
 Processor
What is a machine cycle?
 Four operations of the CPU comprise a machine cycle
Step 1. Fetch
Obtain program instruction
or data item from memory

Memory
Step 2.
Step 4. Store Decode
Write result to memory Translate
instruction into
Processor commands
ALU Control Unit
Step 3. Execute
Carry out command

p. 188 Fig. 4-5 Next

 Processor
What is pipelining?
 Processor begins fetching second instruction before
completing machine cycle for first instruction
 Results in faster processing

p. 189 Fig. 4-6 Next

 Processor
What is a register?
 Temporary high-speed storage area that holds
data and instructions

Stores location
from where instruction
was fetched
Stores Stores data
instruction while it is while ALU
being decoded computes it
Stores results
of calculation

p. 189 Next
 Processor
What is the system clock?
 Controls timing of all computer operations
 Generates regular electronic pulses, or ticks, that set
operating pace of components of system unit

Pace of system
clock is clock speed
Processor speed can
Each tick Most clock speeds are
also be measured in
is a in the gigahertz (GHz)
millions of instructions
clock cycle range (1 GHz = one
per second (MIPS)
billion ticks of system
clock per second)

p. 189 - 190 Next

 Processor
What are dual-core and multi-core processors?
 A dual-core processor is a single chip that contains two
separate processors
 A multi-core processor is a chip with two or more
separate processors
 Each processor on a dual-core/multi-core chip generally
runs at a slower clock speed, but increase overall performance

Click to view Web Link,

click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click Multi-Core
Processors below
p. 1904
Chapter Next
 Processor
What are the guidelines for selecting a processor?

p. 192 Fig. 4-8 Next

 Processor
What are heat sinks, heat pipes, and
liquid cooling?
 Heat sink—component
with fins that cools
processor
 Heat pipe —smaller
e

device for notebook

computers
 Liquid cooling—uses a
continuous flow
of fluids to transfer heat away

p. 193 Fig. 4-9 Next

 Processor
What is parallel processing?
 Using multiple Control Processor
processors
simultaneously to
execute a
program faster Processor 1 Processor 2 Processor 3 Processor 4
 Requires special Memory Memory Memory Memory

software to divide
problem and
bring results
together Results combined

p. 194 Fig. 4-10 Next

 Data Representation
How do computers represent data?
 Most computers are digital
 Recognize only two
discrete states: on or off
 Use a binary system to
recognize two states
 Use Number system with
two unique digits: 0 and
1, called bits (short for
binary digits)

p. 194 - 195 Fig. Next

4-11
 Data Representation
What is a byte?
 Eight bits grouped together as a unit
 Provides enough different combinations of 0s and 1s
to represent 256 individual characters
 Numbers
 Uppercase
and lowercase
letters
 Punctuation
marks
 Other

p. 195 Fig. 4-12 Next

 Data Representation
What are three popular coding systems to represent data?
 ASCII—American Standard Code for Information Interchange
 EBCDIC—Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
 Unicode—coding scheme capable of representing all
world’s languages

ASCII Symbol EBCDIC

00110000 0 11110000
00110001 1 11110001
00110010 2 11110010
00110011 3 11110011

p. 195 Fig. 4-13 Next

 Data Representation
How is a letter converted to binary form and back?
Step 1.
The user presses Step 2.
the capital letter T An electronic signal for the
(SHIFT+T key) capital letter T is sent to the
on the keyboard. system unit.

T
Step 3.
Step 4. The system unit converts the
After processing, the binary scan code for the capital letter T
code for the capital letter T is to its ASCII binary code
converted to an image, and (01010100) and stores it in
displayed on the output device. memory for processing.

p. 196 Fig. 4-14 Next

 Memory
What is memory?
 Electronic components that
store instructions, data, and
results
 Consists of one or
more chips on
motherboard or
other circuit board
 Each byte stored
in unique location
called an address,
similar to seats in a concert
hall

p. 197 Fig. 4-15 Next

 Memory
How is memory measured?
 By number of bytes available for storage

Term Abbreviation Approximate Size

Kilobyte KB or K 1 thousand bytes
Megabyte MB 1 million bytes
Gigabyte GB 1 billion bytes
Terabyte TB 1 trillion bytes

p. 197 Fig. 4-16 Next

 Memory
What is random access memory (RAM)?

Memory chips that can be

read from and written
to by processor
Most RAM is
Also called
volatile, it is lost
main memory
when computer’s
or primary
power is
storage
turned off

The more RAM a

computer has, the
Click to view Web Link, faster it responds
click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click RAM below
Chapter
p. 198 - 199 Next
 Memory
How do program instructions transfer in and out of RAM?
RAM Step 1. When you start the computer, certain
operating system files are loaded into RAM from
Operating system Operating system the hard disk. The operating system displays the
instructions interface user interface on the screen.

Step 2. When you start a Web browser, the

program’s instructions are loaded into RAM from
Web browser Web browser the hard disk. The Web browser window is
displayed on the screen.
instructions window
Step 3. When you start a paint program, the
program’s instructions are loaded into RAM from
the hard disk. The paint program, along with the
Paint program Paint program Web Browser and certain operating system
instructions window instructions are in RAM. The paint program
window is displayed on the screen.

RAM
Step 4. When you quit a program, such as the
Web browser, its program instructions are
removed from RAM. The Web browser is no
longer displayed on the screen.

Web browser program Web browser

instructions are window is no longer
p. 198 Fig. 4-17 removed from RAM displayed on Next
desktop
Memory

Video: The Leopard with a Time Machine

CLICK TO START

Next
 Memory
What are two basic types of RAM chips?
Do not have to
Most
be re-energized
common
as often as
type
DRAM

Dynamic
Faster and
Must be RAM more reliable
re-energized
(DRAM) than DRAM
constantly Static chips
RAM
(SRAM) RAM (MRAM)
Newer Type: Magnetoresistive

p. 199 Next
 Memory
dual inline memory module

Where does memory reside?

 Resides on small circuit
board called memory
module
 Memory slots on
motherboard hold memory
memory slot
modules
memory chip

p. 199 Fig. 4-18 Next

 Memory
How much RAM does an application require?
 Depends on the types of
software you plan to
use
 For optimal
performance, you
need more than
minimum specifications

p. 199 Next
 Memory
How much RAM do you need?
 Depends on type of applications you intend to run
on your computer
RAM 512 MB to 1 GB 1 GB to 2 GB 2 GB and up
Use • Home and business • Users requiring more advanced • Power users creating
users managing multimedia capabilities professional Web sites
personal finances • Running number-intensive • Running sophisticated
• Using standard accounting, financial, or CAD, 3D design, or
application software spreadsheet programs other graphics-intensive
such as word processing • Using voice recognition software
• Using educational • Working with videos, music, and
or entertainment digital imaging
CD-ROMs • Creating Web sites
• Communicating with • Participating in video conferences
others on the Web • Playing Internet games

p. 200 Fig. 4-19 Next

 Memory
What is cache?
 Helps speed computer processes by storing frequently used
instructions and data
 Also called memory cache
 L1 cache built into processor
 L2 cache slower but has larger capacity
 L2 advanced transfer cache is faster,
built directly on processor chip
 L3 cache is separate from processor
chip on motherboard (L3 is only
on computers that use L2 advanced
transfer cache)
Click to view Web Link,
click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link from left
navigation, then click
Cache below Chapter
p. 201 Fig. 4-20 Next
 Memory

What is read-only memory (ROM)?

Memory chips that store Nonvolatile memory, it is not
permanent data lost when computer’s
and instructions power is turned off
EEPROM
Three types: (electrically
erasable programmable
read-only memory)—
Firmware— Type of PROM
Manufactured with containing microcode
permanently written PROM
programmer
data, instructions, (programmable can erase
or information read-only
memory)—
Blank ROM
chip onto which
a programmer
can write permanently

p. 201 - 202 Next

 Memory
What is flash memory?
 Nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten

 Used with PDAs, smart phones, printers, digital cameras, automotive

devices, audio players, digital voice recorders, and pagers
Step 3.
Step 1. Plug the headphones into the portable
Purchase and download music tracks from a media player, push a button on the
Web site. With one end of a special cable flash memory portable media player, and listen to
connected to the system unit, connect the chips the music through the headphones.
other end to the USB port in the portable
media player.

USB port

Click to view Web Link, Step 2.

click Chapter 4, Click Instruct the computer to copy the music tracks to
Web Link MP3 Player
the flash memory chip in the portable media player.
from left navigation,
then click Flash
Memory
p. 202
below Fig. 4-21
Chapter 4 Next
 Memory
What is CMOS?

Complementary Used in some

metal-oxide RAM chips, flash
semiconductor memory chips, and
memory other types of
memory chips

Uses battery Stores date,

power to retain time, and
information when computer’s
other power is startup
turned off information

p. 203 Next
 Memory
What is access time?
 Amount of time it takes processor
to read data from memory
 Measured in nanoseconds (ns),
one billionth of a second
 It takes 1/10 of a second to blink
your eye; a computer can perform
up to 10 million operations in same amount of
time
Term Speed
Millisecond One-thousandth of a second
Microsecond One-millionth of a second
Nanosecond One-billionth of a second
Picosecond One-trillionth of a second

p. 203 Figs. 4-22-4- Next

23
 Expansion Slots and Adapter
Cards
What is an adapter card?
 Enhances system unit or provides connections to
external devices called peripherals
 Also called an expansion card

Click to view Web Link,

click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click Sound Cards
below Chapter 4
p. 204 Fig. 4-24 Next
 Expansion Slots and Adapter
Cards
What is an expansion slot?
 An opening, or socket,
on the motherboard
that can hold an
adapter card
 With Plug and Play,
the computer
automatically
configures cards
and other devices
as you install them

p. 204 - 205 Fig. Next

4-25
 Expansion Slots and Adapter
Cards
What are flash memory cards, PC cards, and ExpressCard
modules?
 An ExpressCard module adds
memory, storage, sound, fax/modem,
communications, and other
capabilities to notebook computers
 A flash memory card allows users to
transfer data from mobile devices to
desktop computers
 USB Flash drive
 An PC card adds various capabilities
to computers
Click to view Web Link,
click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click ExpressCard
p. 205 Fig. 4-26–
Modules Next
4-27Chapter 4
below
 Ports and Connectors
What are ports and connectors?
 Port connects external devices to system unit
 Connector joins cable to peripheral
 Available in one of two genders: male and female

p. 206 Fig. 4-28 Next

 Ports and Connectors
What are different types of connectors?

p. 207 Fig. 4-29 Next

 Ports and Connectors
What is a serial port?
 Transmits one bit of data at a
time
 Connects slow-speed devices,
such as mouse, keyboard,
modem

p. 207 Fig. 4-30 Next

 Ports and Connectors
What is a parallel port?
 Connects devices that can
transfer more than one bit at
a time, such as a printer

p. 208 Fig. 4-31 Next

 Ports and Connectors
What are USB ports?

USB (universal serial bus) port can connect

up to 127 different peripherals together
with a single connector type

PCs typically have Third USB

six to eight USB ports Single USB port can device connects
be used to attach to second USB
on front or back of device, and so on
the system unit multiple peripherals
in a daisy chain
Second USB
device connects
to first USB
First USB device
device connects
USB 2.0 to USB port
p. 208 on computer Next
 Ports and Connectors
What are FireWire ports?
 Connects multiple types of devices that require
faster data transmission speeds
 Allows you to connect up to 63 devices together

Click to view Web Link,

click Chapter 4, Click
Web Link
from left navigation,
then click FireWire
Ports
p. 209 Next
below Chapter 4
 Ports and Connectors
What are special-purpose ports?
 Allow users to attach specialized peripherals or transmit data
to wireless devices
 MIDI (Musical
Instrument Digital
Interface) port
 eSATA port
 SCSI port
 IrDA (Infrared Data
Association) port
 Bluetooth port

p. 209 - 210 Fig. Next

4-32
 Buses
What is a bus?
 Channel that allows devices
inside computer to
communicate with each other
 System bus connects processor
and RAM
 Bus width determines number
of bits transmitted at one time
 Word size is the number of
bits processor can interpret
and execute at a given time

p. 211 - 212 Fig. Next

4-35
 Buses
What is an expansion bus?
 Allows processor to communicate with peripherals

PCI
PC Card USB AGP PCI
Express
Bus Bus Bus Bus
Bus

p. 212 Next
 Bays
What is a bay?
 Opening inside system
unit used to install
additional equipment
 Drive bays typically
hold disk drives

p. 212 Fig. 4-36 Next

 Power Supply
What is a power supply?

Converts Fan keeps

AC Power system unit
into components
DC Power cool

External peripherals
might use an AC
adapter, which is an
external power supply

p. 213 Next
 Mobile Computers and Devices
What is a mobile computer?
 Notebook, weighing between
2.5 and 9 pounds, or mobile
device such as a PDA

p. 213 - 214 Fig. Next

4-37
 Mobile Computers and Devices
What ports are on a notebook computer?

p. 214 Fig. 4-38 Next

 Mobile Computers and Devices
What ports and slots are on a tablet PC?

p. 214 Fig. 4-39 Next

 Putting It All Together
What are suggested processor and RAM configurations
based on the needs of various types of users?

p. 215 Fig. 4-40 Next

 Keeping Your Computer Clean
Over time, the system unit collects dust – even in a clean
environment
 Preventative maintenance requires a few basic
products:

p. 216 Fig. 4-41 Next

 Summary of the Components of the
System Unit

Components of the system unit

Comparison of various personal computer
processors on the market today
How memory stores data, instructions,
and information
How to clean a system unit
Sequence of operations that occur when a
computer executes an instruction

Chapter 4 Complete