Computer Information Technology – Section 1-1 Computer Parts Computer Information Technology – Section 1-1

Parts of the Computer Objective: To identify the parts of a computer and their uses

Parts that are visible

Parts that are visible Monitor Mouse Keyboard

Parts of the Computer

Parts of the Computer Wired LAN/Ethernet Connection Audio Connections (Local Area Network) Audio Connections Parallel Port USB Ports (Universal Serial Bus) Serial Port SVGA/Monitor (Super Video Graphics Array)

Parts of the Computer Definitions: Bit: A single digit number in base-2 (a zero or a one) and is the smallest unit of computer data. Byte: A byte is a set of 8 bits that represent a single character in the computer's memory. Kilobyte (KB): One kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes. Megabyte (MB): A megabyte is 1,024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes Gigabyte (GB): A gigabyte is 1,024 megabytes or 1,073,741,824 bytes Terabyte (TB): A terabyte is 1024 gigabytes or 1,099,511,627,776 bytes.

Parts of the Computer Definitions: Serial Port: The serial port is a type of connection used for peripherals such as mice, gaming controllers, modems, and older printers. A serial port can only transmit one bit of data at a time, whereas a parallel port can transmit many bits at once. The serial port is typically the slowest port you'll find on a PC and has a top speed of about 1.3 MBs (megabytes per second) or 1,382,400 Bps (bytes per second).

Parts of the Computer Definitions: Parallel Port: This interface is found on the back of older PCs and is used for connecting external devices such as printers or scanners and is used for transmitting data in parallel, or more than one bit at a time. Parallel ports have a maximum speed of about 6 MBs (megabytes per second) or 6,291,456 Bps (bytes per second).

Parts of the Computer Definitions: USB Port: Universal Serial Bus. A personal computer external bus standard which can support up to 127 peripheral devices, can support plug-and-play (hot plugging), and has a total bandwidth of up to 480MBps or 503,316,480 Bps.

Parts of the Computer Definitions: SVGA: Super Video Graphics Array. A video display standard for color monitors. SVGA monitors display up to 16.7 million colors with resolutions up to 1,280 x 1,024 pixels. Ethernet/LAN: Ethernet is a standard for connecting computers into a local area network (LAN). The most common form of Ethernet is called 10BaseT, which denotes a peak transmission speed of 10 MBps using copper twisted-pair cable. Many networks are now 100MBps.

Mbps vs. MBps: What’s the Difference? It’s often difficult to understand terms used for Internet metrics, such as Mbps vs. MBps. They’re the same letters, though they represent different metrics. What’s the difference? Mbps means megabits per second. Mb is used for download and upload speed. MBps stands for megabytes per second. MB is used for file size.

An Example… You’ll spot these terms when you download a file from the Internet or transfer data from one device to another. They show the data transfer rate. Your connection speed (download and upload) will display as megabits per second. But, you’re downloading or transferring megabytes. When you download or transfer a file, note when Mbps and MBps come into play. A file consists of a certain amount of megabytes. Say you download a file that consists of around 2 megabytes. You’ll need a download speed of 8 megabits per second to download the file in 2 seconds. Eight megabits comprise 1 megabyte. To calculate how long it would take a file to download over different speeds, you can use Google’s MB to Mb calculator. When you shop for Internet service, how much Mbps you receive with the plan is crucial to performance. The more Mbps, the quicker you can download files.

Summary Now let’s move inside… There are many different external interfaces Different uses Different speeds Now let’s move inside…