Computer Components and Specifications

Motherboard

• The motherboard is the main circuit board of a computer.
• EVERYTHING in a computer system is connected to it!!!
• Produced in a variety of sizes (a.k.a. form factor)

Components

• The following are components that are typically connected to a motherboard
• CPU
• Hard Drive
• Optical Drive (DVD, CD, etc)þ
• RAM
• Video Card
• Power supply
• A motherboard contains the following slots, sockets, and connectors for components
• Exercise: What components are typically connected to each slot or port?
  • PCI expansion slot
  • AGP video slot
  • IDE socket
  • Primary and secondary
  • RAM slot
  • Processor socket (for CPU)
  • The chipset is the “glue” that connects the CPU to the rest of the motherboard.
  • consists of two parts: the north bridge and the south bridge
  • North bridge
  • Memory controller hub
  • Handles communication between CPU and memory
  • South bridge
  • I/O controller hub
  • Handles communications between CPU and I/O devices

BIOS

• Basic Input/Output System
• BIOS is a built-in software (code built into a chip) that operates the basic functions of a computer
• BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions

Other Important Specifications

• CPU Socket – slot that the houses the CPU in a computer system.
• Each socket is meant to house specific types of CPU’s and may not be compatible with others

CPU – Central Processing Unit

• Central Processing Unit
• The CPU or Central Processing Unit
• The part of a computer that interprets and executes instructions.
• It’s the “brains” of the computer.
• The socket type of the motherboard and CPU MUST match!!!

Hertz

• One hertz: is a one cycle per second

Therefore……

• 1 kilohertz (KHz) = 1024¹ hertz
• 1 megahertz (MHz) = 1024² hertz
• 1 gigahertz (GHz) = 1024³ hertz
  • Specifications
  • Socket type
  • The physical connection between the motherboard and CPU
  • The slot where the CPU is attached to the motherboard
  • E.g. socket LGA775, socket 478,….
  • Clock rate
  • Measured in cycles per second (hertz)
  • E.g. megahertz, gigahertz
  • FSB (Front Side Bus)
  • Bus
  • A circuit that connects one part of the motherboard to another
  • The more data a bus can handle at one time, the faster it allows information to travel.
  • The speed of the bus is measured in megahertz
  • FSB is a subsystem that carries data from the CPU to motherboard (north bridge)

Cache

• Temporary storage for data that is accessed frequently.
• Frequently accessed data is copied into cache
• Copied Data can be accessed once stored in cache instead of accessing original data (which tends to take more time).
• Measured in bytes (e.g. megabytes)
• Used in CPU, motherboard, internet browsers

Types of CPU’s

• Current processor is the Intel Core 2 which is the 8^th generation of CPU from the x86 architecture
• Core 2 replaces the Pentium 4 CPU’s
• Core 2 consists of three models
• Core 2 duo – a single chip containing 2 distinct processors that work simultaneously
• Core Quad – a single chip containing 4 distinct processors
• Core Extreme – duo or quad with a higher processor and bus speed designed for servers and high-end workstations
• AMD
• Sempron – 32-bit CPU’s marketed towards the value market
• Athlon 64 – the first 64-bit CPU targeted towards the average consumer
• Athlon 64 XP  – AMD’s first dual core processor which contains two Athlon 64 Cores in a single chip

Power Supply Unit

• Supplies electricity to components in a computer system
• Converts AC (general purpose) to low voltage DC used by the system
• typical voltages supplied are:
• 3.3 volts (digital circuits)
• 5 volts (digital circuits)
• 12 volts (motors, fans)

Graphics Processing Unit

• Translates image data from the computer into a format that can be displayed by the monitor
• Performs calculations related to producing an image (This requires memory!)
• Each motherboard supports only a limited range of video card formats

Soundcard

• used by the computer to record and play audio by converting analog sound into digital information and back again.