Personal Computers A Research and Reverse Engineering Assignment for Engineering I Students Due Friday, February 24, 2017

Note: Although the computer build portion of this activity is a group project, ALL students must complete the PowerPoint.  If you do not turn-in a PowerPoint, you will receive a grade of zero (0) for this entire project. 

Assignment: General Steps (in small groups of 3-4) Familiarize yourself with your particular PC (including initial photographs, labelling of connections) Dis-assemble the PC completely Photograph everything. Create PowerPoint Re-assemble PC Install OS Install productivity software.

Assignment: Specifics Steps: Dis-assembly Turn-on your computer with a spare keyboard and monitor. Go into BIOS and verify that it’s functional (it will NOT have a main OS like Windows onboard) Turn-off computer and open case. You should ensure that you know where EVERY CONNECTOR/WIRE on the motherboard goes. Use a combination of pictures and labels (tape) to make sure you can put the unit back together properly.

Assignment: Specifics Steps: Dis-assembly (…continued) Be very careful when dis-assembling the computer; your grade depends on your ability to restore it to 100% functionality. Do NOT remove the CPU chip without permission and guidance from instructor.

Assignment: Specifics Steps: PowerPoint After dis-assembly, you should create a PowerPoint with photographs of each part that, at a minimum, details the following information. Manufacturer and/or specs. of motherboard Manufacturer and/or specs. of hard drive (HDD) Amount and type of RAM Number and type of external drives (optical, floppy [FDD] Number and type of any expansion cards

Assignment: Specifics Steps: Re-assembly and OS installation. Carefully re-assemble the computer, starting with the motherboard, and working your way out. After you have checked and double checked all of the components and their connections, turn-on the PC and make sure it will still allow you to go into BIOS. Verify that the PC and all of its drives are functional. See instructor for OS disks and install operating system.

Assignment: Specifics Key Terms and Concepts that should be included in a glossary in your presentation; very short definitions are acceptable. Input Devices Output Devices Central Processing Unit Power Supply RAM ROM Motherboard Expansion Card Hard Disk Drive (HDD – magnetic) Solid-State Drive (SSD) Optical Storage Device Floppy Disk Drive (FDD) Universal Serial Bus (USB) High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) Video Graphics Array (VGA) Network Interface Card (NIC) Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) intel Expansion Card Graphics/Video Card Central Processing Unit (CPU) Bit/speed rating of CPU Mechanical Mouse Optical Mouse Trackball Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor LCD Monitor Operating System Text-Line Interface Graphical User Interface (GUI) Network Server Client Local Area Network Wide Area Network The Internet Intranet

Example Specifications of a Motherboard and Hardware Configuration Typical motherboard specifications: Foxconn 661FX7MI-RS Socket 775/ SiS 661FX/ DDR/ SATA/ A&V&L/ MATX Motherboard Specifications Mfr Part Number: 661FX7MI-RS CPU: Socket 775 supports Intel LGA 775 processors; FSB 800/533 MHZ Chipset: SiS 661FX & 964 Memory: 2x DDR-400/333 DIMMs, Single Channel, Max capacity 2GB Slots: 1x AGP 8X slot; 3x PCI slots IDE/SATA: 2x ATA-133 channels; 2x SATA ports support RAID 0, 1, JBOD Audio: Realtek ALC653 5.1 channel Audio CODEC Video: Integrated SiS Mirage Graphics Controller shared upto 64MB system memory LAN: Broadcom AC131KML 10/100Mbps Ethernet Controller Ports: 8x USB 2.0 ports (4 rear, 4 by headers); 2x PS/2 ports; 1x Parallel port; 1x VGA port; 1x RJ45 port; Audio I/O jack Power Connector: 1x 20pin main power, 1x 4pin CPU power Form Factor: Micro ATX, 9.6 x 8.3 inch

Places to start…. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ http://www.explainingcomputers.com/hardware.html http://spclc.org/sites/default/files/Basic_Definitions.pdf http://www.explainthatstuff.com/howcomputerswork.html This is a very short list…feel free to find your own resources!